Why are June Weddings so Popular?

You've heard the phrase "June Bride" but do you know why June is so popular for weddings?  Since today is June 1, and we are entering the peek of wedding season, I had to stop and wonder why June is such a popular wedding month?  After I got engaged I knew I wanted to get married in June in New Orleans- as silly as that sounds, I stuck with my guns!  


To find the meaning of this tradition we once again look to the Romans.  And, as it turns out being a June bride isn't as romantic as we June brides would have hoped.  Leave it to the Romans to strip this tradition of any romance and have only practical meaning left in its wake.


Turns out Romans favored the month of June for weddings because that was the month dedicated to the observance of June, the Roman goddess of marriage.  You may be thinking, "Yeah, okay that makes sense.  So what's the big deal?"  Well, the Romans didn't stop there with their practical traditions.  June was also the ideal month for women to conceive a child.  If the woman conceived in June that would mean she could still help with the harvest.  A June conception would also mean she could deliver the baby and be back in shape just in time for the next harvest.  That is of course as long as a second bundle of joy doesn't come along in the mean time.  So for all you future brides: when considering your  upcoming wedding plans and how romantic a June wedding may seem, bear in mind  the real concern at the center of this tradition is getting the most out of you before you become pregnant and out of commission for a while!  Now that's romance, right? 


It was just the Roman who were concerned about the harvest; Cultures all over the world take harvest into consideration when planning a wedding.  All over the world wedding are still heaviest during the Summer months rather than the Fall.  Although the tradition for wedding season has stood the test of time within our culture, one tradition that has fallen by the way side is appearance of a full moon.  Both ancient Greeks and Romans believed the moon controlled future fertility and getting married under a full moon would favorably position the couple in baby making endeavors.  In the American wedding industry the idea of getting married under a full moon doesn't hold much weight, however the idea of letting the moon guide your future destiny is still practiced in other countries like Germany and Scotland.


Other traditions such as the day of the week or year to marry have also faded moving forward in the history of weddings.  Weddings today usually take place on Saturdays, but for most of Christian history Saturday was actually considered a bad sign.  An old Italian superstition says that a marriage performed on a Monday was "a sure route to having feeble offspring." (I had to quote that - It was too perfect a phrase to pass up!)  Friday used to be the traditional date for a wedding, however Saturday is more convenient for weddings now-a-days.  Another superstition surrounding wedding dates is for a Christmas wedding.  If you wanted to get married around Christmas, make sure it takes place close to Christmas Day; if you peer back into European history you will find few weddings that took place on December 28.  This date was considered a very unlucky day for a wedding because it was believed to be the day that Herod had all the children of Judea slaughtered in an attempt to ward off the arrival of Jesus Christ.


The next most popular wedding month you may ask?  August.  When I heard that I was shocked; Clearly this data does not come from Louisiana brides!  Consider that your wedding history lesson for the day.