Here Comes the Bride:  Weddings  in  America

Did you know that the bride usually stands on the groom’s left side so that his right arm is free to use his sword against other suitors or members of her family who might oppose the wedding?

Did you know that in ancient Rome after the wedding, a couple was showered with nuts, a sign of fertility?

Did you know that Juno, the goddess of heaven, gave orange blossoms to Jupiter on their wedding day, and because her month was June, it has always been thought to be good luck to marry in June?

A new exhibit at the Dacotah Prairie Museum was  entitled “Here Comes the Bride: Weddings in America”. The exhibit  address all these wedding traditions and more, exploring how they started, where they came from, and why we love them. While courtship and marriage have changed dramatically over the centuries, many of the elements in the wedding ceremony itself have remained the same.

The display illustrated how wedding fashions have evolved, how proposals of marriage have changed, and how the tradition of wedding rings has become the standard. The display looked at how showers of gifts and honeymoons have been an indispensable part of being wed for hundreds of years.

Wedding rings have been a tradition since the time of the early Egyptians who gave their intended a ring made of papyrus. Needless to say, the ring needed to be replaced frequently. The Romans were the ones to make a “permanent” symbol of married love. With the advent of iron making, the wedding ring offered by the Romans was of iron. And no one in history had more influence on wedding attire that Queen Victoria of England who broke from the tradition of wearing state robes of silver to wed. Victoria wore a white Satin gown and veil.

A wedding dress diorama was  included in “Here Comes the Bride” and it highlighted four lovely gowns from the Museum’s wedding collection along with vintage wedding announcements from over the years. A hands-on table  included a matching game from three wedding eras and a bridal veil and top hat to “try on for style”.

For information on past exhibits in the Lamont Gallery, please click here