And a Sixpence in Her Shoe

I mentioned in a recent post that I am intrigued about the original meaning behind popular wedding traditions. I am working on an article about this and I’ll post the finished article soon but in the meantime I want to talk about some traditions that didn’t make it into my article.



First up is “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue.”
I had thought that this saying, which is an ancient Hebrew tradition, was all for good luck but apparently each part means something different. The old and new items are supposed to signify the transition of the bride from a single woman to a married one. The borrowed piece is meant to symbolize the community aspect of the wedding through her family and friends’ involvement. Lastly the blue item is meant to represent purity and faithfulness.

I interviewed Tracy Butler, 26, from Annapolis, MD about her upcoming wedding. Tracy is getting married in 18 months to her fiancé Jon and she plans to follow this tradition. She is going to wear her grandmother’s ring which will represent something old and something borrowed. Her dress will be her something new and she is going to wear blue shoes for something blue.

I really like the idea of doing something unexpected with the blue part. Blue shoes are a cute idea and I also like the idea of having a blue clutch, blue flowers or even blue nail polish!

My grandmother, who was from England, always used to add “and a silver sixpence in her shoe” to this tradition. The sixpence is for luck and some British brides include it as well. I am not sure that they actually put it in their shoe as I can’t imagine that would very comfortable!

Do you like this tradition? Did or will you follow it? I’ll be posting more about wedding traditions over the next few days.