Historically, June has always been the most popular month for weddings. There are many reasons why this month is so popular.
The month of June derives its name from Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. It was thought that couples who married in June would be blessed with prosperity and happiness.
During medieval times a person’s annual bath (yes, you read that right — just one really thorough bath per year!) usually fell in May or June, meaning that June brides still smelled relatively fresh. The brides would have smelled more pleasant then than before but just to be safe, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide their body odor. Hence the customs of carrying a bouquet when walking down the aisle!
Also, ancient tradition promoted it would be most unlucky to marry in the month of May because in Roman times the Feast of the Dead and the Festival of the Goddess of Chastity both occurred in May. (I doubt that husbands would be too inclined to want their new partners mourning lost loves on their honeymoon!)
The real reason in today’s economy may be far more practical. If a person marries in June, he or she is considered to have been a married person for the whole financial year: July 1 to June 30. As a married person was thought to have greater obligations than a single person, the rate of income tax collected was lower. So by marrying in June, a lower rate of income tax would be applied to the year’s earnings, and a substantial refund would be received. This was traditionally used to defray the costs of the honeymoon.
