James & Elisha Ferguson’s Wedding
Last Saturday, I met with a wonderful young couple Thomas and Alice, who are getting married in one of our churches very soon. I love taking the weddings for our amazing couples who want to be married in church.
We were having a varied conversation about Church faith and what it might mean to get married in church when Alice informs me of a new craze of burying a sausage in the garden as a wedding ritual to guarantee good weather! I am not easily shocked, but on this occasion I was somewhat bemused by the idea.
It seems only In the last few months, this peculiar wedding trend has been making its rounds on TikTok and bridal forums: couples burying a raw sausage in the garden the night before their wedding, hoping to guarantee sunshine on the big day. Yes, you read that right, sausages, soil, and superstition.
As a Priest in the church of England, I find this a bazar tradition. And of course my mind started to ponder where does this tradition come from and what biblical links might it have, and what bible passage might speak into this odd tradition. I can’t think of any Bible story that includes burying a sausage for any reason. I’ve seen my fair share of wedding traditions, from “something old, something new” to handfasting ribbons and lucky horseshoes. But this one? It’s new to me, and delightfully bizarre.
The tradition appears to have roots in German folklore, particularly in Bavaria and Austria, where sausages symbolize festivity, fertility, and prosperity. Over time, burying a sausage became a light-hearted ritual to ward off rain and invite sunshine, a kind of culinary talisman. In the UK, where rain is a frequent wedding guest, the custom has taken hold among brides seeking dry skies.
It’s not entirely without precedent. In the Southern United States, couples bury a bottle of bourbon upside-down to secure good weather. In Japan, families hang Teru Teru Bōzu dolls to keep the rain away. In Spain, some brides turn a statue of the Virgin Mary to face the sun.
So perhaps the sausage isn’t so strange after all, just another way as humans we try to influence the uncontrollable.
The Bible doesn’t mention sausages buried in gardens (thankfully), but it does speak to our desire for control, blessing, and signs. Consider these passages:
- Matthew 5:45 – “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
A reminder that weather is not a reward or punishment, but part of God’s gracious provision. - Ecclesiastes 11:5 – “As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.”
A call to humility in the face of mystery. - Proverbs 16:9 – “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Even our best-laid plans, sausage or no sausage, rest in God’s hands.
I have decided that rather than mock the ritual, perhaps we can see it as a playful expression of hope. A desire for joy. A longing for blessing. And isn’t that what weddings are full of?
Here are some quirky British wedding customs:
| Tradition | Description |
| Handfasting | An ancient Celtic ritual where the couple’s hands are bound with ribbons to symbolize unity. |
| Blackening the bride | A Scottish custom where the bride (and sometimes groom) is covered in messy substances by friends — originally a cleansing ritual for luck. |
| Lucky horseshoes
| Often carried or gifted to the bride as a symbol of protection and blessing. |
And of course we have some wedding traditions in our own Parish Churches that can be considered odd. Such as tying the church gate; the groom has to cut the rope before they can leave as husband and wife. Each of these rituals, however odd, speaks to something deeper: our yearning for joy, connection, and a sense that love is blessed.
As Christians, we don’t need sausages to secure sunshine. We trust in a God who walks with us through rain and shine, who blesses marriages not with weather forecasts but with grace, patience, and love.
But we also know that God delights in joy, laughter, and the peculiarities of human culture. So if burying a sausage brings a smile, a moment of togetherness, or a sense of hope, perhaps we can bless it, not for its power, but for its playfulness.
And maybe, just maybe, it’s a reminder that while we can’t control the skies, we can choose to celebrate love, rain or shine.
