All Things Wedding to Mark Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary

Today is a special day, it's our third wedding anniversary! I can't quite believe how fast the years are going by, it seems like yesterday I was getting ready to walk down the aisle or more correctly through the beautiful Alameda Botanical Gardens in Gibraltar to marry my fantastic husband and best friend Chris.
I still remember the excitement as I got ready for the big day, getting my hair done in the hotel salon, trying to do my make up with shaking hands, going over my vows again and again in an effort to memorise them, finally getting to wear my beautiful Swarovski encrusted wedding dress and fabulous Gina shoes (yes they are the most expensive pair of shoes I know I will ever own but they were oh so worth it!). Stepping into the wonderful white Rolls Royce decorated with orange ribbons along with my dad and clutching my beautiful bouquet of orange roses and white stephanotis - I remember being so relieved when I saw them and they were just perfect as we had discovered only the day before that the florist thought we were getting married on the 3rd not the 2nd.
When we arrived at the Alameda Gardens there was drama of course as both the registrar and photographer were delayed, it was the first day back to school and they had not allowed for the extra traffic. When they finally did arrive I remember walking up the steep windy path trying to balance on my very high Ginas and that feeling, one of joy, happiness and excitment all rolled into one at seeing all my loved ones and most importantly my husband-to-be standing there waiting. This was it, I was no longer going to be a Horgan but become an Allmark. Of course the drama didn't stop there, a few minutes into the ceremony the sprinklers behind the registrar went off, soaking her, the registry book and catching me and Chris in the cross fire. It is so funny to watch it back on the wedding DVD. Thankfully the rest of the day went off without anymore hiccups (apart from those caused by copious amounts of champagne) and it really was a wonderful special day.
So in the spirit of all things wedding related I give you some wedding trivia sourced from The Knot:

The English believe a spider found in a wedding dress means good luck. Yikes - I think I'd rather not find one!
In English tradition, Wednesday is considered the "best day" to marry, although Monday is for wealth and Tuesday is for health. We married on a Tuesday so hoping that means long healthy lives together for us!
Saturday is the unluckiest wedding day, according to English folklore. Funny - it's the most popular day of the week to marry!
For good luck, Egyptian women pinch the bride on her wedding day. Ouch! I'm glad I'm not Egyptian!
Engagement and wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was once thought that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart.
About 70% of all brides sport the traditional diamond on the fourth finger of their left hand. I'm one of them!
Queen Victoria started the Western world's white wedding dress trend in 1840 - before then, brides simply wore their best dress.
In Japan, white was always the color of choice for bridal ensembles-- long before Queen Victoria popularized it in the Western world.
In Denmark, brides and grooms traditionally cross-dressed to confuse evil spirits!
The "something blue" in a bridal ensemble symbolizes purity, fidelity, and love.
The tradition of a wedding cake comes from ancient Rome, where revelers broke a loaf of bread over a bride's head for fertility's sake.
Legend says single women will dream of their future husbands if they sleep with a slice of groom's cake under their pillows.
An old wives' tale: If the younger of two sisters marries first, the older sister must dance barefoot at the wedding or risk never landing a husband.
The bride stands to the groom's left during a Christian ceremony, because in bygone days the groom needed his right hand free to fight off other suitors.
Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve are the two busiest "marriage" days in Las Vegas - elopement central!
In Ireland a laying hen was tied to the bed on the first honeymoon night in the hope that some of its fertility would be passed on to the couple. Eating a double yolked egg was also thought to bring fertility.
The term "honeymoon" is though to originate from the times when a man captured his bride. The couple would hide from the bride's parents before marrying. The couple would remain in hiding for a further cycle of the moon after the wedding. During this period they drank honey wine.
In Scotland the custom was for a woman with milk in her breasts to prepare the marital bed to encourage fertility in the newlyweds.

So who knew there were so many wedding customs and traditions? I do love reading them as I find it fascinating learning how the wedding day rituals have evolved over the years.
I now leave you with some of my favorite photos from our special wedding day and I just want to say Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband Chris, Love you! xxx

All things wedding to mark our 3rd Wedding Anniversary