As the sunny, blue skies of summer are surely approaching, so are the summertime weddings. So we figured, why not reflect on some of the origins of wedding traditions to help kick off this season of love?

Read on below to learn some “did you know?” facts about wedding traditions!

• Did you know that the word “wed” came from the ancient Greek word “pledge” ?

• Did you know that originally, wedding gowns were worn in a rainbow spectrum of colors? White gowns only became popular about 150 years ago.

• Did you know that the veil was once representative of obedience and submissiveness?

• Did you know that the reason we wear our wedding rings on the third finger of our left hand is because the Greeks believed that the vein in that particular finger was connected directly to our heart?

• Did you know that during the time of the Romans, wedding guests would throw cake crumbs at the bride and groom as a symbol of fertility? These cakes were typically scones or biscuits made by the guests themselves. Eventually, this “piled high” concept was extracted by a French baker who used the idea to build a multiple-tier cake.

• Did you know that at one point in time, the bride stood to the left of the groom so that his right hand would be free to fight off any individual who planned to ruin the ceremony?

Those are some pretty interesting facts, huh? It sure is amazing how much things have changed over the years!