Disc, Inc. Celebrates June Weddings

Ahh...June weddings.  The lovely bride, smiling groom, beautiful flowers, smoldering heat, suffocating humidity...what could be better??

This month, as Disc, Inc. celebrates the happy couples and their newly wedded bliss, I had to wonder...why June?  How did it become the venerated wedding month that it is today?  When my gilfriends were getting married just out of college, I assumed it was simply a scheduling issue - the first free month after the semester ended.  Over the years I began to wonder if there was more to it, however. Certainly June weather may be idyllic in some parts of the country, but in Houston, June can be downright miserable.  So why THIS month?

I did some browsing and found numerous suggestions and musings as to the origins of June weddings, so I thought I would share...
1) Blame it on the Romans!  Apparently June was the month they paid tribute to Juno, their goddess of marriage.  Thus, it was considered lucky to be wed in June.
2) Harvest time!  If the bride conceived shortly after taking her vows, she should give birth and be ready to work prior to the next season's harvest.
3) Annual bath!  This one is my favorite... some have suggested that in medieval times, people took their annual baths in May, so in June they weren't so smelly that the scent of the bride's bouquet couldn't cover it up. (This reasoning is not held very favorably by the online community, but I thought it was pretty funny...)

Of course, there are more theories and opinions as to the origins of June weddings, but these seem to be the most popular.  Some other fun wedding traditions and trivia (courtesy of www.theknot.com)...
-Saturday is the unluckiest day to get married according to English folklore.  Wednesday is the best, although Monday weddings mean wealth and Tuesdays mean health. 
-A sapphire in a wedding ring means marital happiness, while a pearl engagement ring is said to be bad luck.
-Henry VIII's daughter, Princess Mary, received one of history's earliest recorded engagement rings - WHEN SHE WAS TWO!
-The bride stands to the left of the groom so that he can keep his right hand free to fight off other suitors.
-Queen Victoria wore a white wedding dress in 1840, thus launching the trend in the Western world.

So all you June brides out there may want to stop and reconsider.  I'm sure your friends and family won't mind if you change the ceremony to a weekday (I'd pick Monday!).  Just be sure and stick with tradition by standing on your fiance's left so that he can fight off your old boyfriends while taking his vows...unless, of course, any of them have bathed more recently... in which case, you are more than justified in having second thoughts about your choice.