THE FOUR SOMETHINGS: INCORPORATING TRADITION WITHOUT BEING FLASHY

Traditions are important for establishing community. Practices are passed down from one generation to the next, which forges a bond between the past and the present, and promises the possibility for the future. However, traditions do not always reflect the thoughts or interests of newer generations.

Originally, the something old and the something blue tokens for a wedding ceremony were utilized to ward off the Evil Eye. And the something borrowed was often a borrowed pair of undergarments from a fertile woman to bestow luck and bounty on the bride. While the sentiment is nice, the idea of borrowing someone’s underwear might not be palatable to contemporary brides. An interesting contemporary twist on the Four Somethings tradition is to incorporate designer jewelry.

There are several different ways that jewelry can be utilized to incorporate the Four Somethings into the bride’s ensemble. The trick to incorporating all Four Somethings with jewelry is to make sure that it is done tastefully. To make sure that the amount of jewelry does not get overwhelming, one must find balance by figuring out which pieces of designer jewelry the bride would like to incorporate. The most obvious way to find balance is by selecting one of the Four Somethings to correspond with the four basic pieces of jewelry—necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets.

Colored gemstones, such as earrings, a necklace, or a chic unique engagement ring, can be used to fulfill the something blue aspect, or if blue does not fit the bride’s color scheme, blue gemstones can be placed on the garter belt. Blue can also be incorporated into a bracelet, which can be another subtle way of incorporating blue without distracting from a previously decided on color scheme.

For many brides their unique engagement ring will be the Something New but it can also be the Something Old, depending on whether or not they have opted for an heirloom engagement ring. However, another option for the bride is to ask someone close to them if they can borrow a piece of jewelry for their Something Borrowed. Also, if the bride has opted to give jewelry as bridesmaid gifts, that piece of jewelry can double as Something New and Something Borrowed.

Another option is to allocate an individual piece of designer jewelry to each Something.

However you choose to divvy up the Four Somethings it is important to remember that you’re creating a tradition of your own to pass on to your future children.