“I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds, and bowers: / Of April, May, of June, and July flowers. / I sing of maypoles, wassails, wakes, / Of bridegrooms, brides, and of their bridal cakes.” Robert Herrick in 1648.
Why June?
Obviously the warm weather plays a big part in a couples’ decision of a June wedding. But in the past, it may have had something to do with the fact that Juno was the goddess of marriage in ancient Rome. June’s flower is the rose, and the rose is known as the flower of love. There is another very old reason why so many opted for a June wedding throughout the centuries. It was considered a lucky month for marriage because the first child would arrive the following March. March was the first month of the new year in the old calendar, and it was good fortune to have a baby arrive then.
There are some interesting superstitions associated with weddings, whether they take place in June or not. From the book Kissing by Tomima Edmarkthat was published in 1991 by Fireside Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, was this: “If a bride doesn’t cry when the groom kisses her, their marriage will be unhappy.” Fortunately, I have seen very few brides with dry eyes.
And if she walks a little funny, it may be because she has a penny in one of her shoes. That’s a tradition that can be traced across the sea. One woman took the custom to the extreme, though. Some years back, she gave 33-hundred pennies to the store in Minnesota to pay for her $33.00 white brocade-over-satin bridal shoes. It’s an old world custom that has been in her family for years. As soon as she was engaged, her family began sending her pennies, because they believe it foretells good luck. They do have reason to believe the superstition. At the time I heard of this, her parents had been happily married for 33 years. So start saving those pennies.
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Don Jackson
