One of my favorite wedding traditions comes from an Old English poem advising a bride needs

“Something old, something new, Something borrowed, something blue, And a silver sixpence in her shoe.”

I’m not sure when or how this became a tradition but the poem is catchy and has an interesting history that I looked up:

“Each item in this poem represents a good-luck token for the bride. If she carries all of them on her wedding day, her marriage will be happy. “Something old” symbolizes continuity with the bride’s family and the past. “Something new” means optimism and hope for the bride’s new life ahead. “Something borrowed” is usually an item from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride. The borrowed item also reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family. Blue has been connected to weddings for centuries. In ancient Rome, brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity. Christianity has long dressed the Virgin Mary in blue, so purity was associated with the color. “

I like tradition and symbolism and wanted to share what my own pieces of good luck were !

Something Old

My something old was the most sentimental object to me. I had a piece of my mother’s wedding headpiece sewn into the lace of my veil. My hope is that my sisters will continue to use this veil on their wedding day and that it can be something we pass down to each other through the generations.

Something New

I’ve never been a shoe person so buying wedding shoes was a bit daunting for me. After some searching I found a pair from Menbur that reminded me of shoes Marie Antoinette would wear. I loved their vintage look. They were simple, not too high, and somehow are still white and perfect despite having lived through the entire wedding day !

Something Borrowed

My something borrowed came from my mother-in-law. A simple pair of diamond earrings that she loaned me on my wedding day. They were beautiful and it was an honor to wear them!

Something Blue 

Adding something blue to my wardrobe of the day wasn’t too hard since my wedding colors were navy blue, gold, and cream. I chose to add dark blue viburnum flowers in my wedding bouquet to honor the poem’s last line. And yes that is rosemary tucked into the bouquet – it smelled heavenly!

Photo Credit 

I have to make sure that I give credit to my fabulous wedding photographer Erin Hoyt who took all the photos for my wedding. If you need a photographer for any event — look no further than her. She is amazing!  Check out her website here as well as her blog post on our wedding day !