Believe it or not, the first groomsmen we know of were tribal warriors! They were trusted friends of the Groom, and for these true guardians it was a sign of honor to be invited to protect the bride from possible kidnappers. The tradition as we know it, however, has roots in the Roman Catholic Church: The role of the sponsors was linked to the baptism – they bore witness to the behavior of those receiving the sacrament. In the 5th century, when the tradition of infant baptism began, sponsors became guardians of the child’s spiritual beliefs.
In the 19th century, this tradition started to be observed for wedding ceremonies as well. In the book entitled Entre o Reino de Deus e o dos Homens: A Secularização do Casamento no Brasil do Século XIX, “Between the Kingdom of God and Men: The Secularization of Marriage in Brazil in the 19th Century”, Josette Lordello states that soon after the Council of Trent, between 1545 and 1563, there were three prerequisites for a marriage to be validated by the Church: To take place in a sacred location, to be officiated by clergy men and to have two or three witnesses – who could even be church-goers waiting for a mass.
As time went by, this position stood out and, much like in the baptism tradition, it became the sponsors’ job to offer spiritual guidance and advice to the new couple. The tradition crossed centuries and was incorporated into the wedding rites of other cultures and religions.
In Mexico, for example, there are five wedding Groomsmen, each with a different role in the ceremony: Vigil, wedding coins, wedding lasso, rosary and rings. According to Father Puleo from the Saint Patrick Parish, a scholar of Hispanic celebrations, all of them have a responsibility in the ceremony, as it’s their job to provide the items related to such responsibility; so if one of the Groomsmen is responsible for the rings, they are supposed to buy them and take them to the church.
Couples choose beloved friends and family members to be honored and to bless the union.
Have you even considered involving your Groomsmen or Bridesmaids to be a part of your wedding? Here at Rito, they are invited to take part from the beginning, by answering some questions about the beloved couple, but we are also very open to the idea of including them in other ways, never losing sight of the most crucial things in a wedding ceremony: truth and love. It’s exciting!
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