Scottish Wedding Guide
Tradition Says

Grey Horses
All the best bridal carriages used to be pulled by grey horses and it is still considered good luck to see a grey horse on the way to the church

Lucky Horse Shoes
Horseshoes have always been lucky.  There is anice story about the devil asking a blacksmith to shoe his single hoof.  When the blacksmith recognised his customer he carried out the job as painfully as possible until the devil roared for mercy. He was released on condition that he would never enter a place where a horseshoe was displayed.

Wedding Bells
A peal of bells as the bridal couple leave the church is one of the oldest traditions. Before the days of widespread literacy and newspapers this was how the local people knew a wedding had taken place. The sound of bells was also said to drive out evil spirits.

Lucky Chimney Sweep
Brides still consider it fortunate if they pass a chimney-sweep on the way to the wedding as the old fashioned soot-covered sweep had magical associations with the family and hearth - the heart of the home.

Bridal Wear
Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a lucky sixpence in her shoe.

The old and the new items link good influences of the past with the present. Blue is the colour of constancy and of the Virgin Mary. If the borrowed item has belonged to a happily married woman this will carry good luck with it.  The sixpence will guarantee enough money through life.

Sew a hair onto the hem of a wedding dress for luck, or let a drop of blood fall onto an inner seam. The bride must never try on a complicated dress in advance of her wedding day. To facilitate this tradition a small section of the hem is left unsewn by the dressmaker until the last moment.

Best Foot Forward
The bride, when she leaves home for the last time as a single girl, should step out of the house with her right foot for luck

Shoes
Te an old shoe to the honeymoon car for luck. Anglo Saxon dads always gave away one of the bride's shoes to the groom who then hit her on the head with it as a sign that authority had passed from father to husband.

Looking Ahead
Particular wedding anniversaries have become associated with particular types of gifts.  Although in many cases the choice of gift now has little connection with the original anniversary present, it's still fun to look at the full list.