Often times the treasures lent to brides for their “Something Borrowed” are also something old, or blue, or even new if the item is inherited by the bride.

These are a few brides’ stories about the items they borrowed for the big day:

A Gem of a Tradition

“It was the first gift my grandfather gave to her when they were dating and I was obsessed with it as a child,” one bride says of the blue jewelry set she borrowed of her grandmother’s.

The jewelry set was then given to the bride.

“After my wedding, when my brother got engaged, I had the earrings made into three necklaces,” she said. The necklace with the larger stone was gifted to the new sister-in-law on her wedding day and the remaining necklaces were kept to pass down to future generations.

Handing down a Handbag

Another bride shares a story of borrowing her grandmother’s beaded purse. Twenty-five years later, the purse was borrowed again—this time from the bride—for her daughter’s wedding. Traditions like this can mean a lot to a new bride and even more to the earlier generations.

Hankering for Love

A lovely long-time tradition for brides is to wrap the bridal bouquet in a family member’s handkerchief. It was once thought good luck for hankies to catch the joyful tears of the bride and groom on their wedding day.

A bride following this tradition reminisces about having all of the bridal bouquets wrapped in her “great-grandmother’s pretty hankies.”

Just for Fun

Borrowed items don’t always have to mean something. Sometimes, they’re just borrowed and returned. But like a bride who wore her mom’s bracelet for the day, the honor may be more for the loaner than the borrower.

What will be–or what was–your something borrowed?