IDoSugar posted an interesting topic on wedding traditions and their meaning today.  Here are a few highlights:

- “It wasn’t until Queen Victoria donned a white gown that this virginal shade became the wedding-dress color of choice.”

- “The tradition of fathers walking daughters down the aisle actually goes back to the days when dads used female offspring as bartering tools to pay off debts or make peace.”

- “In the past, newlyweds would just sneak off to a separate room after the ceremony to consummate their union, and the wedding guests would crowd outside the door. The bride tossing her bouquet started as a way to divert guests’ attention.”

- “The original reason people saved (the top of their wedding cake)…was so that it could be served at the first baby’s christening.”

- “Throwing rice…Initially, this tradition wasn’t limited to rice; guests could also opt for oats and corn.”

To read the full post, click here.

What are wedding announcements? Thank goodness for them since they help make those who you weren’t able to invite part of your wedding. There were so many uninvited guests who generously gave my husband and I gifts and I wanted to do something for them (besides sending them a thank you) and everyone else who couldn’t make it to the wedding or who weren’t invited.

Here’s the 411 on wedding announcements. They were traditionally sent by parents and usually up to a year after the wedding. Today couples also send them. Announcements are kind of like the announcements you see in the newspaper except you are sending it to specific family and friends. You shouldn’t expect a gift but of course if you receive one make sure you send a thank you.

They are perfect for us because we had a small wedding and it also works if you had a big wedding but still had a lot of people you couldn’t invite. They’re also great professionally to alert business associates and colleagues to the change in your last name.

Wedding Paper Divas has a wedding announcement I think I might send.

Sweet Matrimony

Although I haven’t gotten all my pictures yet, I did get a sneak preview. And because I wanted to give those who couldn’t make it a wedding picture, I was overjoyed that Wedding Paper Divas has a line of photo cards to select from. Since then, I’ve been playing around with all of their beautiful, modern photo cards to see which one I might send. The fun part of it is that you can customize any photo card, not just the thank you ones. The card that I ended up choosing, however, surprised me. Because the picture I chose had so much details on it, I found that a simple card worked best and decided on the Contemporary Solid Thank You Cards: Willow. Here is the result.