Red Carpets: Wedding Tradition or Superstition?

A red carpet laid down for those we wish to honour, is nowadays understood to be a mark of respect. We talk about “red-carpet moments” However, the original intent - ensuring that the bride’s feet never touched the ground - had little to do with respect for position and everything to do with superstition, and therefore everything to do with caring for the person and concern for her protection.

As with many familiar wedding traditions we incorporate in weddings, laying down a red carpet for the bride to walk on originated as a means to protect the bride from the dangers posed by the demons believed to live underground. The belief was very widespread, and even today, a bride is carried in a litter (vehicle) to the venue/s so that her feet never need touch the ground.

So when you are driven to your wedding in a special vehicle, step out of it onto a piece of red carpet, and walk down the aisle on another, you are carrying out a ritual designed to protect you, your groom, and your future happiness.

In more practical terms, a carpeted aisle will protect the bride’s dress, particularly that of the hem, against dirt and damage, but, if laid over springy grass. For the best results, make sure that the grass under the carpet has been mowed short.

The alternative - scattering rose petals to create an aisle on the grass, not only honours the bride, but is an ancient ritual meant to ensure fertility. Flowers, like grain, have been an important part of weddings for thousands of years.

Having children carrying flowers or scattering petals or grain was believed to strengthen the magic that ensured many children. Nowadays we focus more on the Victorian meaning of rose petals – that they are a symbol of love and romance that add a special touch to the ceremony and to the photographs.

About Author Jennifer Cram

Jennifer Cram is a high-credentialed Brisbane marriage celebrant, known for her creative approach to the development of unique, personal, and creative wedding and commitment ceremonies.

Appreciated by couples for the meaningful simplicity of the ceremony and by photographers for her attention to the visual aspects, Jennifer devotes many hours to ensuring that each ceremony reflects the love and the values of the couple and the warmth of their relationship with family and friends. 

In the 2009 and 2010 she was voted one of Queensland's top celebrants at the Australian Bridal Industry Academy Awards with a rating of 99.62% by couples she had married.