There are many customs inherent in a traditional Italian wedding. All Italian weddings were held in churches, but none could take place during the period of Lent or Advent. In the same way, there were no Italian weddings held in May because that is the month when the worship of the Virgin Mary always took precedence. August is considered a bad luck month to get married for Italians because it is said to bring misfortune and the prospect of illness. Every other month is considered permissible for an Italian wedding to be held in. In the Italian tradition, the great majority of weddings were held on Sunday because it was viewed as a favorable day for nuptials.
When the happy day arrived, a large bowed ribbon was draped carefully across the top of the doorway of the church. This served to let passersby know that a wedding was about to commence. It is interesting to note that while most Italian brides choose to wear a white wedding dress today, in days past the color green was worn instead as it was symbolic of fertility and, therefore, was believed to bring good fortune to the soon-to-be-wed couple.
When an Italian groom gets married he always has a piece of iron in the pocket of his suit. The iron was believed to ward off the evil eye during the wedding ceremony. If there were any jealousy or envious feelings in the church during the wedding ceremony, then it was believed that this could disrupt his happiness. The iron was supposed to counteract that.
Most modern brides would be very upset at the prospect of their veils getting torn during the wedding ceremony or at the reception. This was not the case for an Italian bride. In fact in the Italian tradition, tearing the bridal veil is considered to bring good luck to the happy couple!
As a traditional Italian wedding comes to a close, the couple was provided a vase or wine glass to break. Once this was done, the broken pieces were then gathered up and counted. It was thought that however many pieces were there represented the anticipated number of years that the couple would be happily married.
In Italy, confetti is viewed as a sign of good fortune for future happiness. That is why guests at an Italian wedding always threw either paper confetti or rice at the newlyweds as they left the church.
