1. Originally, in Old English a thousand years ago, the verb “to wed” only applied to a man marrying a wife. A marrying woman did not wed her husband.
2. Bridal veils began in ancient Greece and Rome where a veil was said to protect against evil spirits.
3. In Greek mythology, Hera, wife of Zeus, was worshipped as the goddess of weddings.
4. The only film with “wedding” in its title to win an Oscar was the 1937 Bing Crosby musical Waikiki Wedding which won for Best Song.
5. White wedding dresses have been popular since Queen Victoria wore one for her wedding to Prince Albert on February 10, 1840.
6. Wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand as it was once thought a vein led directly from there to the heart.
7. August is by far the most popular month for UK weddings. Over half of weddings are on Saturdays.
8. There were 239,020 marriages between opposite-sex UK couples in 2015, the lowest ever figure.
9. That works out at about 655 marriages a day, or one marriage every 2.2 minutes.
10. “If you love her, then tomorrow wed her,” (Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing).
