1420 Elizabethan ‘‘bedding ceremony” followed with the parents, priest, bridesmaids and groomsmen escorting to the married couple to bed. Everyone waited until the bride’s stocking was taken off and then were the young couple alone. The next morning the bed sheet was shown to all. The wedding bedding ceremony emerged gradually in early medieval Europe, reached its height between the 12th and 15th centuries, and functioned as a public guarantee that a marriage—especially among elites—was biologically, legally, and socially complete.
1430. An aristocratic wedding couple who are dressed in furs and fine fabrics with the traditional head gear. The bride’s conical hat has a full length veil. She wears a gold necklace.
1430. Bards (poets), minstrels (musicians), and skalds (story tellers) were hired to tell stories through spoken word and music. The stories praised the couple’s lineage, past family heroes, ideals of loyalty and honour, romance, virtue, and destiny.
Hiring a troupe of wandering or local entertainers was especially common among nobility and at village celebrations.
This tradition eventually led to the current and very similar wedding roles of the wedding singer, poems read on wedding cards and the best man’s speech.
A minstrel playing a stringed instrument and carrying a wind instrument suspended from his belt.
1470. The herb boy and flower girl led the wedding procession into the church to fragrance the air. Fresh scented flowers and herbs were harvested on the day of the wedding. it was common to spread herbs, petals, and rushes on the ground ahead of the bride and groom.
Fragrance: Churches and halls could smell… earthy. Herbs sweetened the air.
Hygiene: Aromatic plants were believed to ward off disease.
Symbolism: Each plant carried meaning—love, fidelity, fertility.
Practicality: Fresh strewing herbs softened hard stone or dirt floors.
Incense was used in the Church of England during the 16th century, particularly in the first half before Puritan influence strengthened. While not exclusively a wedding tradition, it was employed in church rituals, including nuptial masses, for both ceremonial honoring and practical fumigation to cover unpleasant odours of any unwashed wedding guests.
1470. Cupid was a sign of love which was morally tied to marriage. At its core, a Cupid stands for:
Romantic love – especially the kind that “strikes” suddenly
Desire and passion – emotional or physical attraction
Fate in love – the idea that love isn’t always a choice
Playfulness – love as something mischievous and unpredictable
Cupid brings in the human, emotional spark:
1470. When cherubs appear in a marriage setting, they represent something deeply spiritual rather than romantic:
- God’s blessing on the union
- Marriage as sacred and witnessed by heaven
- Protection over the couple and their future
- Love that is enduring, faithful, and eternal
In a church context, they quietly say:“This marriage is more than a feeling—it is a covenant.”