Wedding Traditions: Silver Sixpence In Her Shoe
A wedding has many traditions, some that span hundreds of years. Each culture and religion will have its own traditions leading up to the wedding, on the day and after the wedding.
If you are from the United Kingdom you may have heard of the tradition of the bride having a silver sixpence in her shoe. But where did this tradition of a silver sixpence wedding come from?
Where did the bride placing a silver six pence in her shoe originate?
It is likely you have heard of the rhyme ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’. When reciting this rhyme most forget the final part- ‘and a silver sixpence in her shoe’.
What do each of them mean?
Something Old – This is usually a family heirloom passed down to the bride for her wedding day and then to keep beyond it. Jewellery is a classic example. The something old symbolises the taking of their old life into the new life they will live together as newly-weds.
Something New – This is to symbolise the new life the couple are planning to spend together. Often something new is symbolised by the exchanging of a wedding ring.
Something Borrowed – This is something borrowed from another, happy wedded couple. The borrowing of an item is meant to bring good luck to the couple and happy years to come.
Something Blue – By having something blue it symbolises love, purity and fidelity. Everything a bride traditional represented.
And for the lucky silver sixpence…
A Silver sixpence in her shoe is something traditionally the father will gift to the bride on her wedding day. It is custom for the father to slip the silver sixpence into the bride’s heel before she is walked down the aisle.
So what is a silver sixpence wedding? It is one full of luck and prosperity. The sixpence stands as a symbol of the fathers wishes towards her and her new partner to wish them love, happiness and prosperity.
Do other countries have a lucky sixpence tradition for the bride’s shoe?
As well as in Great Britain, other countries follow the tradition at their own interpretation.
In Sweden, before the wedding, the mother of the bride gives her daughter a gold coin that is then put into her right shoe. Differently from Great Britain’s tradition, this tradition signifies wealth for the bride and her husband in their marriage.
In Spain and Latin America, the groom will give his bride a coin once the rings have been blessed. This coin symbolises his willingness to share all that he has currently and, in their future, together. This coin will be kept as a family keepsake and will be passed down to the first-born son to give to his bride one day.
The tradition can also be found in Poland and Lithuania. It seems around the world a coin can symbolise a lot more than simply a form of money.