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There is not a single part of a bride’s wedding ensemble that does not have
significance, tradition, or style associated with it. From the top of your head
to the tip of your toes, everything matters. This is certainly true of
your shoes.
The bride's shoes have been a source of fashion, and discomfort,
throughout history. Historically, in Anglo-Saxon or European weddings, the bride
— considered a cherished piece of property — was handed down from the father to
her new husband. To signify this passage of ownership and responsibility, the
father gave the bridegroom one of the bride's old shoes. Variations on this
tradition included the bridegroom keeping his foot on the bridal shoe throughout
the marriage ceremony or tapping the bride’s forehead with one of her shoes (One
can only imagine what the modern bride would do with that shoe). On a
more positive note, a penny or sixpence was often placed in the left bridal shoe
to assure a happy and wealthy marriage. It may surprise you to learn that the
old adage "something old, something new…" originally ended with the line "a
silver sixpence in her shoe."
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