The third of the five items or “Something Borrowed” represents borrowed happiness. The idea is that a bride uses a borrowed item from a long-time happily married couple, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride. The borrowed item also reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family. It is also considered appropriate to borrow an item from someone (or a couple) who symbolize happiness.
We put together a few ideas that our photographers’ brides have done in the past that might be helpful when deciding what item to use for your “Something Borrowed”.
(Insider’s tip: It’s always a good idea to send a thank you card when returning the borrowed item.)
1. Grandma’s handkerchief
“Sujey carried her grandmother’s handkerchief down the aisle, along with some beautiful new blue jewelry.”
2. Your mother’s wedding dress
“Brittney wanted a second look for her reception, so rather than purchasing an additional gown, she chose to wear her mother’s for the reception. She changed just prior to her father-daughter dance and surprised her dad.”
“Here is an example of old jewelry. The ring also qualified as the bride’s ‘Something Borrowed’ and as her ‘Something Blue’. I think we forgot what great jewelry our grandparents and great grandparents had, and that they wore it all the time.”
“The ‘vintage’ car was borrowed from the sister of the bride’s fiancé.”
5. A patch “borrowed” from other generations
“This bride’s family had started a beautiful tradition of sewing a patch in under layers of the bridal gown that has embroidered all the women’s names in the family who had been married before them.”
– Deanna of Cherryville Photography
- Include flowers from the bride’s grandparents’ garden in floral arrangements at the wedding or in the bride’s bouquet
- Borrow the song from the bride’s (or groom’s) parents’ wedding to dance to
Want some more wedding tradition inspiration? Be sure to check out the other posts in our “Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue” series, starting with “Something Old” and “Something New!”
Photo cred: Kristin Griffin Photography, Misty Enright Photography, Joanna Moss Photography, Cherryville Photography.