Customs varied from region to region. In Normandy, it was said that when a daughter was born, her father would fell a tree and set aside the wood, to be crafted into her wedding armoire once she became engaged. Elsewhere in France, fathers built the armoires when their daughters were still young, gifting them during adolescence so the girl could begin filling it with her trousseau. By the 18th century, as craftsmanship flourished, families increasingly commissioned master artisans, whose elaborate carvings transformed these functional wardrobes into heirloom showpieces.

In Brittany, the traditions grew even more theatrical. Before the wedding, the bride’s trousseau and armoire de mariage were paraded to her new home in a brightly decorated cart drawn by oxen draped in flowers. Upon arrival, the bride's mother would carefully arrange the trousseau inside, and then — with great ceremony — her father flung open the doors to the admiring gasps of “oohs and ahs” from friends and neighbors. Afterwards, the priest would bless both the marriage armoire and the marriage bed before the two families sat down to dinner together.

These rituals weren’t just symbolic — they cemented the armoire’s role as the heart of the new home. To this day, antique armoires de mariage are still found in country houses across France, often guarding stacks of antique linens, some embroidered with initials long faded by time. Each carving, each fold of fabric, whispers a story of love, hope, and generations gone by.