Something old, something new
The bride carries something old, new, borrowed and blue — and, in the full rhyme, a sixpence in her shoe.
Ceremony superstition
Wedding superstitions
Wedding superstitions: the groom must not see the dress; something old, new, borrowed, blue; rain on the day is lucky. First recorded: 1867 — a lucky aisle for the bridal party in Lancashire Folk-Lore; 'something new, something borrowed, something blue' printed in 1871. That makes it 159 years old — joint 40th oldest of the 45 superstitions we have dated.
- Earliest record
- 1867 see the history below
- Written down in
- 1867 Harland and Wilkinson, Lancashire
Record: John Harland and T. T. Wilkinson, Lancashire Folk-Lore (London: Frederick Warne, 1867).
When it actually starts
How old is this one
First recorded
1867 — a lucky aisle for the bridal party in Lancashire Folk-Lore; 'something new, something borrowed, something blue' printed in 1871
That makes it
159 years old
Rank by age
Joint 40th oldest of 45 dated here
Category
Ceremony
Most wedding customs presented as ancient are Victorian. The rhyme was first printed in 1871, its 'something old' appears in a Lancashire version of 1876, and the white dress follows Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840 — before that brides simply wore their best dress, in any color.
39 of the dated superstitions here were written down earlier and 4 later, while one shares its date.
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Primary source
As it was written down in 1867
“In many country places this is always observed by a bridal party when advancing to the altar to have the marriage solemnized, and, of course, one particular aisle of the church is the only fortunate or lucky one to proceed by.”
John Harland and T. T. Wilkinson, Lancashire Folk-Lore (London: Frederick Warne, 1867) — read the original text.
Harland and Wilkinson are describing walking sunwise, or “withershins”, for luck — and a bridal party keeping to the one lucky aisle of the church.
The versions people follow
What exactly is believed
Not seeing the bride
The groom must not see the bride in her dress before the ceremony, or the marriage will be unlucky.
Rain on the wedding day
Rain is good luck in many cultures — a "wet knot" is harder to untie — and bad luck in others.
Carrying over the threshold
The groom carries the bride into the new home so she does not trip on the threshold and bring bad luck in.
How the bad luck is traditionally undone
If the groom sees the dress, some couples "reset" the luck by having the bride add a new item before the ceremony.
Where it lives today
Wedding superstitions are the most consistently followed of all, often knowingly: first-look photo sessions are a recent, deliberate break with the oldest one.
What people say
The groom must not see the dress; something old, new, borrowed, blue; rain on the day is lucky.What is going on
The not-seeing rule comes from arranged marriages, where a meeting before the ceremony risked one party withdrawing.Where it applies. The specific rhyme is British and American; other traditions have entirely different lists.
Other ceremony superstitions
Nearest in age
Wedding superstitions are joint 40th oldest of the 45 dated superstitions here. Of those, 3 date from 1900 or later and 14 predate the common era.
First-recorded dates are the earliest documented appearance in written sources, not the earliest possible origin — an unrecorded practice can be older. How the dating works and where it is uncertain →
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Wedding Superstitions: Origin, Meaning and When It Began.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/superstitions/wedding-superstitions/
For Wikipedia
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