Cling-Clang, Cling-Clang down the road goes the wedding car, carrying the happy couple to their destination. But where did the tradition of tying cans to the wedding car come from?
Some say the wedding tradition came from the French practice of charivari, or shivaree. This practice, which was likely used to try to scare away evil spirits as well as allow everyone to come together and celebrate the new couple, involved wedding guests banging pots and pans and other noisy objects together as the bride and groom drove away. Sometimes the guests would even follow the bride and groom all the way home and make noise until they came to a window to greet them, before finally being left alone.
Featured in the movie adaptation of the musical Oklahoma! the precautionary and celebratory ruckus of shivaree finds a tamed down and more intimate expression nowadays in tin cans tied to the rear bumper of the wedding car.
Other sources say, however, that the tradition of tying cans to the newlywed’s car instead comes from the Tudor period in England. At this time there was a belief that it was good luck to hit the newlywed’s carriage with your shoe. Whether from too many errant throws or wedding guests getting tired of retrieving their shoes, the tradition then morphed into tying shoes to the back of the leaving vehicle. It is likely that somewhere along the line the shoes were swapped out for cans.
In present day, many people still tie cans to the back of the newlywed’s car and often even include other decorations like a sign, ribbons, or balloons. You can even customize your cans to match your theme colors or include cute wedding well-wishes from friends and family! Whether or not you include tying cans to your car as part of your wedding day plans, take comfort in knowing that your romantic newly-wedded drive will not involve dodging flying shoes.
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