Traditionally, the bride stands on the left and the groom on the right during the wedding ceremony - this goes back to the days when a groom would capture his bride by kidnapping her. If the groom had to fight off other men who also wanted her as their bride, he would hold his future bride with his left hand allowing his right hand to be free to use his sword. Bridesmaids The custom of having bridesmaids originates from Roman times when the law demanded that ten witnesses be present at a wedding. This was in order to confuse evil spirits, who were believed to attend marriages with a view to causing mischief and disharmony. The bridesmaids and ushers were dressed in a similar way to the bride and groom so that the evil spirits wouldn't know who was getting married. Confetti The tradition of throwing confetti over newlyweds originates from the Pagan rite of showering the happy couple with grain or rice to wish them a fruitful union as they believed that the fertility of the seeds would be transferred to the couple on whom they fell. Over the years, the custom of throwing sweets (‘confetti’ in Italian) over the married couple as they left the church became popular together with raisins, nuts or flower petals. Today, these have gradually been replaced with brightly coloured paper confetti. Weddings Index Main Index Click here to Bookmark this site!