The history of the bridesmaid started over a thousand years
ago in the UK. Anglo Saxons started a tradition of having a group of young
women who were virgins to accompany the bride. These girls became known as the
‘brides’ women’ and the first documented evidence of this is around 1066.
Whilst the start of a very integral part of the modern
wedding ceremony, it was a different approach when it all first started. The
bridesmaids would lead the groom to the location of the ceremony, and there
would also be a group of men called the ‘groomsmen’ who led the bride, because
the role of the groomsmen was to fight off any rival who came to look at the
bride. The role of the best man was that of a man who would lead these men in
the fight.
However, further afield than the UK are the traditions of
Roman law many hundreds of years before. At a Roman wedding, there had to be a
total of 10 witnesses. Five had to be men, and five were women. This law was
passed to ward off evil spirits that were thought to exist to stop any happy
event. The bridesmaids wore similar outfits to the bride, and the groomsmen
wore the same as the groom. A ploy to confuse Satan when he arrived as he would
not know who was about to get married. There was also the fear that the devil
would take away the virgin bride, so having many women dressed the same would
outwit him and so he would have to leave empty handed, not knowing who to
choose.
There are a number of other traditions and superstitions
with regards to the role of the bridesmaid. When the bride throws the bouquet,
only a bridesmaid was originally allowed to be the one who caught it as she
would be predicted to be the next to marry.
Part of the wedding preparations are the practiced ceremonies
that take place just before the big day. Preparations were so the bridesmaid
could ensure she would not stumble as she walked down the aisle, as if this
happened on the day of the marriage, it would appear as incredibly bad luck and
that she would never find true love.
