By the Middle Ages, this tradition had evolved in the British Isles into a new practice, according to which guests came to the wedding celebration bearing small cakes. They piled these cakes into a heap for the happy couple – the higher the heap, the better the couple’s prospects for the future. In time, bakers began to lace these piles of cakes with various icings and sauces, until eventually a chef – apparently a French chef, which comes as no surprise – had the bright idea of building them into a multi-tiered super cake.

In Europe during the Middle Ages, all births, weddings, taxes, and deaths were publicly announced through written and spoken proclamations called "banns." In the case of weddings, the purpose of these proclamations was more than merely informational: they were intended to prevent consanguineous marriages - marriages of closely related people.

In some parts of Europe during the Middle Ages, keeping a piece of the bride’s clothing was thought to bring good luck. Such luck, unfortunately, was only good for the guests: brides sometimes ended up having their dresses torn to pieces by luck-seeking neighbors and friends. To combat this trend, brides began throwing a variety of items to the guests - including their garter belts and later their bouquets.

Unfortunately, even this practice proved too civilized for some medieval men, who impatiently tried to remove the garter belts themselves - probably after a number of drinks. As such, it became traditional for the groom to remove the garter from his bride himself and toss it to the men.

It makes a certain amount of sense that brides are advised to wear "something old," "something new," and "something borrowed." Something old represents the continuity between the bride and her birth family (and it’s no accident that this "something" is often economically valuable). Something new represents the bride’s hope for the future. Something borrowed – and later returned – represents her participation in the life of her community, in what anthropologists call "social exchange."
But why "something blue"?

Though the familiar adage dates only from Victorian England, the tradition of brides wearing blue is much older. In ancient Israel, blue was the color of fidelity and purity, and brides often tied blue ribbons into their hair or sewed them into their garments to symbolize their intended constancy. In fact, brides have probably worn blue on the wedding days for much longer than they have worn white. Roman brides usually wore yellow (with red veils). The practice of wearing white to one’s wedding was condemned by at least some Christian leaders well into the 18th century: advertising one’s virginity in this manner, they argued, was simply indecent.

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