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Ancient Roman fashion set the standard for present day Italian culture, traditions and customs in weddings and ancient Roman wedding etiquette was not so very different from bridal etiquette today.
If you're planning an Italian-themed wedding or getting married in Italy and want to include some ancient Italian culture in your plans, this page will tell you how the style of women in ancient Rome can add sophistication to your own elegant wedding.
Bridal etiquette : the bride's wedding day preparations.
Most rituals women in ancient Rome had to go through on their wedding morning reflected everyone's expectations that she would be pure, dutiful and obedient.
According to ancient Italian engagement culture and traditions once the betrothal formalities were over, the Roman bride-to-be never had opportunity for partying. The accepted custom for her instead was some pampering on the morning of her wedding.
So right at the start of the day, ancient bridal etiquette was to take a fragranced bath in her parents' home attended by her mother and female friends, to wash away evil influences and leave her smelling wholesome - and no doubt to share in gossip and the excitement of the approaching ceremony.
Then came the hair.
The bride and ancient Roman hairstyles.
Sound familiar?
Many modern brides still choose the flower garland for younger bridesmaids. Just as in ancient Roman weddings, it's a symbol of innocence and purity.
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The wedding veil, another symbol of the bride's submission to her husband, was always flame coloured and shrouded the bride from head to foot.
Sources vary as to whether it would cover the bride's face until the moment of marriage : there is some evidence that part of ancient Italian culture traditions was that the veil did cover the face in order to act as a deterrent to evil spirits who would be unable to enter the bride through the shroud of a muslin veil.
Ancient Roman fashion : the wedding dress.
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| Photo courtesy of Mary Harrsch |
The girdle was vital to bridal etiquette. It was tied by the bride's mother on her wedding morning as a sign to the world of the bride's purity, using the 'knot of Hercules' - Hercules being the guardian of married life - and could only be undone by her new husband on the wedding night.
It is likely that the origins of the contemporary saying "tying the knot" comes directly from this Roman tradition.
Ancient Roman fashion : bridal accessories.
Accessories, with the exception of her bouquet, do not seem to have been too important to brides in ancient Rome.
Historical evidence suggests that her shoes, generally simple sandals, were dyed to match the veil. And although jewelry in ancient Rome could be quite elaborate, bridal etiquette at ancient Roman weddings dictated that the bride wore no adornments apart from her engagement ring. To do so was seen as detracting from the importance of the ring.
To this day, Italian brides have tended to maintain that tradition, or at least not to wear extravagant jewelry.
The bride's look was completed with a bouquet of herbs which, like her head-dress, she would have picked herself. Although some think the need to wear flowers and carry herbs was an attempt to smother the smell of everyday ancient Roman life, it is far more likely that they were chosen to represent fidelity and fertility.
The bouquet might include marjoram symbolizing love, honour and joy; rosemary for fidelity and lavender for devotion; sage for a long life; myrtle for fertility and purity.
Translating ancient Roman fashion into Italian culture traditions of today.
So - what should you be thinking about if you want to use some of the traditions of ancient Roman bridal etiquette in your own ceremony?
Here are our suggestions :
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| A modern take on ancient Roman wedding dresses. Courtesy of Maggie Sotero. |
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Ancient Roman weddings : the rest of the story.
Ancient Roman fashion for brides to our home page.
