When You Marry in June, You’re a Bride All Your Life…

June is considered one of the most popular months for weddings. In fact, there’s an old wives’ tale that says that if you marry in June, you’ll be blessed with a lifetime of happiness and prosperity. Seven Brides for Seven Mothers even dedicated a whole song to June brides. But have you ever wondered how the tradition of the June bride got started?

The June wedding tradition originated in Roman times when, on the first day of June, they would celebrate Juno, the goddess of marriage and childbirth, and her husband, Jupiter.

The tradition of the June wedding didn’t end there, of course. The term “honeymoon” originated with the Celtics, named after the first full moon of the summer solstice, which occurs in June, where mead, a honey-based alcohol, was popular with newlyweds, and they were encouraged to imbibe honey to improve virility and health.

The tradition of June weddings continued in Victorian times, although the reasoning was less romantic.  In Victorian times, most people bathed at most a few times a year (for some it was annually), and bathing usually occurred in May or June, so June brides (and, I would imagine, their guests) would smell the most fresh at this time. It is also said that it was the time of the year when flowers for the wedding would be most abundant, so there is at least a little romance in there. (Although it is thought that the flowers might have also been helpful in masking any lingering body odor. But I will just focus on the idea of having beautiful flowers for the ceremony.)

There have been other practical reasons for the popularity of June weddings. In times past, an early June wedding might mean a June pregnancy, but the pregnancy wouldn’t be so far along as to prevent the woman from being able to help with the late-June harvest. And, of course, some schedule their weddings in June because they find the summertime to be more convenient for honeymoon getaways.

Were you a June bride? If so, did you choose June for romantic or superstitious reasons, or practical reasons? Either way, you were a part of a long-standing tradition and you’re in good company.

And if you’re someone who loves a wedding, you might enjoy my small-town romance about a wedding planner who is given a most unusual task—to find her client a wife. (The potential groom desperately needs a bride because he told his mother he was engaged to try and prove his suitability as a guardian for his niece.)  You can find Because You Said Yes, part of my Willow Bay series, on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited.