Wedding Facts
ChooseYourWedding have compiled a list of fun wedding facts for you:
Random Wedding Facts
A Finnish bride traditionally went door-to-door collecting gifts in a pillowcase, accompanied by an older married man who represented long marriage.
A pearl engagement ring is said to be bad luck because its shape echoes that of a tear.
A Swedish bride puts a silver coin from her father and a gold coin from her mother in each shoe to ensure that she'll never do without.
About 70% of all brides sport the traditional diamond on the fourth finger of their left hand.
An old wives' tale: If the younger of two sisters marries first, the older sister must dance barefoot at the wedding or risk never landing a husband.
Ancient Greeks and Romans thought the veil protected the bride from evil spirits. Brides have worn veils ever since.
Aquamarine represents marital harmony and is said to ensure a long, happy marriage.
Brides carry or wear "something old" on their wedding day to symbolize continuity with the past.
Diamonds set in gold or silver became popular as betrothal rings among wealthy Venetians toward the end of the fifteenth century.
Engagement and wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was once thought that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart.
For good luck, Egyptian women pinch the bride on her wedding day
Hey, brides, tuck a sugar cube into your glove -- according to Greek culture, the sugar will sweeten your union.
In Asia, wearing robes with embroidered cranes symbolizes fidelity for the length of a marriage.
In Denmark, brides and grooms traditionally cross-dressed to confuse evil spirits!
In Egypt, the bride's family traditionally does all the cooking for a week after the wedding, so the couple can…relax.
In English tradition, Wednesday is considered the "best day" to marry, although Monday is for wealth and Tuesday is for health.
In Holland, a pine tree is planted outside the newlyweds' home as a symbol of fertility and luck.
In Japan, white was always the color of choice for bridal ensembles -- long before Queen Victoria popularized it in the Western world.
In Korea, brides don bright hues of red and yellow to take their vows.
In South Africa, the parents of both bride and groom traditionally carried fire from their hearths to light a new fire in the newlyweds' hearth.
In the symbolic language of jewels, a sapphire in a wedding ring means marital happiness.
Legend says single women will dream of their future husbands if they sleep with a slice of groom's cake under their pillows.
Middle Eastern brides paint henna on their hands and feet to protect themselves from the evil eye
Moroccan women take a milk bath to purify themselves before their wedding ceremony.
On average, 7,000 couples marry each day in the United States
On her wedding day, Grace Kelly wore a dress with a bodice made from beautiful 125-year-old lace.
One of history's earliest engagement rings was given to Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII. She was two years old at the time.
Peas are thrown at Czech newlyweds instead of rice
Rain on your wedding day is actually considered good luck, according to Hindu tradition!
Saturday is the unluckiest wedding day, according to English folklore. Funny - it's the most popular day of the week to marry!
Seventeen tons of gold are made into wedding rings each year in the United States!
Snake rings dotted with ruby eyes were popular wedding bands in Victorian England - the coils winding into a circle symbolized eternity.
Stag parties were first held by ancient Spartan soldiers, who kissed their bachelor days goodbye with a raucous party.
The "something blue" in a bridal ensemble symbolizes purity, fidelity, and love.
The bride stands to the groom's left during a Christian ceremony, because in bygone days the groom needed his right hand free to fight off other suitors.
The Catholic tradition of "posting the banns" to announce a marriage originated as a way to ensure the bride and groom were not related.
The custom of tiered cakes emerged from a game where the bride and groom attempted to kiss over an ever-higher cake without knocking it over.
The English believe a spider found in a wedding dress means good luck.
The groom carries the bride across the threshold to bravely protect her from evil spirits lurking below.
The Roman goddess Juno rules over marriage, the hearth, and childbirth, hence the popularity of June weddings.
The tradition of a wedding cake comes from ancient Rome, where revelers broke a loaf of bread over a bride's head for fertility's sake.
Tie the knot comes from Roman times, when the bride wore a girdle tied in knots that the groom later untied.
Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve are the two busiest "marriage" days in Las Vegas
Celebrity Wedding Facts
A former Baptist minister, Glynn Scotty Wolfe is famous for taking 28 brides and divorcing 27 of them.
Actor Billy Bob Thornton is famous for marrying five times
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas spent £500 per guest just for the food at their wedding.
Jackie Kennedy's bridesmaids were far from frumpy. She chose pink silk faille and red satin gowns created by African-American designer Ann Lowe
Jennifer Lopez marriage to Chris Judd lasted just 6 months
Liz Taylor is famous for having eight marriages to her name
One of the youngest famous celebrity marriages was Leanne Rimes to Dean Sheremet, as Leanne was only 19 when she accepted the proposal.
Priscilla Presley's engagement ring was a staggering 3 1/2-carat rock surrounded by a detachable row of smaller diamonds.
Stan Laurel is famous for taking seven brides
The largest wedding attendance was a Jewish wedding in Jerusalem in 1993 where 30,000 people attended.
The longest ever engagement was between Octavio Guillen and Adriana Martinez who were engaged for 67 years.
The longest ever recorded marriage was Sir Temulji Nairman and his wife Lady Nariman, who were married at the age of five. The marriage lasted for 86 years.
The longest marriage in Britain was between James Burgess and his wife Sarah Ann, their marriage lasted 82 years. And Percy and Florence Arrowsmith from Hereford have just made it into the Guinness Book of Records for being married for 80 years.
The longest wedding dress train was found in Germany, it measured over 515 feet
The most expensive celebrity engagement ring was that of Liza Minelli's, which was a tear dropped 3.5 carat diamond ring from David Gest.
The most expensive wedding was the one held in a purpose-built stadium in Dubai for a Shiek's son. The wedding cost over £22 million.
The most money spent for a wedding singer was the wedding of Multimillionaire Peter Shalson and wife Pauline who paid £2 million pounds to get Elton John to sing a song at their wedding.
The most under dressed celebrity to walk down the aisle was Britney Spears who wore ripped jeans and a baseball cap to her big day.
The oldest bride ever to get married was Minnie Munro from Australia who married at 102 years of age; she married a man of the age of 82 years.
The shortest well known celebrity marriage was Britney Spears marriage to Jason Alexander...the wedding lasted just 56 hours
Zsa Zsa Gabor is famous for having nine husbands at different times
Royal Wedding Facts
Princess Elizabeth and Philip first met when they attended the wedding of Philip's cousin
Queen Victoria started the Western world's white wedding dress trend in 1840 -- before then, brides simply wore their best dress.
Queen Victoria's wedding cake weighed a whopping 300 pounds.
The engagement between Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten RN was announced on the 9 July 1947. Philip was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. He joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and after the war.
The fabric for the Queen's dress was woven at Winterthur Silks Limited
The film of the Queen's wedding was watched by many thousands of people at cinemas across the country.
The flowers decorating the tables at the Queen's wedding were pink and white carnations.
The grave of the Unknown Warrior was the only stone that was not covered by the special carpet in the Abbey.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were married in Westminster Abbey on 20 November.
The Queen is the first British monarch to have celebrated a diamond wedding anniversary
The Queen was the 10th member of the Royal Family to be married in the Abbey. The first Royal wedding to take place in the Abbey was when King Henry I married Princess Matilda of Scotland on 11 November.
The Queen's bridal veil was made of tulle and held by a tiara of diamonds. This tiara was made for Queen Mary in 1919. It was made from re-used diamonds taken from a necklace/tiara purchased by Queen Victoria from Collingwood and Co and a wedding present for Queen Mary in 1893.
The Queen's cake was nine feet high in four tiers.
The Queen's official wedding cake was made by McVities and Price. Eleven other cakes were given as presents. With post-war food rationing still in place ingredients were sent as wedding presents from overseas.
The Queen's wedding dress was designed by Sir Norman Hartnell
The Queen's wedding ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold which came from the Clogau St David's mine.
