Dionearia Red

Stories Before a Wedding, or The Fairytale of Beauty and the Beast

Once, a long time ago, it was custom that on the night before wedding all the married women of equal Rank and status would gather around the bride in her chamber. While helping put the finishing touches on the bride's dress and trousseau, the women would take turns telling Tales of their great Romance and own marriages. This served two purposes: these stories taught the bride what she could expect from her own marriage and wedding night, and it also served as a history of these women and their stories. The most romantic Tale and the woman who told it would earn the right to give the new bride away into her married life. Now, in most cases, naturally the bride's mother or grandmother or some favorite cousin would quite easily be announced the winner and told how their story was such an inspiration to the new bride. In this way, weddings passed from mother to daughter, matriarch to descendant, and the women’s stories remained alive and aided a new bride in preparing for what was to come.