For Better or Worse..

For some reason, I'm getting inquiries about wedding traditions. I know I have a wedding blog but I don't write about traditions and pamahiins so this is gonna be the first =) The most common wedding tradition inquiry I've received was whether a bride should wear pearls on her wedding day or not. I really don't know the answer to this one as I received conflicting info from my relatives and my mother-in-law. My MIL said I should not wear pearls because that would meant me shedding lots of tears in our married life. My relatives, meanwhile, believed that I should wear a teardrop-shaped pearl earrings on my wedding day. That way, all the tears will be shed on that day and I would shed none during our married life.

Conflicting right? So what did I do? I wore a pair of teardrop-shaped earrings but it wasn't made of pearl. Rather it was made of tri-color gold. That way, I didn't offend my MIL and I still sort of followed my relatives' advice ^_^ On a sidenote, I discovered that my uber-gorgeous wedding bouquet contained some faux pearls. Though I didn't "wear" these pearls (I just sort of carried them via the bouquet), I think it's working -- Labsie and I have a happy marriage so far! Hehe!

Pearls symbolize love, success, happiness, modesty, chastity and purity. Thus, the Greeks believe it will promote marital harmony. The pearls are worn to “take away the bride’s tears” and to ensure a happy marriage without tears. In most Western countries, wearing pearls is a family tradition where a strand of pearls is passed from one generation to the next and worn by the bride on her wedding day. However, in Filipino, Italian and Mexican cultures, wearing pearls is frowned upon as it will bring tears after the we dding day.

But, if you love pearls, there's no sense in believing it will cause a tear-filled marriage. Wear them if you wish too! If your pearls are as beautiful as the ones in OrientalPearls.net, then be proud in wearing them on your wedding day! =) The said website has the world's largest online market of freshwater pearls and I super-love their designs! They offer pearls in any color, size and shape, and it can be custom-made to jewelry in 14K Gold or 92.5% Silver. The best thing about Oriental Pearls? They sell their retail products at wholesale prices! NICE!