What is the symbology of wedding?

Read the article and discover the story of wedding rings, sugar almonds and wedding favours. Indispensable elements in every wedding

If you are planning your wedding, it is important to take the time to choose the elements that best represent the couple. This way, you can create a truly meaningful and authentic ceremony that reflects your and your partner’s personality.

Wedding is an important moment and is represented by particular traditional elements.

Have you ever wondered why there are many uses and objects that cannot be missed in this event? The exchange of wedding rings, the throwing of rice, the bouquet, the sugared almonds, the wedding favours, are not only aesthetic or “mandatory” characteristics, but real rituals that have ancient origins.

In this article, we will explore the symbology behind these elements and try to understand where their use comes from.

The wedding rings

We could not start from the symbol of the wedding par excellence: the wedding rings. After all, to celebrate your wedding, you may not need anything else except the wedding rings and your wedding promises. Did you know that even their spherical shape has a symbology? The circle, in fact, represents the mind-body connexion, and the gold, materials with which in most cases they are made, symbolises eternity. It’s not by chance that by placing the rings side by side, they form the symbol of infinity.

Where did the use of exchanging the wedding rings come from? The tradition dates back to ancient times, when the Greeks and Romans considered them an exchange of the mutual promise of commitment and fidelity. Later, the Christian Church adopted the use of wedding rings as a symbol of the wedding union.

In some countries, wedding rings are put in the left ring finger, as in ancient times it was believed that the vena amoris, or vein of love, passed through there, while in others they are worn of the right ring finger. In any case, the wedding rings represent the commitment and love that bonds the two married people.

The rice throw

The rice throw represents another common and popular tradition.

But what is its meaning?

This practice dates back to ancient Rome, where the rice was substituted for wheat seeds. The use of throwing it on the spouses represents the hope that the couples can have an abundant life.

The bouquet

The bouquet of the bride is another main element of the wedding. As we have already seen in another article Floral trends and tips for 2023 weddings, the bouquet for the bride can be made in different ways and with different types of flowers according to tastes and trends.

The bouquet represents the beauty and fragility of life and love. In the past, the brides wore the bouquet to drive away evil spirits and to protect their fertility.

Today, at the contrary, the bouquet is the symbol of love and beauty: the bride throws it to her nubile friends, during the party, to wish them good luck in love.

Sugared almonds

Always present at every wedding, sugared almons are another element that enriches and cheers up the event. Combined with wedding favours or present on the table of diners, they are the symbol of fertility, happiness and wealth.

The tradition has it that, for each guest, they are always in an odd number and less than five. This number, indivisible, represents the indissoluble path that the spouses are starting together.

They are a simple and sweet way for the spouses to thank their guests for having participated in such an exciting and important day.

The wedding favours

Wedding favours are another element that accompanies the wedding.

The custom dates back to the XVIII century, when the tradition of homage the guests for their presence at the wedding was spread. Originally, wedding favours were porcelain or silver boxes containing sugared almonds or other sweets.

Today, the wedding favours can take on different shapes and styles, but their meaning is always the same: it is a sign of thanks for the guests and a souvenir of the special day.

Also in this case, their choice varies according to regional traditions and the preferences of the spouses. In fact, they represent the identity of the couple, the theme of their wedding or simply respond to an ideal, such as that of craftmanship, reuse or a green wedding favour.

In this sense, in recent years there has been a strong trend towards reusable and useful favours, such as gastronomic or food favours: this category includes all those favours designed with the typical food products of a region.

In Puglia, for example, the gastronomic wedding favours smell of olive oil. This food is preferred because it is a food and wine excellence, as well as a symbol of the region and also of weddings: in fact, it embodies the values of wedding, whether religious or civil.

According the symbology of the Christian religion, oil is the symbol of peace, purity, and divine blessing. For those who, on the contrary, choose the civil rite can understand the oil with its meaning of prosperity, wealth, and a wish for a long-lived future.

To best represent the Apulian identity in a gastronomic wedding favour with olive oil, the peasant tradition of conserving it, and so giving it, in the terracotta jars, made manually by Apulian masters and decorated with attention and care has been recovered. The jar and the oil cruet are among the objects that are reworked and redesigned more than others: shapes, colours, dimensions are reworked to transform this ceramic into a product with a modern and original design. In addition, the jar itself best represents all the qualities of gastronomic wedding favours and their useful and daily function.

These are precisely the characteristics of our Olivetta wedding favours, jars recovered from the agricultural tradition and transformed into wedding gifts. The whole project focuses on the principles of craftsmanship and reuse, as well as enhancing the gastronomic excellence of the Coratina monocultivar extra virgin olive oil. 

An entire process of valorisation and rediscovery of Apulian traditions then started from these premises which over the years has led us to develop the Olivetta De Lux collection, dedicated to lights, Olivetta Serena, dedicated to lace embroidery, and Olivetta Elisir which inside contains the oil flavoured with the fragrances of Mediterranean cuisine.

Conclusion

As we have seen, each element of wedding has its own specific symbology and tradition. 

From the wedding rings, which represent the eternal union between the spouses, to the favours, which symbolise the sweetness and gratitude of married life, each element contributes to creating a unique and unforgettable ceremony.