6 Fascinating Wedding Customs From The Old American South

Are you looking for ideas for your wedding? Check out this guide to Southern-style wedding traditions – you might find something you’ll want to adopt for your big day!.

If you are a Southern belle who wants to celebrate her heritage or a creative bride who wants to try out some new wedding traditions, here are some Southern customs you might want to incorporate in your ceremony! We’ve compiled 6 customs from the South so you can incorporate a little Southern style into those nuptials.

And if you want to take a cue from old wedding photos from the South, there are many photo restoration companies that can bring them back to life. You’ll find plenty of inspiration on how to make your special day a day you’ll never want to forget!

Bury The Bourbon

Southern folklore dictates that if you bury a bottle of bourbon – yes, a full bottle – face down at the wedding site, you’ll have good weather for your ceremony. Sources are conflicted on whether you bury the bourbon a month before the ceremony or on a day that has ideal weather. Either way, the bourbon must be enjoyed post-I-do’s, so this tradition is a fun addition to your big day – rain or shine.

Cake Pulls

This Victorian tradition is a charming addition to any wedding. Cake pulls are little silver keepsakes kept in the cake for the bridesmaids. They are baked right into the wedding cake and then pulled during the ceremony before the cake is cut.

Each charm means something different for the person who pulls it. There are lists twice as long as this one with cake pull charms and their meanings, but the most popular ones are the highchair (you’ll be the next to have a baby), a ring (you’ll be the next to get married), and a horseshoe or four-leaf clover (you’ll have good luck).

Read also: This is how this couple lived their Zoom wedding

The Second Line

This is a tradition from New Orleans in which a brass band plays the bride and groom to their reception. Rooted in the black tradition of celebration or ring dances, it’s meant to be a parade in honor of the newlyweds. Today, second lining is practiced by tons of newlyweds, especially in the Big Easy.

The Pounding Party

The pounding party is a half-wedding shower and half-housewarming party where people bring necessities to the bride and groom-to-be to ease their transition to married life. Nowadays, people still bring pounds of butter, flour, eggs, and other staples to get the married couple started.

The Groom’s Cake

The groom cake is another Victorian tradition that stems from a time when wedding parties would have three cakes: the wedding cake for guests, the bridal cake for the bridal party, and the groom’s cake for the groom’s men.

These days, groom’s cakes are often made of dark chocolate to distinguish them from the traditional white wedding cake, but it can be anything from a tower of doughnuts to red velvet cupcakes. As long as it celebrates the groom, it’s a groom’s cake.

Jumping The Broom

This last tradition is firmly rooted in black history and culture. Jumping the broom dates back to the days of slavery when white people would not sanction black marriage. So, instead of getting married “officially”, black slaves would jump over a broom to seal the deal between a bride and groom. To this day, lots of African-American couples practice this custom, and it’s a big part of black Southern culture.

Closing Thoughts 

The South has a fascinating culture that differs from the rest of America, and they have plenty of interesting, unique, and diverse wedding traditions to prove it. If you want to go full Southern bride for your big day, these customs will definitely give off that special Southern flair!

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