Wedding Traditions Explained: Giving Away the Bride

Today we’re going to take a look at the reasoning behind giving away the bride at her wedding. As with most wedding traditions, this one has evolved over time. Giving away the bride is a tradition that originated thousands of years ago, back during a time when a woman was viewed as the property of her father. Once a bride was married, she would then become the property of her husband. Luckily, women are not viewed this way anymore, but this wedding tradition is still seen at most modern day weddings.

Photo Credit: Kevin Lam Photography

Hundreds and thousands of years ago, women were the property of their fathers until they were married. Depending on the culture and time period, money was exchanged for a bride. The groom may have paid a “brideprice” or “bridewealth” to a bride’s father in order to have his approval to marry her. This was done to compensate her family for the loss of having her work within the family. A “brideprice” might have also been paid as a groom’s way of showing he was capable of providing for his bride. Some people view the modern version of a “brideprice” as an engagement ring. Instead of the groom paying a sum to the bride’s family, he pays a sum of money to randor jewelry online store for an engagement ring.

Photo Credit: Studio Tran

A dowry is the old tradition of a bride’s family paying her groom money as seed money for their new life together. A dowry was intended to help start a nice life for the newlyweds and create a household. Since women in ancient times did not receive an inheritance, a dowry also acted as this. Dowries still existed up until the mid-1800s. The tradition of the dowry was replaced with what we know today as a wedding registry, in which wedding guests help the bride and groom start their new life together.

Photo Credit: Miller + Miller

Most weddings still include the tradition of giving away the bride. However, today’s brides are opting to not just have their fathers give them away, but also both parents, just their mother or a brother. What are your thoughts on this ancient wedding tradition? Take a look at our blog for more wedding traditions explained!