Photo Credit: White Loop Studio

Wedding Traditions Explained: Throwing Rice

You can’t leave a Hudson Valley wedding early before the wedding exit has taken place. It’s something that gets everyone involved at a wedding, which is probably why this tradition has been around so long. During the exit, the traditional thing to do was throwing rice at the newlyweds as they left their wedding. These days, a wedding exit can include anything from sparklers, streamers, bubbles, bells to throwing confetti or rose petals.

Photo Credit: Erin Kathleen Photography

Many couples today choose not to throw rice at their weddings. This could be for many reasons, but the main reason being that rice has been reported to get stuck in the bride’s and groom’s ears as guests are throwing it at them. Clearly couples don’t want to start their honeymoon with a trip to the hospital to remove rice from their ears, neither to they want to have to deal with an unfair treatment from a doctor and have to contact The Medical Negligence Experts to solve the situation. Hence how throwing rose petals or confetti probably became the new wedding exit toss items.

Photo Credit: Jacqui Marie Wedding Photography

Wondering how the tradition of throwing rice began? This wedding tradition dates back to the ancient Romans. Throwing rice at the bride and groom was thought to bring fertility, wealth and good luck to the newlyweds. Other cultures threw different types of crops at the married couple, such as oats, wheat and corn. These are all crops that grow, but rice was the tradition that was the most popular.

Wedding traditions intrigue us! Read more about other traditions here on our blog.