By JIM COUPE

Life on this edge of the new millennium is so complicated, and weddings are certainly no exception. But, if we trace the routes of marriage back a few hundred years, we would see a far more simple way to be wed.

Theodora & Thomas Hartman of Queens, June 1, 1968 Photo by Ray Hellriegel

In the times of Kings and Queens, Knights and Knaves, if a man saw a woman whom he wished for his bride, he merely kidnapped her from her village. Many basic wedding traditions originated (believe it or not) from this very way of marriage. The man would acquire the aid of his best friend (best man) to fight off any family so as to successfully steal away the girl. Once captured, he would have the woman stand on his left side because predominately he would have been right handed, and at the time his right hand would be wielding some sort of weapon to fend off his bride’s angry family and friends. And thus, the traditional best man took form, and, the reason why the bride stands on the left and the groom on the right.

If we travel in time back even centuries further, back to the days of the Ancients, we can find the origins of many more superstitions and traditions. For instance, why, you wonder, does a bride need to have bridesmaids?

Bridesmaids are very important to the welfare of the Bride! If you were to eliminate bridesmaids, then who would confuse the evil spirits? That’s right, it was thought by the Ancient Egyptians that when a couple were to wed, evil spirits would come to ruin the good mood and atmosphere of the event with trickery and black magic. The bridesmaids main function were to dress as extravagant as the bride to confuse the evil spirits. This is not all they did, however, as if giving the nasties multiple targets to confuse them wasn’t enough, the bride would carry strong smelling herbs and flowers which were also believed to ward away evil. The strong smelling herbs have since been replaced by sweet smelling flowers, but the intent is one in the same, and thus, we have our bride’s bouquet of flowers.

A few other common parts of the wedding originating with the Egyptians. The wedding cake first started as a cake of wheat or barley and it was broken over the bride’s head to signify fertility. As time progressed, the "headache cake," as I like to call it, evolved into a towering, many tiered cake, much like we have today. It was good luck if the bride and groom could kiss while leaning over the cake without knocking it over. It wasn’t until King Edward II that the cake actually become edible. During his reign was the cake first (and since) iced white and eaten.

The reason the veil was placed over the Bride’s face started with the Romans who were very fond of arranged marriages. The Bride wore the veil so that the husband-to-be couldn’t see her face, and back out of the marriage because he thought her to be too ugly!

The Romans, also were the ones to start wearing the wedding band on the third finger because they believed that the vein in your third finger in your left hand connected directly to the heart, the center of all love. It was also worn there to symbolize the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The left hand was used because it is the right hand which generally does all the work, and gets the dirtiest, leaving the left hand virtually clean, and therefore a better, and more sacred spot for a wedding band.

• Something Old: This refers to the brides previous way of living, before the wedding. It is suppose to symbolize the transition into her new life, whilst not forgetting the one she had.

• Something New: This is the second part of the transition. It signifies the future ahead and all the prosperity it shall bring.

• Something Borrowed: This item tends to be borrowed from another previously wed bride. You borrow it so that you may have all the luck and joy that the bride who first wore it has now in her marriage.

• Something Blue: Before Queen Victoria set the standard for marrying in white, blue was the common color to be wed in. Blue, much before white (in fact during biblical times) was the colour of purity, and thus, women would marry gowned in it. The artifact of blue is merely a testament to the original colour of purity.

Finally, throwing rice at the Bride and Groom after the ceremony was begun by Pagans many centuries ago because the grain was thought to "shower the Bride with fertility" so as to make her bear children easier. And tying shoes to the back of the car? Not just a silly prank! The Egyptians would often trade sandals when ownership of something was passed to another, so when ownership of a man’s daughter was passed to her new husband, the father would give her sandals to the groom.