Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but it turns out that pearls are a bride’s worst enemy. At least they are for bride-to-be Lillian in the premiere of Married at First Sight, who’s mom pointed out that pearls are a bad omen and symbolize tears as part of their culture in Nicaragua. And as luck would have it, after Lillian nixed the wedding dress embroidered with pearls, she was presented with a beautiful gift from her groom moments before walking down the aisle. The only problem, it was a pearl necklace.
Some people let wedding superstitions fall by the wayside on their big day, but when you’re marrying a complete stranger it’s probably best not to take any chances. For all the cautious couples out there, here are eight other wedding superstitions that might make you think twice before saying “I do.”
1. Something old, new, borrowed and blue.
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We’ve all heard this one before. It’s thought to be good luck for a bride to have one of each item to represent her past (something old), her bright future (something new), good luck (something borrowed from a happily married person) and faithfulness (something blue).
2. A rainy wedding is a happy wedding.
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Lillian and Tom may have thought that the rain just added to the bad omens leading up to their wedding, but it turns out luck was on their side. A rainy wedding is seen as lucky and symbolizes fertility, unity and cleansing in certain cultures.
3. Be mindful of the day you get married.
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Although Saturday is a popular day to book the wedding venue, it’s also a day of bad luck (actually the unluckiest day) to get married, according to English tradition. If you want to avoid the superstition, schedule your wedding for hump day, which is seen as the luckiest day of the week.
4. Throw shoes at the wedding.
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This one is for the risk-takers. If you want to increase both your luck and your reflexes at your wedding, have your guests throw shoes at you as you leave for your honeymoon. For a less aggressive tactic, some couples also tie shoes to the bumper of their car after the wedding.
5. Hurry up or wait.
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In Chinese culture, there’s a pretty unique tradition for couples that are planning to get married. If a parent or grandparent of either person passes away, then the couple has to get married within 100 days of the family member’s death or wait 1000 days (3 years) after it. Any marriage planned in between those milestone days is considered disrespectful and bad luck.
6. No pre-wedding peeking for the bride and groom.
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Don’t look! It’s bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding, and for reasons that could apply directly to our MAFS couples. When arranged marriages were more commonplace, it was believed that if the bride and groom saw each other then they may want to call off the wedding.
7. Don’t get knives as wedding gifts.
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Take that kitchenware off of your wedding registry ASAP. Knives are indicative of a broken relationship, which nobody wants to think about at the altar. So, ask for that French press instead.
8. Keep calm if you see a spider on your dress.
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Hope you like insects! If you find a spider on your dress, as weird as it may sound, it’s seen as good luck, according to English folklore. So, if you see an eight-legged creepy-crawly on your beautiful gown, take it as a sign of an everlasting love.
