Weddingbee Blog

I’ve never been the type of girl who’s clung much to tradition. Growing up, basically as a W.A.S.P. (who is now on Weddingbee - hehe), I didn’t have a lot of traditional stuff pressed upon me so, through most of the wedding planning so far, I haven’t felt like there’s been much that I’ve needed to take into consideration and I’ve just kind of done my own thing.

There was no pressure from family to have a certain kind of ceremony or a certain kind of meal or a certain kind of dress, so I didn’t feel any guilt about choosing to do a civil ceremony, a buffet dinner with an Ewok village cake or a dress made in a design of my choosing (still working on that!). However, sometimes reading about some of the stuff the other Bees are doing, I have to admit I’ve been a little envious. They’re so connected to their backgrounds and their heritage and I have had so much of that white washed out of me that it sometimes makes me a little sad to be so removed from mine.

So, with that mind, I picked a couple of things I wanted to include from my background (and Mr. Hummingbird’s) to spice things up. This is not to say I’m turning my wedding into a full Scottish affair complete with haggis, bagpipes and kilt wearing or anything, but I think I’m including a couple of things that are at least a little acknowledgement of where we both came from.

1) A sixpence - Most people know the British rhyme, “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed Something Blue” but what a lot don’t know is that the next line is “And a Sixpence for her shoe.” The general idea behind this is that, by putting a little money into the bride’s shoe, she is being sent into a happy, lucky and prosperous union with her husband. As my grandmother’s family is originally from England, I thought this might be a nice little nod to her (plus who doesn’t want a little extra luck?)

2) A Luckenbooth brooch - A traditional Scottish wedding brooch (Mr. Hummingbird and I are both Scottish), this item used to be made in the jewellery quarter around St. Giles Cathedral. With a design similar to that of a Claddagh ring (two hands holding a heart with a crown on top, meaning “let love and friendship reign”), this brooch was given on the wedding day and then subsequently pinned to the shawl of the couple’s first baby to ward off evil spirits. I am still looking for this, but provided I find one, I am hoping to pin it to my bouquet.

3) Mr. Hummingbird’s Mother’s Cardamom bread - I mentioned this in my last entry about our food and am really excited to include this at the wedding. As part of Mr. Hummingbird’s family is Finnish, in addition to the vodka we plan on serving at the reception (Finland is actually considered part of the Vodka Belt now), Mr. Hummingbird’s mother kindly offered to make this traditional bread for our buffet. Known as “Pulla,” it is a braided loaf flavoured with cardamom and sprinkled with sugar to give it a slightly sweet taste. When warmed and buttered, it tastes perfect with coffee, something we think will be perfect in contrast to our mouthwateringly rich chocolate cake.

(Sarah - re: your comment - a recipe can be found here)

They’re pretty simple things, but I think it’s nice to be able to honour at least some of our past while moving into the future together.

Anyway, ladies, what about you? What traditions are you encorporating into your big day?