Bridal Shower History

The Legend of the Bridal Shower

The Shower started as an alternative to the dowry. In the 1890's, friends and family put small gifts in parasols that were opened over the bride's head. Years ago, as the story goes, there lived a young Dutch girl who loved a young Dutch miller. The miller was so generous to the poor that he could never save a fortune for himself. Because the young man was not rich, the maiden's father disapproved of the match and refused to give her a dowry. But the village folks, and the young people, had desired their marriage. To make up the girl's dowry, each villager brought some treasured possession of his own until a chest had been filled with all household goods that a bride should bring to her new home. With these contributions, they 'showered' the maiden until even her father was won over. From that day to this, it has been the custom for the bride's friends and family to present her with gifts for her new life. Don't despair over a bad turn in the weather. An old Roman proverb states, "Rain falls in the lap of the happy bride."

Bridal Shower Customs

Bridal shower and wedding customs have been derived throughout the years in many countries from their ancestors. In China, couples prefer to marry on the half hour. Because when the clock is on the up swing, it symbolizes ascending fortune. One Filipino tradition includes winding strands of flowers, coins, or even diamonds in figure eights around the necks of the bride and groom. This process represents the conjugal bond. A multi-layered fruitcake topped by a small cedar tree is a wedding tradition in Bermuda. The tree is planted after the ceremony and is expected to grow with the love of the couple. It is considered good luck in England for a bride to be kissed by a chimney sweep on the way to her wedding. Sweeps are associated with hearth and home, and thus domestic bliss. During the middle ages, the whiteness of the cake was a sign not of the bride's purity, but of the sugar's. The whiter the icing, the more expensive the cake.

Bridal Showers | Bachelorette Parties

The next bridal shower game is to guess how well the bride knows the groom. The host will ask the groom about 20 questions. At the bridal party, every guest will take a wager on how many questions the bride will actually get right. The person who is the closest wins.
This is definitely one that will go down in the history of Guinness Book of World Records... Liu Yung-yang (103 years old) and his loving wife Yang Wan (102 years old) celebrated 85 years of wedded bliss! They were married in April of 1917 in Taiwan and have kept the fires burning since. Kudos!