I attended a family wedding over the weekend and at the end of the ceremony the groom (much taller) than the bride picked the bride up carried her down the aisle after they were pronounced “husband and wife”.  It was very sweet and  I for one thought…”I wish someone could carry me that far”.   It  was then that I thought to myself.  What is the tradition and symbolism of the groom carrying the bride over the threshold?  I found myself at a loss as I didn’t know the answer and figured that maybe I wasn’t alone so I did a little research and here’s what I found out about the tradition.

 The tradition of the groom carrying his bride over threshold started with the ancient Romans.  It was believed that it could be unlucky for the bride to walk over the threshold becuase if she tripped it would be unlucky for her marriage and new home.  Evil spirits and demons were thought to haunt the doorways and that could cause the bride to trip, so her new husband carried her over the threshold to ensure that they could have prosperous marriage. 

This tradition is still observed by many of today’s modern couple’s but these days it’s considered just a fun thing to do.