One of my lovely friends Sarah, from college, is getting married. Sarah and her very cute fiance are trying to win a wedding through Crate&Barrel (go vote for them here! Their story is totally adorable). So, this morning while voting for them, I had weddings on my mind. I noticed that her fiance's last name started with a P, and Sarah's with a G, so her initials would be changing when they married (assuming she takes his name). I remember once my mother said to me, "never marry a man with the same last initial as yours...it's bad luck to not change your initials!" 
At the time I didn't think much of it, because my parents both had the same last initial (D) and were in the process of getting divorced (also starts with a D), so I thought it was just something she was saying. However, I decided this morning to look it up and see if my mother was making things up, or this was an actual superstition. (My parents were my age when they got married. See how excited they are to be married? Enthralling.)
Well, according to Brideandgroom.com, "It was also believed to be bad luck to marry someone who shared the same last initial." So perhaps mommy dearest wasn't making this up? Has anyone ever heard of this superstition/tradition before? I think it had something to do with starting a new life (and in older days, being under the "ownership" of a husband instead of a father...isn't being a woman simply lovely? ha!) and becoming a new person, with new initials. I'm just excited for getting married someday to get all new tote bags with new initials...is that wrong of me to say?
Some other odd and interesting traditions I came across:
- On the bridal shower: "Originally intended to strengthen friendships between the bride and her female friends, in the 1890's, it evolved into an occasion for friends to present the bride-to be with small gifts. In fact, the gifts were placed in a parasol, which was opened above the bride's head, allowing the gifts to "shower" down upon her." Ahhh, now everything makes sense!
- On the wedding attendants/party: "This tradition stems from the Anglo-Saxon tradition of a groom using 'Brides knights' to ensure that the bride got to the wedding and got to his home after the ceremony without being attacked and the dowry stolen. As weddings became more elaborate affairs, the use of bridesmaids became more common. They were responsible for helping the bride get dressed and to help decorate for the ceremony."
- Something Old, New, Borrowed, Blue: "A Victorian rhyme that recognizes the importance of old friends, new beginnings, happiness, fidelity, and prosperity. "Old" stands for old friends; "new" represents the beginning of a new family; carrying something "borrowed" from a happily married friend represent borrowed happiness, the carrying of something "blue" represents purity and modesty. The sixpence in the shoe was worn to bring prosperity to the couple."
i only plan to change my name if it sounds better with my first name than my current last name. otherwise i'll legally hyphenate but socially just keep the old name.
ReplyDeleteis that shallow? nah..