Banned at Weddings in New York State?

It was at one point, an extremely popular tradition that may been annoying. There are states in America that have banned it.

When was the last time that you saw guests throw rice at the bride and groom at church? If you don't know what we are talking about, there was a very popular tradition where the bride and groom would walk out of church after their wedding ceremony and all of the guests would throw rice at them.

Tons of churches in New York State have banned the tradition. They cited at one point that it was bad for the birds. In fact, after it was proven that it was not that bad for the birds, churches were still not accepting of the rice--because the birds would then poo all over the front steps of the church.

Why do people throw rice outside at weddings?

Rice or grains symbolize fertility and are a symbol of prosperity. It was in hopes that the couple would have lots of children.

Is rice banned at New York State weddings?

In 1985 a bill was introduced by a state legislator in Connecticut to ban the throwing of rice at weddings. Although, in the end it did not go through, because, like many New York State churches, they at one point believed that it was bad for the birds. At this point, there is not ban by the State of New York, but just by individual churches and establishments.

If you have ever seen it done at weddings, it is quite the saga. The rice will get in people's clothes and stuck in their hair and the ladies hate that, to say the least.