from Chris
I come from northwest Pennsylvania, not too far from Punxsutawney, home of the world’s most famous weather-forecasting groundhog, so unusual weather customs are not so strange to me. The South has its own weather-related traditions, of course, including one intended to keep the skies clear and brides and grooms dry on their wedding day: burying the bourbon.
According to legend, if the bride and groom bury a bottle of bourbon upside down at the site of their wedding, it won’t rain on their wedding day. The bottle has to be full, and it has to be buried exactly one month before the wedding.
Earlier this month, one of our couples, Corey and CJ, came to the Ridge to bury their bourbon. As it happens, they’re also transplants from western Pennsylvania, so they know Punxsutawney Phil well, too.
Because of our earthworks, we’re careful about where we dig around here, so I typically supervise bourbon-burying. Shovel in hand, I took the happy couple to a spot in the woods where it was safe to dig, and I let them have at it. The location is near the spot where Jennifer and I got married, so I told Corey and CJ that I hoped it would give them extra luck and that they’d be as happy and Jennifer and I are.
To be sure we would all remember the location, we took some pictures and Corey marked the spot with their initials, which happen to be the same.
My favorite part of burying the bourbon is that, whether the tradition works or not, the couple still gets to dig up their bourbon after the ceremony and share a toast with their bridal party. That seems like a win-win situation to me!