Traditions: Something Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

You all know the tradition. Well here is the back story behind it courtesy of Truly Wedding Blog: 

The rhyme we quote so well in our sing-song voices actually comes from an Old English Rhyme that originated in Victorian times, and it hasn’t changed too much since then. The poem originally went like this:

Something olde, something new,
Something borrowed, something blue,
And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

The big question though, is why exactly each of these items is so important on your wedding day? Well, it’s all about tradition. Even though the poem originated in Victorian times, it was customary for brides to follow its advice for hundreds of years before then. Each item is meant to bring the bride luck, in it’s own symbolic way:

• Something old symbolizes continuity with the bride’s family and the past.
• Something new means optimism and hope for the bride’s new life ahead.
• Something borrowed is actually supposed to be loaned from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride.
• Something blue goes back as far as ancient Rome, when brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity.
• The silver sixpence of course represents a wish for wealth and good fortune. Really, where would you put it other than your shoe?

As for the colorful item, blue has been connected to weddings for centuries. In ancient Rome, brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity. Christianity has long dressed the Virgin Mary in blue, so purity was associated with the color. Before the late 19th century, blue was a popular color for wedding gowns, as evidenced in proverbs like, "Marry in blue, lover be true."

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