Have you seen a chimney sweep at a wedding?

[Glitterbiscuits]

DH and I are driving behind a sweep’s van and he wonders if sweeps still go to weddings? We are now old (50s) And I’ve never seen one at any wedding we’ve been to. Was it ever a thing? Is it a thing now? Of course you wouldn’t need to be an actual real chimney sweep to appear at a wedding, you’d just appear in a costume.

And are there any other wedding traditions that have died out? Do people still tie tin cans onto the cars?

I was a flower girl aged three and gave my Godparents a horseshoe at their wedding. This was 1969 in Sussex. One great grandparent was Scottish so perhaps a nod to him.

No never, but I was given a horseshoe at my wedding

I went to a wedding in the 90s on the same day that my town was having a Victorian fair. Somebody dressed up as a chimney sweep (I assume he wasn't actually one) and posed for photos with the bride and groom outside the church. I'd never heard of the custom so I was a bit bemused but the older people at the church explained that it was an old tradition.

I was given a little chimney sweep charm at my wedding; 15 years ago, I have no idea where it is now!

DH has a special Victorian sweep outfit with a top hat for weddings. It looks shabby but wouldn't spoil a dress.

I received a horseshoe (plastic) and a decorative wooden spoon. I got married in the mid 1990s.
We also had tin cans tied to the bumper of our car. This may have died out once car bumpers stopped being made of a chrome bar.
DH is Scottish and he says they used to do something he called Scrambles (it may have a different name though) where the groom would empty his pockets of loose change outside the church after the ceremony for the local children to gather.

I had a chimney sweep, and his black cat, come to my wedding in 1992. It has ‘good luck’ symbolism and we are still happily married today!

Loved a good scramble. I had a sweep at my wedding in the 80s. When i married again in the 2000s i was given a lovely horseshoe from my neighbours children. I still have it in my memory box.

Yes, in about 2003 at a very very posh friend's wedding. Cathedral venue, chimney sweep, released doves, the works.

I thought horse shoes were a thing for everyone! I got married 10 years ago and got one, i still have it.

My parents had a chimney sweep doll for theres over 40 years ago, theyre very happy so clearly its power worked 🤣🤣

I’ve never seen one but our local one has it on the side of the van. Like ‘stoves, burners, chimneys, weddings’

For my first wedding my Nan knitted a chimney sweep for me.Definitely not a lucky charm!

QE2 and Prince Phillip had a sweep at their wedding. Charles and Diana didn't. Make of that what you will.

The best scramble I had was outside my Gran &Grandas house..I was the only kid there.
Cheers Mr.Gardiner..70s NE Scotland.

My mother used to take us to the local church to see the wedding party come out so we used to see sweeps fairly regularly at the wedding. This would have been the 1960s.

Got married in 2013 and got given a fair few plastic horseshoes and one beautiful sterling silver one with our names and wedding date engraved on it.
I’ve always owned horses so maybe people felt it a good thing to give to me generally?
My nan used to give “tuppence for the sweep” to couples getting married, child me thought it was for cleaning the church or something! Had no idea about sweeps attending weddings until this thread!

I remember my sister and I giving brides a horseshoe or small chimney sweep when I was very young, in the 1960s and getting horseshoes when I married in 1990, and my toddler giving one a few years later but I haven’t seen it done since. Coincidentally I was watching Four weddings and a funeral last week and commented that brides no longer change into a going away outfit and drive away from the reception.

Definitely a "thing" in England too. My mum still has her (plastic) horseshoe from her wedding, and she presented me with a shoe from my pony (cleaned up, painted and hung on ribbon) at my wedding 10 years ago. Was too heavy and annoying to cart round for the full day though!

This is one of those moments where I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone, having never heard of any of these traditions.

Awww, scrambles were great when I was a kid. Thanks for the reminder 😁

My mum has a felt chimney sweep 'charm' on a ribbon worn round her wrist in her wedding photos (post ceremony). My parents were married in the early 1960s in London.

My son was at a cousin's wedding in England a few years ago and one of her sons was dressed as a chimney sweep.
He had no idea why.

My daughter had a scramble at her wedding in 2019 as it was in a local church. There just isn't the opportunity to have them these days as so many people don't get married llocally.

We still have pre wedding blackenings here 😅

I am Scottish and have never heard of any of those things.

Re Scramble - on my BIL's wedding video you can clearly hear one of the kids say "Tight arsed bastards - it's all coppers!" I haven't seen a scramble for years.

In fact, it used to be normal (where we lived) for neighbours to gather around the bride's house to cheer her leaving - haven't seen that either.

Chimney sweeps used to be quite common at weddings in the 60s and 70s. I received a satin horseshoe from a nephew at my wedding in the late 80s.

I did throw my bouquet which resulted in a roll on the floor fight between a colleague and a family member.

All west of Scotland.

Yes at my nieces wedding 4 years ago!
He was all dressed up with a top hat and had a real black cat draped around his neck!
Said cat was called Snowey! 😆