Ring around the ...
If you've ever wondered why Americans put the wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand, it's because of an ancient Greek belief that a vein in this finger ran directly to the heart. And if you've ever groaned at having to buy both an engagement ring and a wedding ring, you can blame Pope Innocent III, who instituted a waiting period between engagement and marriage in the 13th century and also insisted that a ring be used in the wedding ceremony. Before that, rings were used to seal an engagement only (as well as other important agreements).

You may exchange souls with the bride
Yes, this is what the big wedding kiss symbolizes--the swapping of souls between the bride and groom. Even earlier than this Christian belief, the Romans used a kiss to seal a contract. The kiss was considered legally binding. I don't know about you, but I'm glad that a handshake suffices today.

What's more, a bride marrying in the Church of England had to kiss the minister before she smooched the groom. I would really love to go to a wedding where the minister said, "Now, I may kiss the bride."

Where's the toast?
We call it a "toast" when we drink to someone because of an old French custom in which a piece of bread was put in the bottom of the wine cup--for flavor.

Partygoers would drink and pass the cup; when it reached the person being toasted, he would drain it--crouton and all. It sounds pretty unhygienic. But think of how much more excitement a crunchy beverage would bring to the traditional wedding toast. I'd drink to that.

Toss me a garter
Many things are thrown through the air at weddings: rice (for fertility), bouquets (for luck and protection), and garters (also for luck). The garter is my favorite.  Apparently, in the good old days, before wedding dresses cost as much as small cars, people used to rip off chunks of the dress for good luck.  In long-ago England, in a slightly related custom, friends of the groom would rip off their socks and throw them; the first to hit the groom's nose would be the next to be married.

Why Left?
Traditionally, the bride stands on the left, the groom on the right. (Although the Jewish wedding tradition reverses this.) Weddings used to be a lot more like the ones you watch on daytime TV, with dastardly ex-suitors and other thugs sometimes rushing the altar. And of course, some wedding crashers were heroes, just trying to rescue a captured bride. Whatever the reason for the interference, the groom needed to keep his right hand free so he could grab his sword, thus the bride stood clear and to the left. I have no idea what happened when the groom was left-handed.

Unity Candle
Probably the most familiar religious wedding traditions to Americans are the Roman Catholic and Protestant ones. The lighting of the unity candle--where two symbolic flames become one--is a particularly familiar image. This is a really nice tradition. But I can say from experience that it is stressful bending over an open flame when you're wearing a veil.

Hindu
In some Hindu wedding ceremonies, the groom is responsible for the bride's clothing. But instead of the familiar white gown, Hindu brides wear a sari. When the bride arrives at the ceremony, she wears clothing from her parents; when all is done, she is dressed in clothing her husband has provided.

Islamic
It's an old Islamic custom, not often practiced today, to paint the hands of the bride and groom with henna the night before the wedding. Not only does this look beautiful, but it also helps the bride and groom get to know each other. There are a few traditions here. One is that a dark hand design (called menhdi, by the way) signified the couple would have a strong bond. And if the groom couldn't find his name written into the design on the bride's hand, it was believed that the bride would wear the proverbial pants in the relationship.

Jewish
 Jewish tradition of stomping on a glass wrapped in cloth symbolizes the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, among other hardships endured by the Jewish people. Destroying a glass during an otherwise happy ceremony also symbolizes the mix of joy and sorrow in life.

Korea
Two Korean wedding traditions involve birds that mate for life: ducks and geese.  Korean grooms used to travel to the homes of their brides on the back of a white pony, bearing a goose, which symbolizes fidelity. Nowadays, they use symbolic wooden geese. In another tradition, a pair of wooden ducks, one symbolizing the bride and the other the groom, can indicate whether couples are happy or at odds. After the wedding each spouse places one of the ducks somewhere in their house. If the ducks face nose to nose, the couple is getting along. If they are tail to tail, the couple is believed to be fighting.

Scotland
While the Swedes make the walk down the aisle more uncomfortable for the bride, who often wears coins in each shoe, the Scottish have a tradition that sounds a lot more pleasant--at least for the bride. The night before the wedding, everyone gathers 'round to wash her feet. The point of this, in case you're wondering, is not to create a home spa feeling. Rather, it symbolizes sending the couple off on a fresh path together.

Africa
In some parts of Africa, a man asks permission to marry a woman, and if the family agrees, he presents her with a little money and a kola nut. The bride opens the nut, shares it with the groom, and sends a piece via messenger to other families to announce the engagement. After the wedding ceremony, guests shower the couple with corn kernels, symbolizing fertility.

Vikings
In Viking times weddings were a little bit like an auction, only everyone had to pay. The groom approached the bride's father or guardian and made an offer for her. The groom's family paid this "bride price," and the bride's family coughed up a dowry, thus establishing a nest egg. During the ceremony, the money was handed over, and a banquet would follow.  The Vikings' modern-day descendants are more likely to tuck money in the bride's shoe so that she'll never do without--silver in the left (from dad), and gold in the right (from mom). Another Swedish tradition is that the bride's shoes remain unfastened, to symbolize easy childbirth in the future.

Cajun
It's a Cajun tradition for older unmarried brothers and sisters of the bride or groom to dance with a broom at the wedding reception--thus mocking their single status.  Older siblings also take center stage--if you can call it that--in a tradition called the Hog's Trough Dance. For good luck, the siblings have to dance in an empty hog's trough until it breaks.