5 Things That Are Bad Luck On Your Wedding Day

If there's one thing about wedding ceremonies and receptions, it's that they're filled with traditions. Everything — from wearing "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue" to what you say in your ceremony to how you enter a certain room — is rooted in old beliefs.

But, with traditions come superstitions, those silly things that are believed to be bad luck on your wedding day. And though we don't necessarily believe in these bad luck fears, we don't necessarily fault couples who do.

Crossing the Path of a Nun or Monk
This one has a pretty low chance of happening (unless you're getting married in a monastery), but according to folklore, crossing the path of a nun or monk leads to a barren womb. Since these chaste devotees don't bear any children, it's believed that the bride won't be able to either.

Getting Married on Saturday (or on the 13th or in the Month of May)
There are a lot of inauspicious days when it comes to wedding planning. Thirteen is an infamously unlucky number, and its superstitions cross over into wedding dates. And though Saturday is the most popular day for couples to pick for their wedding, English folklore claims a Saturday wedding dooms a couple to a life of bad luck. Finally, some pagan societies believed the entire month of May was bad luck.

Receiving Knives
Because knives cut things in two, receiving knives as a wedding gift dooms the couple to a broken marriage. But, because knives are such a common wedding registry item, don't sweat this one. All the couple has to do to break this curse is give the gifter a penny and — voila! — the knives are technically a purchase.

Seeing Each Other Before the Ceremony
In the days of arranged marriages, it was against custom for the bride and groom to see each other before their wedding, lest one of the betrothed change his or her mind. This grew into the superstition that it's bad luck to see one another before the marriage ceremony.

Using Your Married Name Before Your Wedding
Using your married name instead of your maiden name before the wedding is said to be tempting fate for the bride. Apparently, if you use even so much as use your soon-to-be monogram, your wedding is doomed to never even happen.