The Buck Party

Almost all arrows point to the buck party originating in Sparta around the fifth century. Military compatriots would celebrate the last days of his carefree bachelorhood and he would basically promise the guys that they would be friends forever. Even the tradition of drinking copious amounts can be tracked back to this time, with a small change. They would water down the wine, probably to avoid a terrible hang over on the day of the wedding.

The Hen Party

The hen party started mostly as an ode to gender equality much, much later than the buck party. So late, in fact, that it was still an uncommon occurrence in the 1980s! Women often share in the same traditions as the buck party, but they also change it up sometimes and have a fancy tea party or something of the like. Occasionally couples put their parties together to help raise funds for the wedding.

The Bouquet Toss

Ah, the bouquet toss. One of the only things that every one of us has seen make women of all ages turn into crazed wildebeests. Strangely enough, that keeps it fairly close to the tradition originating from England. After the "I dos," the female guests would try to rip the bride's dress and her flowers in hopes of gaining some of her good luck. As a distraction, she would throw her bouquet and hide!

Giving The Bride Away

This one dates way back to when arranged marriages were commonplace and women were seen as property. This was basically the father's right to give his child to the groom, customarily for a price known as a dowry.

The Bridesmaids

Dating back centuries, bridesmaids started out as demon bait. They weren't there to help the bride with her hair or the train on her dress. They were there, similarly dressed, to trick evil beings. Just in case something other worldly was planning on crashing the wedding.

The Best Man

This tradition stems from downright creepy antics. A man would take his strongest, most trustworthy friend to help him kidnap his bride from her home and to fend off her family. The best man walked her down the aisle at the wedding to further defend the groom's "prize."

The Bride to the Left

Most used their right as their sword arm. With the bride basically being a prisoner, that probably came in handy a LOT.