Wedding Day Good Luck Bad Luck

Any special occasion calls for a few superstitions and your wedding day is no exception. Where would we be without those old wives' tales and traditions to make sure your wedding day goes without a hitch, and to ensure a long and happy married life? If you don't want any jinxes your married life make sure you get off to a good start with some of these wedding day good-luck-bad-luck charms and superstitions.

Good luck for the Bride:

1. Get your marriage off to a sweet start by tucking a sugar cube into your wedding glove. The Greeks believed that carrying sugar on your wedding day would ensure a long and 'sweet' union.

2. If you're not keen on sticky fingers, Swedish tradition suggests putting a silver coin from your father and a gold coin from your mother in each shoe to ensure you'll never be poor.

3. If you want to be safe from evil spirits wear a veil. Ancient Greeks and Romans thought the veil protected the bride from any evil spirits who might be tempted by her beauty.

4. If you're not into veils you can still keep safe from evil spirits by painting henna on your hands and feet. Eastern cultures believe the henna patterns create a protective aura around the bride.

5. When getting ready for your wedding, wear a robe adorned with embroidered cranes; it symbolises fidelity for your marriage.

6. Enjoy a relaxing soak in a milk bath on the morning of your wedding. Moroccan women believe bathing in milk before the ceremony will purify them.

7. A pinch of luck? Egyptian women pinch the bride on her wedding day to ensure good luck.

Good luck for the Groom:

1. Choose your engagement ring wisely. Giving a pearl engagement ring symbolises tears for the bride, but an engagement ring of aquamarine represents marital harmony and is the secret to a long and happy marriage.

2. Keep your best man close. In ancient times a groom would often steal a bride from her family, and he would choose the best warrior amongst his friends to help him make his escape. The best man is also present by the groom at the ceremony to help prevent the bride's family from stealing her back!

3. Want to confuse those evil spirits? Try cross-dressing with your bride! In Denmark brides and grooms traditionally cross-dressed to confuse evil spirits.

4. Keep your bride on your left during the wedding ceremony. A bridegroom needs to keep his sword hand free to fight off other potential suitors!

5. Seal it with a kiss. In ancient times when many could not read or write, a kiss was a legal bond that sealed a deal. It was also believed that kissing on the lips transferred a piece of each other's soul.

6. Give your bride a silver teaspoon at the wedding to show her that she will never go without.

7. Don't forget to carry your bride over the threshold. Your bride is extra vulnerable to evil spirits that lurk beneath the threshold of her new home so it's your duty to see her safely delivered, and besides, you wouldn't want her to stumble - stumbling over the threshold is not a great omen for a happy marriage!

Good luck for the Ceremony:

1. In English tradition Wednesday is considered the "best day" to marry, although Monday is for wealth and Tuesday is for health. Saturday is considered the least auspicious day to marry - unfortunate as it's the most popular!

2. You can find out the luckiest time to hold your ceremony by studying pig entrails. Ancient Romans believed that pig entrails could determine the best time to marry to ensure a happy union.

3. Rain on your wedding day is actually considered good luck, cleansing the bride and groom and ensuring a 'fresh start'.

4. In ancient Roman times bread was a symbol of fertility and traditionally broken over the bride's head to ensure many children. Nowadays bread has been replaced with wedding cake to ensure a 'fruitful' union.

5. "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" No wedding ceremony is complete without this little tradition being followed, but why do we do it? Well something old means a continuance with the past, linking you to your family and roots, something new symbolises the brand new start you make as man and wife, something borrowed from someone happily married is to have their good fortune rub off on you, and the something blue symbolises fidelity.

6. Don't drop the rings! It's obvious to see why this could be considered bad luck. Aside from the chance that the ring could get lost or damaged, the more superstitious amongst us could see it as a sign that that ring really shouldn't be making its way onto the finger at all!

7. Ring it in! The loud pealing of bells traditionally rings the bride and groom in and out of church, and it's done to scare away any evil spirits that might be lurking to cause bad luck. Nowadays not everyone gets married in church, and not every church still has bells, so it's ok to go with lots of loud cheering, clapping and honking of car horns instead! Insider fact: the author of this blog used to ring church bells for weddings ;)

So there you have it, seven good luck charms each for the bride, groom, and ceremony. Yes, we know there are lots more wedding superstitions out there but if seven is a lucky number, why jinx it! Next week: "Race Day Fashion" Get ready for the Melbourne Cup and Spring Racing Carnival with these insider fashion hints for your race day dress and accessories.