Roman Wedding

The Roman Marriage was a legal agreement which had to be consented to by both the father of the bride and the father of the groom. It was customary for the wife’s family to give a Dowry.
The subsequent wedding ceremony was well planned and followed a strict procedure.

The night before the Wedding:
- She gave her father her ‘bulla’ or birth locket.
- She placed a ‘Reticulum’ or hairnet over her head.
The morning of the Wedding:
- The Bride’s mother dressed her in her wedding dress, the ‘Tunica Recta’, a one piece tunic which reached her feet. She tied a belt around her waist called the ‘knot of Hercules’, which only her husband could undo.
- Her hair was traditionally parted using a spear point, into 6 sections each tied with a piece of white wool.
- The Bride wore a yellow veil over her head, capped by a ‘Corolla’, a wreath of flowers she had picked herself, and the ‘Reticulum’ or hairnet.
She also wore a pair of yellow leather slippers, called ‘Socci’.

The Wedding Venue was held at the House of the Bride’s father, which would be filled with marigolds and roses.

At the Wedding Ceremony, the Groom would also be wearing a white tunic made of wool.
The Bride and Groom stood before the Priest, holding hands, in front of either five or ten witnesses and exchanging vows, which always used the same names, not their own names:
The Bride said: ‘Quando tu Gaius, Ego Gaia’ possibly meaning ‘Wherever you go Gaius, I Gaia will follow’
The Bridegroom replied: ‘Ubi tu Gaia, ego Gaius’ possibly meaning ‘Where you go Gaia, I Gaius will follow’
After the vows, the Bride and Groom sat on stools facing each other.
A cake of baked wheat bread was offered to Jupiter and the eaten by both the Bride and Groom.
A Feast for the guests then followed.

In the evening the Bride would be escorted to her new home, which would also be full of flowers. The Wedding Procession accompanied her led by a Wedding Torch, and showered her with nuts (not rice). The Bride carried a wooden Spindle and a Distaff which held wool.
The Groom waited at the door and gave her a key to the house, then carried her over the threshold. The guests were then invited in.
The Bride would then light a fire with the Wedding Torch, then throw the extinguished Torch amongst the guests who raced to catch it (like the bouquet of today). The Bride then walked through the house, using the Spindle and Distaff to hang the wool over the doorways and anoint them with Olive Oil.