Traditions & Superstitions~The Men

On this edition of Traditions & Superstitions we are going to talk about men! Their attire, groomsmen, & even the boys.

• The word bridegroom is from the 17th century, It is from the word bride and the archaic goom, from Old English guma, "boy"



• A Groom usually has a best man and groomsmen.



• What the groom wears depends upon the time of day, the location of the ceremony, the style in which the ceremony is performed, and whether or not the groom is a member of the armed forces.



• In most parts of the world, active-duty members of the military and some law enforcement agencies wear their military uniforms instead of civilian clothing.



• In the US, the groom usually wears a dark-coloured suit during the day or tuxedo in the evening



• In the united Kingdom, the groom, male ushers and close male family to wear morning suits.



• We call the male attendants groomsman in the US and usher in the UK



• Groomsmen used to be called bride-knights. They were there to help the groom capture his bride.



• Nowadays the help the groom plan his bachelor party, assist with the gifts, they might even help decorate the get-away car.



• Men might be asked to be ushers without being in the wedding ceremony. To help with the seating of guests during the ceremony



• For a military officer's wedding, they have swordsmen of the sword honor guard. .



• Swordsmen form the traditional saber arch for the married couple and guests to walk through



• The Best man is the chief male assistant to the bridegroom at a wedding.



• If the groom chooses a woman she could be either Best Woman or Honor Attendant



• A Best man's duties are to assist the groom on the wedding day, keep the wedding rings safe until needed during the ceremony, act as a legal witness to the marriage, and
  make the first toast to the bride and groom at the reception.



• A page boy is a young male attendant at a wedding. Traditionally, page boys carried the bride's train, especially if it was a long train. Page boys are generally no younger than age seven.



• In a formal wedding, the ring bearer is a special page who carries the wedding rings for the bridal party.



• The ring bearer as a separate role is a fairly modern. If you don't have one, the best man carries the rings.
  

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  Traditionally the bride stands to the left of the groom. That way his right arm is free to fend off attackers and use his sword.
  

The Tuxedo

There are a couple of differnt stories about the origins of the tuxedo.

The first one is about Pierre Lorillard. His family were wealthy tobacco magnates who owned country property in Tuxedo Park, just outside of New York City. At a formal ball, held at the Tuxedo Club in October 1886, Pierre Lorillard made a new style of formal wear for men. He cut the tails off of a black jacket, like the jackets worn for a fox hunt. He decided not to wear it, but his son Griswold and his friends did. He decided to name his tailless black jacket the tuxedo after Tuxedo Park. The tuxedo caught on and became fashionable as formal wear for men.

The other story is about a resident of Tuxedo Park, James Brown Potter, he was vacationing in England in the summer of 1886. James and his wife, Cora were introduced to the Prince of Wales at a ball in London. Potter asked the Prince for advice on formal dress. The Prince sent him to his tailor on Saville Row, Henry Poole & Co. Potter was then fitted with a short black jacket and black tie. At the time formal tails with white tie that was worn in the United States for formal occasions. This new tailless formal wear was said to have been designed by the Prince of Wales. The Prince and his tailor drew inspiration from the British military uniforms of the time, which used short jackets with black ties.

The two stories come together in Tuxedo Park where James Brown Potter brought the design back, then Pierre Lorillard modified it, named it, and his son made it popular during the Autumn ball. So that is why you probably will be wearing a tuxedo instead of formal tails.

Happy Reading,

The photo of Pierce Bronsan as James Bond is courtesy of the BBC. I personally think nobody where's a tux like him! Mr. Joyeux is a close second! Although, I have never seen him in a black tux. His was silver for our wedding.