5 Royal Wedding traditions to include in your Wedding

1.       The bride carries myrtle in her bouquet, and the bouquet is usually all white.  This tradition was started by Queen Victoria’s daughter when a sprig of myrtle was cut from the Queen’s special plant.  An additional myrtle plant was started by Queen Elizabeth that royal brides also use.

Instead of a bridal toss, royal brides leave their bouquet at the grave of the Unknown Warrior.

2.       The Wedding Breakfast.   Royal weddings take place around noon and there is a meal that follows called the “wedding breakfast.”  A reception is held later that evening with food and dancing.  This menu from Will and Cate’s wedding breakfast shows their locally sourced food including salmon, lamb, asparagus, and honey ice cream. 

3.       The bride always wears a tiara.  One perk of being a royal is access to the jewelry.  In addition to the royal jewels, the Queen and many royals have private collections with stunning tiaras that are loaned out to the family.  Every bride from Queen Elizabeth to Duchess Catherine and many other royals have all worn a tiara on their wedding day.

4.       The wedding dress typically includes lace.   Additionally, each dress has personalized embroidery.  Queen Elizabeth’s dress included flowers to represent new life after WWII.  Duchess Catherine’s dress included roses, thistles, shamrocks and daffodils to represent England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

Did you know that the tradition of wearing white at your wedding started with Queen Victoria in 1840?

5.       The wedding cake is always “fruitcake,” a special cake made with dried fruits and iced in white.  After the wedding, the very large cake is cut into pieces and a piece is mailed to each guest as a Thank-You.  The rest of the cake is donated to charity or auctioned off to raise money.   This tradition was started by Queen Elizabeth when she donated her cake to school children in post-wartime England.