United States Wedding Traditions

Wedding Traditions and Customs around the World

all your own; barriers; bridges; culture it is part of; ceremony; to embrace love; desires; in all its splendors; inextricably;

in-tune; is derived; jungles; to last a lifetime; lightly; necessary; powerful; recognizable; skyscrapers;

speaks volumes; springs; sublime; take special pains; the unceasing marvels; to “tie the knot.”; witness our pledge

The word “wed” 1. … from the ancient Greek word for “pledge.” And that’s exactly what a wedding is, no matter what country it takes place in, no matter what 2.…. To wed is to pledge yourself to another. There are few acts we perform that are more pure or more beautiful than the act of marriage.

Marriage is the most solemn pledge we make in our lifetimes. Traditionally the wedding pledge is made in front of family and friends who 3.…… to stand up and 4. …. The wedding pledge is to be true and faithful and loving to another human being. To wed is both the most basic of all human pledges, and at the same time the most 5. ….

There are few joys in life as deep or as long lasting as the joy that 6. … from the well of true love and a lasting marriage.

We even have a term for it: soul mates. Two people, individual but at the same time 7. … a part of each other, so 8. … with the needs and the 9. … of the other that often words are not 10. …. A mere glance between two lovers 11. ….

In almost all cultures the marriage 12. … ends with the bride and groom exchanging a kiss. The wedding kiss transcends cultures, it 13. … tribes, it is one of the very few things that bind all of us together as human beings. From ancient times to the modern day, from the deepest 14. … to the tallest 15. …, the wedding kiss symbolizes for all people everywhere the physical uniting of two souls.

Marriage is a bringing together. It is a bringing together of two people, of two families, or two tribes, or two villages, or even two countries. Marriage is that 16. …. Marriage is not something to be entered into 17. …. Marriage is a pledge meant 18. ….

Yet it is one of 19. … that we are able to express something as basic as love and marriage in so many wonderful and touching ways. Such is the wonder of human existence. The ceremonies and the traditions may be different, they may seem strange or outlandish or they may touch feelings in us that we never knew we had, but there is something about marriage that is instantly 20. … no matter what the language.

It has often been said that love transcends everything, that it knows no 21. …. If you are looking for a unique or thoughtful way of showing your love, then perhaps you have come to the right place. Here you will find many ways 22. …. Perhaps you will discover a charming wedding tradition that you can make 23. …. If you have decided to make the pledge, then be prepared 24. … and marriage 25. …, and the world will be yours.

2. English Traditions baptism; hem; horseshoe; originated; rain; unique

Wedding flowers are scattered by a small girl preceding the English bride and her wedding party, who walk together to the wedding chapel or the wedding site. The flowered path and symbolic walk express hope for the bride's path through life to be happy and lovely. English bridesmaids wear wedding dresses very much like the bride's, so she cannot be singled out by any jealous evil wishers, who might curse her for her happiness.

Brides sew a good luck charm, such as the silver 1. … of royal British brides, to the 2. … of their wedding dresses. Old English wedding tradition also calls for the bride to carry a horseshoe, streaming with ribbons, for good luck.

Traditionally, an English couple getting married will exchange their vows outside the wedding chapel doorway, allowing the ceremony to be witnessed by anyone who might want to watch.

Traditional English wedding cake is a fruitcake, usually made with raisins, ground almonds, cherries and marzipan. The top layer of the wedding cake is called the "christening cake" which the couple saves for the 3. … of their first child. The fruitcake is served at the wedding reception along with another traditional cake – the groom's cake – which 4. … during the Tudor period. It was once English custom for this to be a fruitcake as well, but today, the groom's cake is likely to be 5. ….

A 6. … Victorian wedding reception event is called a 'ribbon pull'. A sterling silver charm is purchased for each of the bridesmaids. A ribbon is tied to each one, and the baker places them between layers of the wedding cake as it is being assembled. Before the bride and groom share their first slice of cake, the bridesmaids gather so that each can pull one ribbon, claiming for herself a future good promise.

The wedding tradition of tying shoes to the cars of newlyweds also began in England during the Tudor period. Originally, wedding reception guests threw shoes at the newlyweds as they were leaving the church for good luck. The modern tradition is to tie shoes to the honeymoon vehicle. The English consider 7. … on a wedding day a sign of good fortune.

Wedding Traditions in the Baltic

a binding legal agreement; the blessing; the bride-to-be; canopy; child; collection; the congregation; consent; crown;

customary; discretely; dowry; the engagement; feast; a fit wife; inheritance; is inclined; is likely; legal; minimum;

observed; opt for; parents; poor; proceed; rejoicing; rural; silk scarves; token; word comes back

Marriage traditions have changed a great deal over the centuries in most of the Baltic countries. For example, in the 16th century the 1. … age for marriage through much of the Baltic region was 14 for boys and 13 for girls. Today the 2. … age for marriage without parental 3. … ranges between 18 and 21, depending on the country.

Today young couples from large cities often 4. … an American or British-style of wedding, but in the 5. … country areas the more traditional ceremonies are still 6. ….

Young men, for example, often ask a friend or a relative to 7. … discover if a young woman 8. … to say “Yes” to a proposal before he actually asks the question. If 9. … that the young lady 10. … to say “Yes”, then the young man will go to the girl’s father and ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. If the father agrees and the young woman actually does say “Yes” when the proposal is made the wedding may 11. …. A young couple who get married without 12. … of the girl’s father can expect no 13. …, no 14. … and no help of any kind from the bride’s 15. ….

An important part of 16. … in much of the Baltic is the buying and exchanging of the engagement rings and 17. …. In some parts of the Baltic the exchange of the engagement rings is considered 18. … to go forward with the wedding.

Once the girl agrees to the marriage the marriage “banns,” or proposal, must be published and posted at the local church where the wedding is to be held and the priest announces the engagement to 19. …. Traditionally an engagement in the Baltic area is six months.

Very often 20. … spent a week at the groom’s parent’s home, helping with the cooking and the cleaning and the housework so that the groom’s mother could see if she would make 21. … for her son.

A hundred years ago it was 22. … for the bride to wear a black wedding dress in much of the Baltic region, but today brides wear a white dress and a veil, often with a small silver 23. …. In a traditional wedding it is often customary for the bride and groom to be seated during the ceremony and for the bridesmaids to hold either a red or a white 24. … above the heads of the young couple.

At the conclusion of the ceremony the young couple exchange wedding rings and there is the traditional kissing of the bride, during which the young couple exchange portions of their souls.

The 25.… following the wedding is a time for 26.…. There is a great deal of music, dancing, and toasting of the new couple. In many parts of the Baltic a wedding feast would last for as long as eight hours. Traditionally the first dance is danced by the bride and groom and is followed by all of the single men dancing with the bride; often there is a 27.… payment for the dance with the money used for the bride and groom’s honeymoon. Often there is also a 28.… for the village 29.… as well.

On the second day following the wedding it was sometimes customary for the young bride to be seated and to have a small 30. … placed in her lap. She was then told “to make one of her own.”

During the 60s and 70s many young couples in the Baltic opted for a civil wedding without all the trappings of ancient custom, but recently there has been a revival of the ancient traditions even in the cities. Why? There are many guesses. Perhaps the answer is as simple as a revival of romance!

4. Scandinavian Wedding Traditions

allowing; blindfolded; charms; to ensure; fertility; a golden crown; havoc; a pillowcase;

reception; rush into; the same; shelter; three golden rings; tinkle; ward off

Traditionally Scandinavians don’t like to 1. … marriage. Marriage is a serious business and in many parts of Scandinavia an engagement may last three or even four years, 2. … plenty of time for the couple to get to know each other, to see each other at their best and at their worst.

Many of the wedding traditions in the Scandinavian countries go back hundreds of years. In Denmark, for example, it is traditional for an arch of pine branches to be built in front of the bride’s home. This arch is known as the Gates of Honor. At the wedding 3. … in Denmark it is traditional for the groom to disappear during part of the ceremony so that all the unmarried young men can kiss the bride – and then it is the bride’s turn to disappear while all the single girls kiss the groom. To insure good luck and to 4. … evil spirits it is required that a Danish couple cut their wedding cake together, the new husband and wife holding the knife together, and then for each wedding guest to eat a slice of cake.

In Finland it is tradition for the bride-to-be to walk from house to house with 5. … to collect her wedding presents. While she walks from house to house an older, married man walks beside her, holding an umbrella or parasol over her head as a symbol of protection and 6. …. It is also traditional for a bride in Finland to wear 7. … and during the wedding reception she is 8. … and spun around while all the unmarried girls dance around her – the one she places the crown on will be the next to marry!

When a couple is married in Norway their friends and neighbors plant two small pine tries on either side of their young couple’s front door as a symbol of 9. …. Also, a Norwegian bride wears a silver crown in silver 10. … hanging all around it. As she walks the charms 11. …, making a beautiful music sound which wards off evil spirits which love to cause 12. … with newlyweds.

In Sweden mother of the bride traditionally presents her daughter with a gold coin to be placed in her right shoe and her father gives her a silver coin for her left shoe. In this way they hope 13. … that their daughter will never be poor. When a girl in Sweden is engaged it is customary for her to receive an engagement ring. Then, during the wedding ceremony the bride’s husband slips the wedding ring onto his new bride’s finger plus he slips a ring of motherhood onto her finger as well – meaning that a Swedish wife will wear 14. ….

While the details may vary from one country to another, many customs and traditions are 15. …. Throughout all of Scandinavia there is some fertility custom that goes along with all marriage ceremonies, a recognition that the purpose of marriage is not to be a couple…but to become a family.

Western European Wedding Traditions

acquisition; adding; attire; band; to be associated; blend; deserved; domestic authority; doomed; enduring; esteemed; evolved; extended; fertility; to fight off; a financial sacrifice; going strong; gold; innocence; jewelry; to kidnap; a knight; mundane; neighboring; plague; prior; prosperity; protects; respectively; significance; signified; stems; symbolic; taboo; threshold; a tournament; veil; wedding bouquet; wedding cake; yore

Wedding traditions in Western Europe are as varied as the countries that make up the region – from Ireland to Italy, from Portugal to Switzerland and everything in between, the wonderful, colorful wedding traditions of Western Europe span almost a quarter of our world.

One of the ancient traditions of Western Europe which is still 1. … today is the idea of the engagement ring. It was way back in 860 A.D. that Pope Nicholas I proclaimed that not only was an engagement ring required to seal the agreement to be married, but that the engagement ring must be made of gold. The making of the ring out of gold 2. … that the groom was willing to make 3. … for his new bride-to-be.

The reasons given for the wearing of the ring upon the fourth finger of the left hand are three:

The most practical and 4. … is the Roman explanation that this finger best 5. … the valuable ring. The left hand, to begin with, is used less than the right: therefore the ring belongs to the left. And of the fingers on the left hand, the fourth is the only one which cannot easily be 6. … except in the company of another. The finger is protected: the ring is as safe as it can be.

The second reason goes back to the Egyptians, who believed that a vein ran from the fourth finger of the left hand directly to the heart. Since the heart controlled both life and love, this finger was the most honored. It 7. … the ring, the pledge of love.

The third reason 8.…… from the Christian Church which, to impress the seriousness of the ceremony upon the bride and groom, lectured that the thumb and the first two fingers of the hand stood 9. … for the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and that the fourth stood for the earthly love of man for woman, their marriage together, and the hope of Heaven to follow.

"With this rynge I thee wed, and this gold and silver I thee give, and with my body I thee worship, and will all my worldly chatels I thee endow." When the groom had said these words, he held the ring for a moment over the tip of the thumb of the ring hand, saying, "In the name of the father;" then held it briefly to the tip of the second finger saying, "And of the Son;" then put it to the tip of the third finger, saying, "And of the Holy Ghost;" and, lastly, placed it firmly on the fourth finger with a resolute "Amen."

It would be another 617 years before the tradition of 10. … a diamond to an engagement ring would be started. It was in the year 1477 that King Maximilian presented the lovely Mary of Burgundy with a diamond engagement ring, and from that day to this a diamond has been a girl’s best friend.

It was in Italy, the land of love, that 11. … wedding rings first became popular, and it was also in Italy that the tradition of the 12. … was first begun when, in the first century B.C., a cake or bread was broken over the bride’s head to insure 13. ….

It was in ancient Germany that the Western European tradition ofaBest Man began. In olden days it was sometimes necessary for a man 14. … his bride from a 15. … village and he needed his strongest friend (his Best Man) to help with the kidnapping and to stand by him at the wedding ceremony 16. … any relatives that might try to take her back.

But it was in England that many of our most 17. … Western European wedding traditions got their beginning. The ancient nursery rhyme about something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue is now an important part of most Western European weddings, even though many brides and grooms no longer know the 18. … of the rhyme. (A bride at her wedding should wear: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in the shoe. Or, in the United States:...and a new dime in the shoe.) Something old must be something which belonged to a happily married woman. The wearing of such an item insures a lucky transfer of happiness to the new bride. The old item was often a piece of lace or a grandmother’s scarf or an old piece of 19. …. Something new signifies hope for the future, and can be anything from a piece of clothing to the wedding 20. … itself. Something borrowed must be some object of gold to guarantee wealth and fortune in the future, and it is often provided by a happily married friend of the bride. And finally, something blue. In ancient times blue was the color of purity and often both the bride and the groom wore a band of blue cloth around the bottom of their wedding 21. …. Blue is 22. … of the heavens and also of true love. The "sixpence" or "new dime" must be worn in the heel of the left shoe to insure wealth and 23. ….

What wedding today would be complete without the white wedding gown? 24. … to the 16th century, however, this most important Western European Wedding tradition was not common. It is the symbol, of course, of purity and 25. …, a symbol which goes back to the days of the Greeks. It wasn’t until Ann of Brittany popularized the white wedding dress in 1499 that the tradition became part of Western European wedding culture. For the informal wedding the bride may select any color she considers suitable, except that red and black – symbols of devilry and witchcraft – are 26. ….

The 27. … itself is Eastern in origin, and the custom of wearing it was introduced into Europe by the returning Crusaders. Eastern women wore it to ward off the evil eye, and it protected not only the face, but the whole body as well. It was not removed until after the wedding ceremony, and the wearing of it to that time was a sign to the groom that the bride was pure and innocent. When the veil was introduced into European and, later, American weddings the symbolism of purity and innocence continued 28. … with it. Among the Anglo-Saxons also it was the custom for four tall men to hold a veil or canopy over the bride at her wedding to hide her blushes. If she was a widow, the veil was 29. … useless.

It was the knights of 30. … who gave us the Western European tradition of the groom wearing a single flower. It was customary for 31. … to wear a flower or a colorful handkerchief belonging to their lady fair when they entered 32. …. The tradition later 33. … to the groom wearing a flower from his bride’s 34. ….

From earliest times, the symbol of 35. … has been the shoe. In Anglo-Saxon marriages, the father, to demonstrate transfer of authority over his daughter from himself to the groom, took a shoe off the bride's foot and handed it to the groom. Upon receiving the shoe, the groom became the bride's owner and master. To show his 36. … of authority, he tapped the bride lightly on the head with the sign of power, the shoe.

So, today, when a slipper or a shoe is thrown after the married couple or after their car, it is a symbol of relinquishment of authority on the part of the father of the bride, and a total transfer of that authority and power to the groom. The slipper or shoe should, in carrying out this tradition, be thrown by the father of the bride or by some close relative. If the carriage is struck by a shoe it is considered a symbol of good fortune to follow. From this old Western European wedding custom was born the tradition of typing shoes to the back of the broom and bride’s car.

And finally, what wedding tradition would be complete without the groom carrying his new bride over the 37. … of their home? This Western European tradition began with two beliefs. The first one was that if the bride were to trip or stumble as she entered her new home (as she crossed her new threshold for the first time) bad luck would 38. … the marriage. The second belief was that evil spirits inhabited the threshold of a new couple’s home and that if the bride stepped on the threshold the evil spirits would enter through her feet and the marriage would be 39. …. The romantic answer, of course, was for the groom to carry his new bride across the threshold.

Western European wedding traditions have come down to us from many countries and many cultures to 40. … together seamlessly into the romantic wedding traditions that we know and cherish today.

Eastern European Wedding Traditions

blessing; celebrate; difficulties; egg; elaborate; Holy Trinity; hungry; infant; resurgence; soil; treasures; trousseau

Eastern Europe has many ancient and colorful wedding traditions that go back hundreds of years. Many of these traditions have seen a 1. … in popularity in recent years as many younger couples are looking for more traditional 2. … in which to plant the roots of their family trees.

Many Eastern European wedding traditions concern long life, fertility and happiness and prosperity. In Czechoslovakia, for example, the bride’s friends would often plant a tree in her yard and decorate it with ribbons and brightly-painted egg shells. The belief was that the bride would live as long as the tree. Traditionally an 3. … would be laid on the couple’s wedding bed as a symbol of fertility. After the ceremony the young couple would traditionally break plates and the more pieces the plates broke into the more successful their marriage would be.

In Hungary a new bride wore an 4. … headdress at her wedding in which was woven strands of wheat as a symbol of fertility. Also a new bride would be presented with an 5.…. By smashing it she would insure the health of her future children. Traditionally the new bride would present her husband with a gift of seven scarves, seven being a lucky number and signifying her desire for a long and happy marriage.

A wedding tradition in Poland holds that the parents of the couple present them with rye bread sprinkled with salt and a glass of wine. The bread symbolizes hope that the couple will never go 6. …, the salt symbolizes that life will have its 7. …, and the wine is a 8. … for health and happiness.

Just before her wedding a Bulgarian bride will toss a dish filled with wheat, coins and a raw egg over her head. If the dish breaks it signifies good luck to come. It is also a sign of future happiness if the bride and groom each step into the church with the right foot first. At the reception the bride’s mother throws flowers in the path of the newlyweds to insure their future health, happiness and purity, and the groom’s mother feeds the couple sweet honeyed cakes to insure their long and sweet marriage.

In the country of Croatia custom dictates that following the ceremony all of the wedding guests circle the well at the church three times to signify the 9. … and then each guest throws an apple into the well to insure the fertility of the new couple.

Marriage is so important in Romania that young girls start planning their wedding day as young as aged six, when they begin collecting the 10. …… to fill their wedding 11. ….

But what sets an Eastern European wedding apart from all others is the music and songs and the dancing. Weddings are a time to 12. …, to look forward with hope and courage and love. Weddings in Eastern Europe, as everywhere, symbolize the human spirit as nothing else can. Violins and lively gypsy music fill the air as colorful costumes twirl across the dance floor in a never-ending kaleidoscope of joy and happiness for all the world to witness.

7. Russian Wedding Traditions carpet; celebration; civil; church; crowned; exchange; recite

Russian 1. … weddings are not considered official, and so couples wanting to get married must 2. … their wedding vows at a Russian marriage 3. … ceremony. Here, the bride and groom receive bread and salt, symbolizing health, prosperity and long life.

The Russian civil ceremony is often considered unimportant to friends and relatives of the bride and groom. The main affair is the wedding reception, a great two day 4. …… with music, dancing, feasting and drinking.

Once the reception celebration has begun, a relative or close friend will make a wedding toast to the bride and groom. In keeping with Russian custom, everyone throws their champagne glasses on the floor. It is considered good luck if the glasses break when they hit the ground.

When a traditional Orthodox couple get married in Russia, they are 5. … as royalty for the day. The bride and groom must stand on a special 6. … as they 7. … their marriage vows, but first they race each other to it. Whoever reaches the carpet first will, presumably, be the head of the household.

Wedding Traditions in Asia

adorned; commitment; concept; diversity; dragon; elaborately-embroidered; festivities;

firecrackers; fortune-teller; gone by; gown; journey; inherently; makes for; spear

There is something 1. … mysterious and romantic about Asia…the mysterious Far East. And when it comes to weddings, the rich 2. … of Asian cultures, traditions and religions 3. … a wide variety of colorful and fascinating wedding customs.

In Japan, for instance, purple is the color of love and a young bride may choose to wear an 4. … silk kimono covered in purple iris-flowers. Weddings are traditionally either Shinto, during which the natural spirits, the kami, are called upon to bless the couple, or it might be a Buddhist ceremony during which two strings of beads are interwoven, symbolizing the joining of two families into one.

Chinese traditions held that the gift of a whole roast pig given by the groom’s family to the bride’s family was an appropriate engagement gift. The traditional wedding 5. … in China is bright red, symbolizing luck for the new couple. Chinese bridal gowns are traditionally 6. … with elaborate golden phoenixes, chrysanthemums and peonies, symbols of wealth and good fortune. The groom traditionally wears a black silk coat over a robe embroidered with a 7.…, and you can expect loud 8. … at a Chinese wedding to scare off evil spirits.

In Indonesia it is not uncommon for more than 1,000 guests to be invited to the wedding reception and it is customary for the bride and the groom to greet each guest in a long receiving line before the reception 9. … can begin.

In Korea it is traditional for a 10. …, known as a kung-hap, to look into the couple’s future before they are married in order to see if they will live harmoniously together. A harmonious union is very important since the engagement gifts alone for a traditional Korean wedding can cost upwards of $40,000.

An early Filipino custom required the groom to throw a 11. … into the front steps of his intended-bride’s home. This was a dramatic symbol to everyone that she had been spoken for. Today this tradition has been replaced with a gold engagement ring. Today the majority of Filipino weddings are Catholic, but in days 12. … a Filipino wedding lasted three days, with ceremonies performed each day until the third day when the couple joined hands and declared their love for each other three times and their hands were bound together with a chord and the priest declared them married.

In India and other countries with a Hindu culture it is considered bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other for several days before the wedding. As part of the marriage ceremony the bride’s parents wash the couple’s feet with milk and water as a symbol of purifying them for the 13. … of their new life together. As part of the ceremony the couple holds in their hands grains of rice and oats and green leaves, signifying wealth, good health and happiness.

Many Asian cultures, many traditions, but all are centered around the basic 14. … of a new beginning, a new journey down the path of life together, hand in hand, filled with love and a new 15. … of two hearts joined forever as one.

African Wedding Traditions

allowed for; civilizations; divorce; festive; indicative; in support; interspersed;

loss; problems; sacred; solutions; totem; trace; unifying; vital

Africa is a large and varied continent containing some of the oldest 1. … on earth. It is home to a wide diversity of religions and cultures, and this colorful diversity is reflected in its diverse and colorful weddings traditions.

If any one wedding tradition might be said to be 2. … of the African continent it would be the importance of family. An African wedding is, more than anything, the bringing together of two people as a single family, or the combining of two families or even the mixture of two tribes into one family unit. The concept of family is one of the 3. … ideas of the African continent.

There are more than 1,000 cultural units in Africa and each culture, each tribe has its own wedding and marriage traditions, many of which can 4. … their origins back hundreds or even thousands of years.

There are also many different religions represented in Africa. Many northern Africans, especially, have been influenced by Muslim traditions, while further south there are more Christian, Hindu, and even Jewish traditions 5. … with more ancient traditions.

In many places in Africa young girls are trained to be good wives from an early age. They may even learn secret codes and secret languages that allow them to talk with other married women without their husbands understanding what is being said.

Depending on which part of Africa you are in, wedding ceremonies can be extremely elaborate, some lasting many days. Often huge ceremonies are held during which many couples are united at the same time.

In Sudan and in other areas along the Nile a man must pay his wife’s family in sheep or cattle for the 6. … of their daughter’s labor 7. … of the family. A wife may cost a man as many as 30 to 40 head of cattle. Often it is difficult to pay the family yet still have enough cattle left to support his new wife.

In Somalia a man is allowed to have as many as four wives if he can support them all, and it is not uncommon for a girl to be engaged before she is even born.

Bright 8. … colors, song, dance, and music are 9. … elements of many African wedding ceremonies. Common to all wedding ceremonies is the concept of transitioning between childhood and adulthood. In many African cultures children are encouraged to marry as young as 13 to 15 years of age, as soon as they have reached physical adulthood.

10. … is rare in African marriages. 11. … in a marriage are often discussed with both families and 12. … found. Often entire villages join in to help a couple find solutions to their problems and keep a marriage from failing.

Marriage is 13. … the world over, and that is definitely true in Africa, no matter which region or which culture you come from, and no matter what your religious beliefs. In fact, many cultures have a special 14. … that is designed to remind a couple that cultural and tribal differences must be 15. … in order to make a marriage succeed.

United States Wedding Traditions

amenities; auctioneer; blessing; bridal shower; cash; commitment; conclusion; conducted; consummated; courtesy; elapsed; elopement; establish; ethnic; facility; flexible; garter; honeymoon; influence; mandatory; melting pot; memorable; newlyweds; parcel; populated; primarily; pronounced; prospective; purchase; response; retain; stirred; strengthen; stress; time-consuming; unique; ushers; venue; virtually; well-wishers

The United States has few wedding traditions that are totally 1. … to the U.S. 2. … all U.S. wedding traditions and customs have either been taken directly from a wide range of other countries and cultures – 3. … European – or they have evolved from traditions in other nations.

This is certainly easily understood since the United States was originally 4. … by immigrants from many lands, primarily Europe. These immigrants brought their own wedding traditions with them, and these traditions, 5. … in the 6. … of the United States, have slowly evolved into the traditional “American” wedding ceremony.

In truth, many people still 7. … many of their 8. … wedding traditions, and this, too, has become part and 9. … of the “American” wedding ceremony. In the U.S. people are very comfortable in allowing a wide diversity of traditions and ceremonies.

There are a few things that all U.S. weddings have in common. To begin with, U.S. wedding ceremonies may be either religious or civil.

Marriages are not “arranged.” A typical U.S. wedding takes place between two people who have sought out a partner and have found someone whom they believe they can share their life with. In other words, in the United States marriages are based on LOVE. They are not arranged to 10. … family business or 11. ….

Old wedding traditions may have held that a 12. … groom had to ask the bride’s father for his 13. …, but that tradition is seldom respected any longer, if it was ever respected to a wide degree in the U.S. While a young man and a young woman hope that both sets of parents will give their blessing to a union, and often a blessing will be asked more as a 14. … than for an actual blessing, such a blessing is not required or always sought.

Wedding planning can be elaborate and 15. … and many brides today opt to have a professional wedding planner take care of the thousand-and-one details of the glorious day. A Traditional United States wedding is a fairly large and elaborate affair, especially when it is the first wedding for the bride. Traditionally the bride wears a while wedding dress and white wedding veil.

Prior to the wedding itself, it is traditional for the Maid of Honor to throw a 16. … as part of the bridal ceremonies. During the bridal shower the bride-to-be will receive small gifts, often of a humorous nature, often gifts for use on the 17. ….

While a religious setting, such as a church, synagogue or mosque is not 18. …, the more traditional U.S. weddings do take place in a religious setting. Family and friends are formally invited. 19. … seat guests, there are bride’s maids, a best man, flower girls, a ring bearer, music (often chosen by the bride and / or the groom) and many other 20. … designed to make the day special and 21. ….

The traditional ceremony itself is often 22. … by a religious leader known to the bride and / or the groom. The ceremony may include wedding vows written by the bride and the groom, in which they speak of their love and their desire to make their partner safe, happy and secure, and to be faithful to their partner and their partner alone for the rest of their lives.

At the 23. … of the ceremony, it is traditional for the official to ask if anyone present knows of any just cause why this man and this woman may not be legally married. Getting no 24. …, the official asks the couple to exchange wedding rings, a symbol of their never-ending love and 25. …… to one another, and then the happy couple is 26. …, in front of family and friends (witnesses) to be husband and wife.

Traditionally the 27. … kiss to seal their union.

As the couple leave the church they are often showered with rice or wheat (symbols of fertility) and the couple is then taken to a home, restaurant or other 28. … where a wedding reception takes place. Speeches and toasts are given to the new couple, wishing them every happiness.

Gifts are an important part of the U.S. wedding tradition. Gifts are given to help the new couple 29. … a new home together; often gifts of 30. … are given. A couple may “register” at a specific store where their gift needs are tracked. This allows 31. … to not only 32. … gifts that are truly useful to the new couple, but to also be assured that no one else has purchased the same gift.

Following the reception the couple traditionally goes on a honeymoon, during which their marriage is 33. …. A honeymoon may last from several days to two or more weeks.

Couples who do not wish to go through the 34. … of an elaborate traditional wedding ceremony may choose to elope. An 35. … involves much less work and much less preparation. The couple merely goes to a justice of the peace and is quietly married in a civil wedding ceremony. They may or may not include a small number or friends and / or family.

U.S. wedding ceremonies and wedding customs are among the most 36. … in all the world. Whatever your weddings needs are, whatever your ideas of the perfect wedding 37. …, the wedding customs and wedding ceremonies that are right for you, you will find that they will all find a welcome home within the ideal of the American Wedding tradition.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-23