Rose petals are a must have at every wedding, but why is that so?  The origin of rose petals at weddings is rather ambiguous, but looking throughout history, one can find examples of rose petal use in weddings.  The tradition essentially derives from the idea of fertility.  The flower girl walks down the aisle before the bride, strewing rose petals as she goes.  The young girl traditionally wears a white dress and tosses red rose petals.  Symbolically, the white dress represents purity, whereas the red rose petals represent fertility.  Therefore, the image of the flower girl is meant to depict the bride’s loss of purity for that of romance and fertility with her marriage.

The use of rose petals at weddings today evolved from different traditions and events in many different countries.  Ancient Romans and Egyptians threw seeds at the newlyweds to grant them fertility, translating eventually into rose petals.  Cleopatra had rose petals covering her living quarters, so once Marc Anthony met her, he would always remember her whenever he saw or smelt a rose.  In Medieval England, a flower girl lead the bride to her wedding, leaving her path covered in rose petals as a symbol of happiness and to make her last walk as a maiden a wonderful and beautiful occasion.

Rose petals not only serve a purpose for weddings though, and each color of rose holds a different traditional meaning.  Red, most obviously, conveys deep love and passion, whereas a white rose symbolizes purity.  If one is looking for a rose petal color to express friendship and caring, yellow is the color to give.  A light purple shade represents love at first sight, and a dark purple rose color signifies majesty, and quite traditionally, royalty.  Lighter colors, like pink, orange, and peach, show lighter emotions.  Pink lets one express their appreciation for another, orange togetherness, and peach, hope for a future.