We have all heard the little saying… “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” but did you know the original ending was “and a silver sixpence for your shoe?” Many brides consider following this little wedding tradition, so we thought we would address the meaning behind it.
“Something old…”
The purpose of this is to show the importance of the bride’s bond to and love for her family. Many times, a mother, grandmother, or aunt, give the bride a piece of jewelry or a piece of an old wedding dress as a token to her family tree. This allows the bride to continue to pass it down for generations to come.
“Something new…”
This is a look into the future for the bride, eyes on the unknown and exciting new things to come! On the wedding day, the bride is entering a new era and starting her own life full of new traditions. This symbolizes the couple's new union for years to come. This can be represented by many different things: dress, flowers, jewelry, or ring. This is definitely the easiest tradition to follow.
“Something borrowed…”
For something borrowed, the idea is that a friend of the bride who is happily married lends the bride something for her wedding day. This symbolizes that the bride is “borrowing” some of the happily married couples happiness, joy, luck, and blessings. It is also a reminder of that friend on the wedding day.
“Something blue…”
The color blue symbolizes faithfulness, purity, and loyalty- all things you desire for your relationship on your wedding day. In ancient times, brides would wear blue bands on the borders of their attire to symbolize this. Currently, it is more of a tradition to find the hint of blue in little things on their wedding day: shoes, jewelry, nails, garter, or even blue script on the inside of clothing, shoes or handkerchiefs. It is a subtle, but meaningful, touch.
“A silver sixpence for your shoe…”
This is the part of the phrase most people do not say and if they do know of it, they may not know what it means. Right before the bride’s walk down the aisle, her father would place a silver coin in her shoe, wishing her love, prosperity and happiness in her marriage. This is a much harder tradition to follow, because the sixpence has been taken out of circulation. More recently, the Royal Mint has released a vintage silver sixpence for brides to make this tradition part of their day.
These traditions are heartfelt, thoughtful, and can be very meaningful on your wedding day. It can be a sentimental way to include your family and friends and can be something you can pass on to future generations, as well.
