So the best thing is to ignore the whole lot of them and just get on and do the deed the way you want.

But if, in an idle moment, you are curious as to where some of the customs came from, here are a few colourful examples of wedding traditions – both fact and fiction.

PROBABLY the most universally accepted mantra that has been handed down for generations is the rhyme:

‘Something old, something new

Something borrowed, something blue’

But there is a final line that tends to be forgotten these days:

‘And a silver sixpence in your/her shoe’

This well-known ditty dates back to Victorian times although some of the customs referred to are much older.

‘Something old’ represents the links with the bride’s family and old friends. Traditionally this was an old garter which was given to the bride by a happily married woman in the hope that her marital happiness would rub off on the new bride but it is more often now a piece of family jewellery or, occasionally, the wedding dress worn by the bride’s mother or grandmother.

‘Something new’ symbolises good fortune and success for the newlyweds' future and the wedding dress itself is frequently chosen as the new item.

‘Something borrowed’ is to remind the bride that friends and family will be there should she need their help. The borrowed object could be a lace handkerchief or gloves or a valued item of jewellery (Kate Middleton borrowed the Queen’s Cartier ‘Halo’ tiara on her big day). To ensure good luck, the bride must return the item after the wedding.

The custom of the bride wearing ‘something blue’ dates back to Biblical times. In ancient Israel, the colour blue symbolized fidelity and the bride often wore a blue ribbon in her hair representing modesty and purity.

Putting a silver sixpence in the bride's shoe was a sop to ensure wealth and happiness for the couple in the years to come. Silver sixpences are a bit thin on the ground these days so some brides make do with a penny instead. Neither can be very comfortable!

EVEN though wedding traditions still abound, everything has become more relaxed. In the past, when an eager Romeo wanted to propose he would send an advance party of friends or family to convince his Juliet and her family of just what a good catch he would be. On the way, if they saw a blind man, a monk or a pregnant woman it was thought to be such bad luck that the marriage would be doomed if it went ahead.On the other hand, the sighting of nanny goats, pigeons or wolves (!!) on their journey was just peachy and would bring good fortune to the marriage.

IF, on May 1, you find a hawthorn branch at your front door it could be that your boyfriend has been studying French Medieval history. It was a recognised form of proposal. If you leave it there you’ll be saying ‘yes’ if you replace the branch with a cauliflower he’ll know that it’s a ‘no’ then.

HERE’S one that most engaged girls will have fallen foul of at some time or the other. Superstition says that the bride should not practice writing her new name before the wedding. It’s thought to bring bad luck by tempting fate.

ALTHOUGH most weddings now take place on a Saturday it was considered unlucky in the past. Fridays were also considered unlucky, particularly Friday the 13^th – and it probably still is.

AS for which month of the year to marry in, May usually got the thumbs-down possibly because it was also the month in which the Pagan festival of Beltane was celebrated with outdoor orgies. Not a good omen for the start of married life. The advice was taken more seriously in Victorian times than it is today. In most Churches the end of April was a busy time for weddings as couples wanted to avoid being married in May. Queen Victoria is thought to have forbidden her children from marrying in May. Nowadays, May is a very popular month in which to marry – not least because the weather is invariably often an awful lot nicer than it is later in the summer.