St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1962-06-08

with the marriage ceremony.
Think back. Remember the two
phases that went something like
this: e. for better, for worse
E" etc. and "Who gives this
woman to this MANI" The "for
better, for worse" bit dates back
to the Anglo-Saxon days when the
bride was taken, for fairer or
fouler, for better or worse, for
richer or poorer" In return, among
other things, she promised to be,
"buXom and bonny" to her future
husband.
who gives this woman to this
man." is a carry-over from the
time when a young pretty daughter
was distinctly marketable pro-
duct" and fathers sold them for
marriage to the highest bidder.
Incidently, it was during this
same period in history that elope-
ments began. ITO avoid marrying
a man she disliked but who was
unable to pay the bride-price her
parents demanded, young woman
would elope with the man of her
choice. Or to avoid waiting until
he was able to pay for his bride,
to escape being forced to work
for her under the service contract,
the man would induce the girl
he loved to elope with him."
Also, it was from that period
when brides were purchased, that
the word wedding" originated.
When a man made known his de-
sire to buy girl for marriage, he
was considered pledged to her.
And a pledge of marriage was &C.
companied by a security or wed"
THE we'd was money, horses,
or cattle which the groom gave as
security and as pledge to prove
his purchase of the bride from her
father From this wed we de-
rive the idea of wedding or
'pledging' the bride to the man
who pays the security for her"
However, indirectly the man did
get back some of the goods and
money which he paid to the girls
father in the nature of a dowry
or trousseau which accompanied
his bride.
Now that we have that settled,
look at your wedding ring. Do you
know when the custom of giving
wedding rings began? Well, the
ancient Egyptians are the first
recorded users of wedding rings.
While your ring is perhaps made
of gold, through the ages, we'd
ding rings have been made out
of every conceivable material i'm
aginabIe: such as silver, iron,
steel, brass, rush leather and
wood.
The ring finger has a bit of
interesting history surrounding it,
too. During the early times there
was a superstition that the right
hand signified power and authori-
ty and the left, subsection. There
fore, the ring on the wife's left
hand is supposed to signify her
subsection to her husband. The
ancient Greeks are credited with
the reason for the fourth finger
being the ring finger. They claimed
that a certain vein of blood, pass
ing directly from this finger,
flowed on to the heart.
The best man" and the honey
moon" are carry-overs from the
time when men actually stole or
captured their brides. When the
bridegroom-to-be went after his
bride-to-be, a strong-armed war
rior friend went along to assist and
fight off any pursuers. After a
hasty marriage ceremony, the
bridegroom was forced to hide with
his prize, for a period of time,
until her kinsmen grew tired of
searching for her. Thus was the
origin of the honeymoon" and
the best man.
The wedding cake Is an old
Roman custom. The bachelor din
ner started in ancient Sparta.
Brides wearing gloves is an early
Egyptian influence. Wedding bells
were first rang in Medieval Eng
land.
Throwing the bridal bouquet
dates back to 18th Century France
when brides tossed carriers toI
friends for luck. This gave way
to Stocking throwing." Due to the
difficulty inherent in taking off
ones stocking, "some wise bride
conceived the idea of throwing her
bridal bouquet"
Many other present day wedding
customs are deeply rooted in the
past. To name a few the flower
girl, the bridal veil, the bridal es-
cort, bridesmaids, buttonhole flow
ers for the ushers, ribbon-tied
Bibles, bouquets for bridesmaids
and the something blue that brides
are advised to wear. So you see,
practically everything you did at