“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in her shoe.” If you’re reading this blog I think it’s safe to assume that you’ve heard this among your bridal traditions before.

While it is by no means mandatory for you to have these items when you are getting married, many brides wish to continue with the tradition.

Bridal traditions can bring a great element to your wedding day. However, finding items, particularly unique ones, can be a challenge. To save you the time and effort I have done the research and compiled some lists with suggestions for you.

Before I present the lists I thought I would give a brief explanation about the poem. It comes from an old English rhyme where the bride is supposed to carry the items for good luck and symbolism.

Old – continuity and connection to the past
New – optimism for the future
Borrowed – borrowed happiness from another
Blue – purity, love, and fidelity
Sixpence (an Old English coin, sometimes replaced by a penny) – good fortune and prosperity

SOMETHING OLD:

• Dress, veil, garter, jewellery/rosary/pin, hanky, or clutch from a previous generation (mom, grandma, etc.)
• A family bible for the ceremony
• Wrap your bouquet, or sew into your dress a piece of material or a button from an old favourite garment of a loved one (ex. tie from grandparent, ribbon from grandmother)
• Sew in the military/police/fire-fighter badge or name tag from a loved one
• Wear, carry, or wrap around your bouquet a locket with old pictures
• Use old broken jewellery to make a new piece such as a brooch for your bouquet or hair comb

SOMETHING NEW:

(pretty much anything you purchase for the wedding can be used for this item, but some suggestions include)

• Undergarments
• Gown, shoes, veil/headpiece, jewellery, purse
• Make-up
• Perfume (you’ll always be able to associate the scent with your special day)

SOMETHING BORROWED:

• Gown, veil/headpiece, garter, shoes, jewellery/rosary/pin, hanky, or clutch  from a friend or family member
• A friend or family member’s bible
• Wrap bouquet in someone’s tie or scarf
• Perfume from a friend or family member

SOMETHING BLUE:

• Lingerie (just make sure it can’t be seen through the dress)
• Ribbon, word, heart, wedding date, your married name and maybe your spouse’s name sewn into bust or hem of your dress
• Nail polish
• Jewellery or charm
• Garter (or blue accents on garter)
• Hanky
• Pair of blue shoes, paint soles of your shoes blue, or tie a blue ribbon to the heel of a shoe
• Flowers, or wrap bouquet in blue
• Washable tattoo
• Writing (messages on bottom of shoe from family and/or bridesmaids), or blue stickers on bottom of shoes
• Go with a blue dress (or blue tipped dress), under skirt/tulle/hoops, or blue veil/headpiece

If all the items are a charm/pendant you have a few options on how to carry them such as sliding them all onto a pin and pinning it inside your dress or on your bouquet. Or you could thread them onto a chain/ribbon to wear, or wrap around your bouquet as well.

One of my friends got married in the summer of 2014. I was a bridesmaid who lived out of town so I wasn’t able to participate in all the wedding planning/activities, but I requested the job of gathering all the items for the bride for the bridal traditions, including her something old/new/borrowed/blue.

Below is a picture of the items, which I put on a ribbon and tied around the bride’s bouquet.

The heart is a charm from her grandmother (which her mother contributed), something new was a pendant I had made with her wedding date along with her and her husband’s names, something borrowed was a shoe charm I had (we both have a love of shoes), and something blue was a pendant her twin sister made from a piece of blue sea glass.