Why does a Bride have Bridesmaids?

Do you know where the tradition of having bridesmaids came from? Yet another wedding tradition that we still have today, stems from the days of superstitions about evil spirits and also the era when a Bride was stolen rather than courted.

Not only did Bridesmaids used to all dress the same, they used to dress the same as the Bride herself. So much for not upstaging the Bride.

There were two reasons for this. The first comes from long ago times when it was believed that evil spirits were attracted to happy events and the Bridesmaids' purpose was to confuse the spirits so that the Bride was left unharmed.

The second reason was also to confuse and distract but this time it was to distract any love rivals of the Groom for the Bride's affection.

So, if you think organising a Hen's night and supporting the Bride is tough these days, it was much harder in time gone by.