Weddings have been around for as long as we can remember , hence all of the wonderful traditions that are part of the package - from the bride's farther giving her away, to our favourite, the beautiful dresses and gaining a new sparkly best friend on your left hand. Getting married is a super exciting process however, it's not all rainbows and puppy dogs, for example, trying to find the perfect dress which matches all of your bridesmaids skin tone, body shape and fashion interest is probably the most stressful task you will ever have to carry out. So, have you ever stop to wonder why we do this to ourselves, and why this actually quite bizarre tradition even exists?

So, Mental Floss did some intense research digging all the way back to when weddings began in Ancient Roman times, before the days of Kim and Kanye, and Will and Kate. If were honest, it turns out to be quite creepy, so brace yourself...

In Roman times, a bridal party didn't exist to help with the bridezilla moments and to make sure your hen party was stocked up with willy-straws, they were there to help ward of the demons or ex-boyfriends (we'd be more concerned about the ex-boyfriends to be honest). The idea was, the bride would surround herself with decoys so that when either the evil spirit demon creature things, or the ex-boyfriends appeared to try and disrupt the wedding, they would be confused to which lady was the bride.

So, the next time you're asked to wear a hideous matching bridesmaid dress for a friend's wedding, just take one for the team and do it ok? No one wants to see a demon or bitter ex ruin their BFF's big day.