Your wedding day is one of the best days of your life. There are many wedding superstitions out there meant to predict how long a marriage will last. These superstitions can apply to the bride, groom, or the couple as a whole.

1. Allowing a Cat to Eat Out of Your Left Shoe

This is one of the oddest wedding superstitions. It’s an Indian tradition that brings luck to the bride and groom if they allow a cat to eat out of their left shoe a week before their wedding. The shoe must be the shoe that the bride or groom will be wearing at the altar.

2. Avoiding Bad Spirits

The Romans believed that if a bride’s face was exposed on her wedding day, bad spirits would find her and cause havoc on a new marriage. This led to the tradition of the bridal veil. Until the wedding vows were completed and the new couple was pronounced man and wife, the veil kept the bride’s face hidden. Brides retain their love for the veil as it is a stylish way to complete their wedding day outfit. Bad spirits are also behind the superstition that involves a groom carrying his new bride across the threshold of their home. The belief was that evil spirits linger at the threshold of a home. By carrying his bride through the doorway, the evil spirits could not attach themselves to her. Since then, carrying a bride across the threshold is simply a way for the groom to welcome his new bride into his home and life.

3. Choosing the Wrong Dress

Superstition dictates that the material used to make your wedding dress predicts the qualify of your marriage. According to this superstition, satin brings bad luck to a new marriage and velvet leads to financial issues. Silk is always the best choice.

Another superstition involving the wedding gown involves the color. It’s believed that white, blue and pearl are good choices for a wedding dress. Brown is okay if you want to “live in town.” Grey, red, green, yellow, and pink lead to bad marriages.

4. Discovering a Spider in the Wedding Dress

While many women show intense fear towards spiders, it’s actually believed to be a sign of good luck if you find a spider inside your wedding dress. Historically, the English believed that killing a spider would bring financial downfall.

Living spiders are considered good luck in many cultures. In fact there is an old English proverb that states: “He who would wish to thrive must let spiders run alive.”

Photo Credit: Oliver Photography

5. Placing a Sugar Cube Inside the Wedding Glove

You also have the Ancient Greeks to thank for the superstition of placing a sugar cube within your wedding gloves. The belief is that the sugar cube will lead to a sweet, loving partnership.

6. Seeing a Monk or Nun Before the Wedding

Monks and nuns symbolize poverty and a chaste lifestyle. It’s believed that seeing these religious men or women before a wedding is a sign that you will remain barren and suffer from financial woes. It’s also bad luck to view a funeral on your way to the wedding venue. It is, however, considered good luck to see a chimney sweep, lamb, rainbow or toad.

7. Viewing the Bride in Her Dress Before the Ceremony

It’s considered bad luck for the bride to put on her entire wedding outfit before the day of the ceremony. However, it’s worse if the groom sees her in her dress before she walks down the aisle.

Photo Credit: Grooms Advice

This superstition dates back to the days of arranged marriages. Brides and grooms did not see each other until the ceremony. As arranged marriages were basically a business deal, families worried that if the groom saw the bride before the wedding and didn’t like her appearance, he’d back out of the deal. By keeping her appearance hidden, there was little chance that the groom would be able to cancel the arrangement.

While arranged marriages are less common, the tradition of not seeing the bride until she’s walking down the aisle is still practiced. This creates an element of surprise that creates a lasting impression during the wedding ceremony.