wedding
American Heritage Dictionary:
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wed·ding
(wĕd'ĭng) 
n.
n.
- The act of marrying.
- The ceremony or celebration of a marriage.
- The anniversary of a marriage: a silver wedding.
- The act or an instance of joining closely: a wedding of ideas.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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wedding
noun
- The act or ceremony by which two people become husband and wife: bridal, espousal, marriage, nuptial (often used in plural), spousal (often used in plural). See marriage/unmarried.
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Of all the life-cycle points, getting married is the most public. The way couples celebrate their wedding has always depended largely on their class, relative affluence or poverty, religion, and the region where they lived, but also on the dictates of fashion, which may vie strongly with those of tradition. The Victorian era was a major watershed in the way weddings were held, and E. M. Wright correctly identifies mobility (both social and geographical) and fashion as the factors involved:
The bridegroom's friends and relations are often complete strangers to the bride's kith and kin, their ways and beliefs are unknown to each other. They cannot join together in some time-honoured ceremonial when the newly-wedded pair enter their new home; instead, they wave hats and handkerchiefs in the wake of a train or a motor which is carrying the couple to a distant dwelling-place. The bride, too, has up-to-date ideas. She wants to make a sensation, like Lady Dunfunkus Macgregor's daughter, a description of whose marriage she has just read in the Daily Mail … Her dress and her doings, and all the wedding festivities, must as far as possible be modelled on a fashionable pattern, till finally modern conventionalities and not ancient customs rule the day. (Wright, 1913: 270)
Weddings necessarily take place under the constraints of legal and ecclesiastical regulations, but these change over time. Medieval rules forbidding marriage during penitential seasons, on high festival days, and after midday, are long gone; civil marriages came in in 1836; the 1994 Marriage Act allowed premises other than churches and registry offices to host marriage ceremonies. By May 1998 there were over 2,000 newly approved venues, mostly hotels and stately homes, but also museums, sports facilities, and halls, and a new industry of what might be called ‘genre weddings’ sprang up almost overnight. In addition, many couples now choose to go abroad to marry, and members of alternative religions (Wiccans, Druids, etc.) hold ‘handfasting’ rituals at sacred sites which, though not binding in law, are true marriages to the participants. It is too soon to say how these major changes will affect the traditional aspects of weddings, and what compromises between old and new will evolve.
Numerous sources since the early 19th century report that various days of the week were seen as lucky or unlucky for weddings, and virtually all say Fridays and Saturdays are worst. A widespread rhyme sums it up, here in a County Durham version:
Monday for wealth(Henderson, 1879: 33)
Tuesday for health
Wednesday the best day of all
Thursday for losses
Friday for crosses
And Saturday no luck at all
Nowadays, the convenience of a weekend wedding outweighs any lingering superstition. Saturday is by far the most popular day, with 76 per cent of weddings in 1979 and 68 per cent in 1994; Friday is easily the second choice, with 11 per cent and 14 per cent, nearly three times as many as any midweek day. Similarly with the precepts noted in so many 19th-century sources, but now disregarded:
If you marry in Lent,
You will live to repent.
Marry in May,
Rue for aye.
The May proscription seems to have been stronger, and more long lasting, in Scotland than in England. Victorian parsons' diaries show Christmas Day as quite a popular day to marry, but a down-to-earth northern farmer's view says:
He's a fule that marries at Yule(Denham Tracts, 1895:
For when the bairn's to bear
The corn's to shear
The custom of throwing things over the bride and groom has a long history, though the items thrown have changed. The earliest reference is from 1486; when Henry VII brought his wife to Bristol ‘a baker's wife cast out of a window a great quantity of wheat, crying “Welcome! and Good Luck!”’ (S. Seyer, Memoirs of Bristol, quoted in Folk-Lore Record 3 (1880), 133). Wheat or corn is mentioned regularly until the later 19th century, and occasionally flower petals and sugar plums. In 1874 Francis Kilvert recorded in his Diary (11 August) the throwing of rice, and this remained common till paper confetti was introduced around the turn of the 20th century. Almost at once there were complaints that it littered the aisle and spoiled the bridal costume, and was merely ‘a refined kind of horseplay’ (Surrey Gazette, (13 Sept. 1904), 3, reprinting from a Coventry parish magazine). Vicars and registrars regularly ban it, to little effect; a return to rice is often proposed as more environmentally sound.
Writers from the early 17th century onwards often mention the strewing of rushes, herbs, or flowers for the bride to walk on. A malevolent parody, using rue, occurred in Herefordshire (Leather, 1912: 115). The only remnant of strewing is the custom of having little girls throwing flower petals down the aisle, perhaps reimported to Britain via American films. An unusual variation was reported from Cranbrook (Kent) in the 1850s; there, it was customary to strew the path from the church ‘with emblems of the bridegroom's calling; carpenters walk on shavings; butchers on the skins of slaughtered sheep; the followers of St Crispin are honoured with leather parings; paper-hangers with strips of paper; blacksmiths with old iron, rusty nails, etc.’ (N&Q 1s:10 (1855), 181). The groom's occupation may be reflected in other ways, for example a ‘guard of honour’ outside the church with raised swords, police truncheons, or tools of a trade. At a butcher's wedding in Croydon in 1902, other butchers greeted the couple by ‘ringing the bells’ on marrow-bones and cleavers (Croydon Advertiser (21 June 1902); cf. Chambers, 1878: i. 360).
Other long-standing but boisterous customs which are now obsolete include firing the anvil, and horseplay during the walk to and from church:
a wedding in the Dales of Yorkshire is indeed a thing to see; nothing can be imagined comparable to it in wildness and obstreperous mirth. The bride and bridegroom may be a little subdued, but his friends are like men bereft of reason. They career round the bridal party like Arabs of the desert, galloping over ground on which, in cooler moments, they would hesitate even to walk a horse—shouting all the time, and firing volleys from the guns they carry with them. Next they will dash along the road in advance of the party, carrying the whiskey-bottle, and compelling everyone they meet to pledge the newly-married pair. (Henderson, 1879: 37)
In Yorkshire villages, guns were often filled with feathers and fired over the bride's and groom's heads (Blakeborough, 1898: 95-6; Nicholson, 1890: 3). A more dangerous custom is revealed when a man tried for shooting at, and damaging, the door of the bride's mother at Pensham (Worcestershire) pleaded this was customary at weddings (Worcester Herald (22 Mar. 1845)). It was quite common to bar the way of the party returning from church, for example by a locked gate or a rope across the road; the groom would be expected to pay to be allowed through, often by tossing coins to be scrambled for (Palmer, 1976: 31-2).
It is now almost universal at formal receptions to have an iced cake, the first cut being made ceremonially by bride and groom together; this is first mentioned in the 1890s. Using pieces of wedding cake in love divinations is reported regularly since the early 18th century, often with complications such as passing the fragment nine times through a wedding ring (Gentleman's Magazine (1832), 492). Throwing pieces of cake (not usually the cake itself) over the heads of the bride and/or groom was common in Yorkshire and Northumberland; sometimes guests did this, sometimes the bride herself; sometimes a plate was thrown too. In all cases it was lucky for the cake and plate to break, and usually the guests tried to snatch a piece for themselves (N&Q 1s:7 (1853), 545; Blakeborough, 1898: 96).
A widespread modern feature is that all unmarried women (and sometimes men) gather as the bride is about to depart; she throws her bouquet over her shoulder (to avoid favouritism), and whoever catches it will be married next. Opie and Tatem give the first reference for this as 1923, and in 1963 it could still be called ‘American’. In past generations, other items were thrown, to similar purpose. The stocking is the missile in numerous literary references of the 17th and 18th centuries: at the end of the day, when the couple are sitting up in bed, young men take the bride's stocking and girls the groom's, and throw it over their shoulders. Whoever hits the bride or groom (‘on the nose’, many sources say) will marry soon (Brand, 1849: i. 170; Balfour, 1904: 97-8; Evelyn's Diary, 9 Oct. 1671). Another regular custom of the 18th and 19th centuries, which Brand thought ‘bordered very closely upon indecency’, was for young unmarried men to compete in a race for the privilege of removing and keeping the bride's garter. Earlier references imply an indecent scramble ‘before the very altar’ (Brand, 1849: ii. 139-40). Later, mere ribbons were raced for, probably as a decorous substitute (Henderson, 1879: 41-2; N&Q 146 (1924), 113-14, 163).
There has been much comment on throwing old shoes after the departing couple, which has been done for 300 years at least, but little elucidation. It is important to realize that it is merely one application of a practice first mentioned in Heywood's Proverbs (1546) of throwing shoes at people for luck when leaving on a journey, or entering a new house; whatever the underlying symbolism, it cannot be unique to weddings. A playful elaboration reported from Kent in 1894 was for the chief bridesmaid to retrieve one of the shoes and throw it again for the bridesmaids to race for, and then again for the men (Lippincott's Magazine 54 (1894), 884). Nowadays shoes are tied to the couple's car, along with tin cans, balloons, and streamers.
There is a wide assortment of beliefs and taboos to ensure a happy marriage, beginning well before the wedding day. Many are still known, though not necessarily taken seriously. Two sayings which are still quoted are ‘Change the name and not the letter, Change for the worse and not the better’ (reported everywhere from the 1850s onwards), and ‘Happy the bride the sun shines on’, known already to Herrick (Hesperides (1648)). Some rules seem to be based on ‘not tempting fate’. That the couple should not hear their own banns called, lest the firstborn child be deaf and dumb, was reported from all regions from the 1850s onwards. The bride must not make her own dress; some small part—a thread, a bow, whatever—must be left off until the actual moment she leaves for church (Folk-Lore 68 (1957), 146); she should not look in a mirror once it is all complete (N&Q 2s:12 (1861), 490); and, as everyone knows, the groom must not see her in her wedding dress before she arrives in church.
Before white dresses became virtually universal, colour was important. Green was shunned as unlucky; blue was favoured—except, according to Blakeborough, in 19th-century Yorkshire, where it too was unlucky. A well-known rhyme ran:
Married in green, ashamed to be seen
Married in grey, will go far away
Married in red, wish yourself dead
Married in blue, always be true
Married in yellow, ashamed of your fellow
Married in black, wish yourself back
Married in pink, of you he'll think
Married in white, sure to go right.
The widest-known rhyme today is ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’, first recorded in Shropshire only in 1883 (Burne, 1883: 290). Many say the item borrowed should be something worn at a previous wedding, provided the marriage turned out happily; the veil is often singled out as the luckiest.
The general belief that meeting a chimney-sweep is lucky, reported since the late 19th century, became specifically linked to weddings during the 20th century; such meetings are now deliberately arranged. For a bridal party to meet a funeral is very unlucky; one young bride told her vicar, in tears, that it meant all her babies would be born dead (Balleine, 1939: 5). Other bad omens were for the church clock to strike during the ceremony (Opie and Tatem, 1989: 85-6); a thunderstorm meant the couple would have no children (Porter, 1969: 7). Various signs foretold whether the bride or the groom would die first. In Yorkshire, ‘them as speaks loudest dies first’ (N&Q 6s:1 (1880), 75); in Shropshire, whichever drops the ring (Burne, 1883: 294-5); in Herefordshire, whichever turns away from the altar first (Leather, 1912: 114); in Lincolnshire, whichever kneels down first (N&Q 4s:12 (1873), 44); in Yorkshire again, whichever first falls asleep on the wedding night (N&Q 1s:6 (1852), 312). The behaviour of bride and groom could also show which would be ‘master’ in the new home: whichever stepped out of church first, left the bride's home first after the meal, crossed the threshold first, and so on (Wright, 1913: 273).
Everyone now knows the groom ‘should’ carry the bride over the threshold of their new home, though it is not always actually performed. The history of this is obscure; Brand calls it ‘an ancient custom’, but it is not regularly reported in 19th-century sources, though other threshold customs are—for example the widespread ‘warming the doorstep’ of the bride's old home by pouring hot water over it once the bride and groom had left, and the custom at Knutsford (Cheshire) that neighbours made patterns in white sand outside the bride's and groom's doors (N&Q 2s:10 (1860), 264; Folk-Lore Journal 1 (1883), 227). The interpretation is even more doubtful. Herrick, who does not actually mention lifting, has the line ‘Now o'er the threshold force her in’ (Hes-perides (1648)), implying that a show of modest reluctance was expected. Others speculate that it is meant to avert the bad luck of stumbling, or that it ensures that as neither is first to enter, neither will be ‘master’.
Given the nature of the celebration, weddings can involve a fair amount of ribaldry from onlookers and guests, but this is underplayed in published accounts, and difficult to document. One instance is the business with the stocking or garter detailed above, another, a trick of placing a bell under the bridal bed; a writer in 1543 complained that the couple would be serenaded through the chamber door, with ‘vicious and naughty ballads’ (Brand, 1849: ii. 173). In modern times, much of this has been hived off to the stag and hen nights, but echoes survive in the licence in innuendo allowed to the Best Man in his speech at the wedding breakfast.
Gale Encyclopedia of Food & Culture:
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Weddings
Weddings are a universal life cycle event where rituals and ceremony display a group's interest, whether conspicuously or obscurely, in economics, organizational balance, power, and social forms. Nuptials allow families and couples to establish a new status in society; this is especially true for the bride as she is now an adult woman, belonging to her husband's family and responsible for perpetuating his (and now her) lineage. Upon marrying, the groom also gains a new status of respectful adulthood, a full member of society.
One major role of food in this rite of passage is the show of opulence and social status. For example, the English nobility of the late Middle Ages had their own ideas regarding the proper wedding feast: boar and lamb were served as a first course, followed by venison in broth and antelope served with a spiced, sweet pudding containing rice flour. The third course contained fish and a baked meat and began with lozenge and almond cream in syrup; cheese, hot bread, a sweet, and other dishes were the fourth course.
Weddings in Greece
As Vassos Argyrou writes in Tradition and Modernity in the Mediterranean (pp. 60–110), weddings in Cypriot and other small villages of Greece were five-to six-day affairs in the 1930s. The nuptial rites customarily began on a Friday or Saturday with the preparation of the resi, a dish particular to the Limassol and Paphos areas. The communal preparation of the resi is the first of many fertility rituals; here the crushed wheat, pork, chicken, and other meats represent the abundance and fertility of the land upon which the couple would make their home. First, a group of village women cleaned the wheat by removing inedible portions and stones. Then, having placed the cleaned wheat in large wooden vessels, skafes, and covered these bowls with red shawls, the women, led by musicians, proceeded to the village fountain. After washing the wheat seven times in a step called efta plimmata, the wheat was returned to the bride's house in the same processional fashion, where it was pounded until crushed by using a faouta, a rectangular paddle with rounded edges. While the resi would not be served until the Sunday feast, the lengthy preparation process customarily started on Friday, and the dish was cooked on Saturday.
After the church ceremony, stefanoman, on Sunday, the couple and their guests returned to the newlyweds' home to perform one of the many rituals of that day. In response to good wishes from guests, the couple sprinkled the guests' hands with rosewater. Afterwards, men were served a glass of homemade wine, while the women were given a dish of fruit preserved in syrup, ghliko. An elaborate feast followed, attended by many people of the village. They dined on the traditional resi, potatoes yakhni (cooked in tomato sauce), kolokasi (a root vegetable similar to a sweet potato), salads, beets, and meats. The traditional beverage selection was limited to homemade wine and zivania (grappa).
On Monday, food such as kanishia, potatoes, olive oil, cheese, pasta, chicken, and wine was brought by people of the community to the couple's home. These gifts would unofficially set the guest list for the dinner served later that evening; in addition, they served as a hospitality gift to the couple's families with implications of future reciprocity.
The final rituals of the week were to kopsimon ton makarounion (the cutting of the pasta) and to sinaman ton ornithon (the collection of the chickens). These events took place on Tuesday and were attended by those who could not participate in Sunday or Monday's festivities. Accompanied by live musicians at the couple's home, the women rolled small pieces of dough between their palms, producing long, thin pieces which they then cut into small pieces. The collection of the chickens began after cutting the pasta, where young men gathered chickens from various village households (usually homes of invited guests). Also part of a musical procession, the youths brought the chickens home to be slaughtered and prepared with the pasta for the evening meal.
Greek weddings in the 1930s were not a small family affair; weddings were public celebrations, as almost all community members were considered friends and members of the family. Fathers of the bride and groom also felt their family name required a worthy nuptial celebration; thus, in Paphos, weeks before any actual celebrations, the two families distributed a special bread called yiristarka as an invitation.
Weddings in India
In an 1899 article titled "The Hill Tribes of the Central Indian Hills," William Crooke describes the Hindu-based wedding customs of several tribes. These customs emphasize the role of food in carrying out rites promising fertility, happiness, and abundance. An initial marital rite takes place when the parents of the newly betrothed couple drink together out of vessels made from the leaves of a holy tree. For brides of the Majhwâr tribe, entry into the couple's new home is forbidden until she and her husband eat rice boiled in milk. A young Dhobi male will not consume boiled rice before his wedding feast so as to preserve the sacred meaning of this ritual. Some Bengali tribes practiced a custom where blood was drawn from the husband's finger and mixed with betel and eaten by the bride. Rice also enters the nuptial customs as five mounds of rice are placed on a stone and the bride is made to knock them down with her foot symbolizing her departure from her natal family and her entry into the family of her husband.
Grains continue to represent fertility across the world's cultures as special wheaten cakes are prepared for the newlyweds to walk on; women throw betel and barley over the groom as he enters his new home; and the bride's brother pours wheat, rice, or barley over the bride as she turns around.
Boiotian Weddings
Ancient Boiotian weddings were secondarily presented and analyzed in the nuptial iconography of several vases found in the Kanapitsa cemetery of Thebes. Researchers believe the fertility ritual of katachysmata, where the bride and groom are showered with cakes, figs, apples, nuts, and other fruits, is depicted, as well as the practice of the bride consuming a quince, apple, or other fruit to signify her public transition into her new role as a married woman.
In Greek Orthodox wedding ceremonies, the bride and groom sip wine from the same cup as a symbol of the shared cheer and unpleasantness they will experience in their life together.
Chimbu Weddings
The Chimbu of the New Guinea highlands live in a world where transactions define all relationships and interpersonal interactions. These dynamic operations—gifts, tolls, assistance—carry many implicit meanings which test loyalty and create intergroup balance. Chimbu weddings provide opportunities for groups to participate in transactional gift-giving and feasting; sweet potatoes are given or exchanged at weddings, as are bean roots and nuts when available. Marriages often occur at the height of a pig ceremony where numerous pigs are sacrificed, bulga kande, and cooked at a ceremonial ground; also at this time, male dancers enact a fertility rite, blessing the women, pigs, and sweet potato vines. Along with the gift of vegetable produce, the widely traditional cooked pig meat is distributed among those who cooked it and individual kinsmen.
Nias Weddings
The wedding feasts of the Nias people—Nias is the largest chain of islands off the west coast of Sumatra—also include a large amount of pork. Preparation for the traditional feast at the bride's house begins when the groom's party begins a procession over the hills involving gongs and drums and a small herd of about six pigs. Upon arrival at the bride's house, the men are served betel. Many hours and ritual transactions later, two pigs (bawi huku, law pig, and bawi vangovalu, wedding pig) are slaughtered by an elder or member of the bride's party to commence the main attraction of the feast. Provided by the groom, the raw pig is ceremoniously and carefully butchered into portions; the lower jaw, the most prized portion, is divided into four. The bride's father and his close relatives and elders of the bride receive a portion running the whole length of the pig. A small quantity is cooked for the bride's relatives, and the remaining raw portions are given to the chief, wife-givers, and butchers.
The host reciprocates the gift of the wedding pig with another larger pig, bawi daravatö. Once again the pig is split among the guests; the groom takes one leg and a hind-part (about one-quarter of the animal) home to his village, the groom's speaker receives one back section, and the host is entitled to a leg and the lower jawbone as a token of the evening. The remaining parts are cooked and served to all other guests. The groom and his family members receive the lower jaw, belly, and heart served on a large mound of rice, while he and his bride eat from the same plate. Status determines the size and type of portion; thus, only the elders of each group are entrusted with the duty of distributing the meat.
The betrothal of a Nias couple is solidified with feamanu, the eating of the chicken. Provided that specific omens which can break the contract are not encountered, the couple will eat the cooked chicken as their first meal together, and a small pig will accompany the meal. Raw and cooked portions, especially the lower jaw, are cut and given to the groom's father.
Weddings in China
The marriage customs observed in 1938 of the Chinese in the town then known as I Chang, located on the north bank of the Yangtse River, required preparations to begin at least one year in advance. During this time, pigs must be fattened, rice and other foods accumulated, and goats and chickens prepared. About one week before the wedding ceremony, final preparations for the wedding feast began. The feast, which lasted four hours, included nine courses; the first course was cuttlefish or sea slugs and wine; the roundness of the meatballs of the fifth course represented a coming together of the groom greeting his guests; the ninth course also included fish, yü, which also means surplus, ending the meal with an omen to abundance in the couple's future.
Later in the course of this days-long elaborate marriage ritual, tea and poached eggs with sugar were served three times to the guests. The groom and his party only feign partaking of these refreshments since actual consumption would violate social etiquette. Numerous tea ceremonies take place, often followed by a serving of tobacco.
While preparing the nuptial bed, two women selected by the groom's family place cakes, dried lungan nuts, red-stained peanuts, and ginko nuts in the bed. Young girls search for these goods and eat them in hopes of future fertility. In a ceremony to finalize the marriage, the bride and groom are each given a glass of wine; they drink half the contents, exchange the cups, and finish consuming the rest of the wine; the same ritual is done with pieces of candy after the wine.
To ensure that as a wife the bride will be thorough in completion of her duties, she places a pre-prepared fish in the stove with the head pointing toward the front of the stove, and the tail in the back. This ritual, yu tou yu wei, says that she will be thoroughly dutiful. In addition, a dish of steamed vegetables mixed with rice flour, chêng tsai, is prepared by the bride, symbolizing abundance.
Contemporary Hindu Rituals
Contemporary Hindu wedding rituals also involve food at almost every stage in the ceremony. In a prenuptial rite at the bride's and groom's homes, male and female guests heat the couple's bodies to ready them for sexual intercourse by rubbing them with turmeric. In another preliminary ritual, the groom's party is served a light pakka (fried) meal at the bride's house, then the bride sits behind a mound of rice, and the groom's father places coconuts and sweets (believed to be auspicious) and money in her lap.
During the main nuptial ritual, the priest pours rice into a small tray held in the bride's right hand. The groom places his arm around her shoulders and knocks the rice onto the ground seven times. After the ceremony is completed, Muhajayana takes place. During this rite, the bride fills a metal tin with uncooked rice and holds it on the ground for the new husband to kick over seven times. The disturbance of the raw grain by the male in these two practices places him in an active role for reproduction.
Also during Muhajayana, the wife cooks a mixture of rice and pulse, khichri, for the groom and his younger brothers. When the husband is full from his portions, he hands the leftovers to her for her to eat. This act embodies the belief that the leftovers of a superior confer a blessing on the subordinate who consumes them.
My small-leaf basil
and my marjoram
it is you who will separate me
from my mother
Come to the window
girl, the one with the glass pane
to see your face
[which is as white as] flour
The stairs you ascend
[I wished] I ascended too
and at every step
to give you sweet kisses
Traditional song sung by village musicians reserved for the women as part of the nuptial festivities (Argyrou, Tradition and Modernity in the Mediterranean, p. 69).
In The Wedding Day in All Ages and Countries by Edward J. Wood published in 1869, Wood writes on the various wedding rituals throughout the world. In Athenian tradition, sweetmeats, symbolic of abundance, were gingerly thrown upon the couple as they walked into a house for the nuptial feast. Later on, a quince was shared by the pair in hopes that their marriage would be agreeable. A man in Algiers placed fish at his new wife's feet for good luck. Past Chinese tradition called for a quilt, held by her relatives, to be placed in front of the bridal chair and as the bride sat there, four bread cakes were thrown into the air so that they would land on the quilt; this ritual also represents good luck.
Bibliography
Argyrou, Vassos. Tradition and Modernity in the Mediterranean. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Beatty, Andrew. Society and Exchange in Nias. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Brown, Paula. "Chimbu Transactions." Man, New Series 5 (1970): 99–117.
Charsley, S. R. Wedding Cakes and Cultural History. New York: Routledge, 1992.
Crooke, William. "The Hill Tribes of the Central Indian Hills." Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 28 (1899): 220–248.
Han-yi, Feng, and J. K. Shryock. "Marriage Customs in the Vicinity of I chang." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 13 (1950): 362–430.
Sabetai, Victoria. "Marriage Boiotan Style." Hesperia 67 (1998): 323–334.
Wood, E. J. The Wedding Day in All Ages and Countries. Vol. I. London: Richard Bentley, 1869.
—Dalila Bothwell
Devil's Dictionary:
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wedding
A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce
n.
A ceremony at which two persons undertake to become one, one undertakes to become nothing, and nothing undertakes to become supportable.
Word Tutor:
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wedding
IN BRIEF: The act of marrying.
There is something about a wedding-gown prettier than in any other gown in the world.
— Douglas Jerrold (1803-1857).
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Quotes About:
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Weddings
Quotes:
"A princely marriage is the brilliant edition of a universal fact, and, as such, it rivets mankind."
- Walter Bagehot
"That is ever the way. 'Tis all jealousy to the bride and good wishes to the corpse."
- Sir James M. Barrie
"Bride. A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her."
- Ambrose Bierce
"Girls usually have a paper mâché face on their wedding day."
- Sidonie Gabrielle Colette
"Wedding is destiny, and hanging likewise."
- John Heywood
"It is amazing at how small a price may the wedding ring be placed upon a worthless hand; but, by the beauty of our law, what heaps of gold are indispensable to take it off!"
- Douglas Jerold
See more famous quotes about Weddings
The Dream Encyclopedia:
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Wedding
The joyous celebration of the uniting of two people in a spiritual contract of love, a wedding in a dream sometimes signifies the inner uniting of aspects of one's psyche. Alternatively, to dream of a wedding has traditionally come to symbolize something of a dire portent-either downfall or death.
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categories related to 'wedding'
- Marriage and Divorce - wedding: marriage ceremony and festivities; nuptials
- Celebrations, Observances, Rites, and Gatherings - wedding: ceremony and festivities marking marriage
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Wedding
For other uses, see Wedding (disambiguation).
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A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of wedding vows by the couple, presentation of a gift (offering, ring(s), symbolic item, flowers, money), and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or leader. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony.
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Common elements across cultures
See also: Wedding customs by country
A number of cultures have adopted the traditional Western custom of the white wedding, in which a bride wears a white wedding dress and veil. This tradition was popularized through the wedding of Queen Victoria. Some say Victoria's choice of a white gown may have simply been a sign of extravagance, but may have also been influenced by the values she held which emphasized sexual purity.[1] Within the modern 'white wedding' tradition, a white dress and veil are unusual choices for a woman's second or subsequent wedding. The notion that a white gown might symbolize sexual purity has been long abandoned, and is criticized by etiquette writers like Judith Martin as distasteful.[2]
The use of a wedding ring has long been part of religious weddings in Europe and America, but the origin of the tradition is unclear. Historians like Vicki Howard point out that belief in the "ancient" quality of the practice are most likely a modern invention.[3] "Double ring" ceremonies are also a modern practice, a groom's wedding band not appearing in the United States until the early 20th century.[4]
The wedding is often followed by a reception or wedding breakfast, in which the rituals may include toasting the newlyweds, their first dance as spouses, and the cutting of a wedding cake.
Traditional wedding garb
- Cheongsam or Hanfu, Chinese traditional formal wear
- Batik and Kebaya, a garment worn by the Javanese people of Indonesia and also by the Malay people of Malaysia
- Barong Tagalog, an embroidered, formal men's garment of the Philippines
- Kimono, the traditional garments of Japan
- Sari, Indian popular and traditional dress in India
- Dhoti, male garment in South India
- Dashiki, the traditional West African wedding attire
- Ao dai, traditional garments of Vietnam
- Morning dress, western daytime formal dress
- Ribbon shirt, often worn by American Indian men on auspicious occasions, such as weddings, another common custom is to wrap bride and groom in a blanket
- Kilt, male garment particular to Scottish culture[5][6][7]
- Kittel, a white robe worn by the groom at an Orthodox Jewish wedding. The kittel is worn only under the Chupah, and is removed before the reception.
- Topor, a type of conical headgear traditionally worn by grooms as part of the Bengali Hindu wedding ceremony
- Evening Suits
- White tie ("evening dress" in the UK; very formal evening attire)
- Sherwani, a long coat-like garment worn in South Asia
- Wedding crown, worn by Scandinavian brides
- Wedding veil
- Wedding dress
- Langa oni, traditional two piece garment worn by unmarried Telugu Hindu women.
Wedding music
Main article: Wedding music
Western weddings
Music played at Western weddings includes a processional song for walking down the aisle (ex: wedding march) and reception dance music includes:
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- Various works for trumpet and organ, arguably the most famous of which include the Prince of Denmark's March by Jeremiah Clarke as a processional, the "Trumpet Tune" by Henry Purcell and the "Trumpet Voluntary" by John Stanley as recessionals.
- Selections by George Frideric Handel, perhaps most notably the "Air" from his Water Music as processional and the "Alla Hornpipe" as recessional.
- The "Bridal Chorus" from Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, often used as the processional and commonly known as "Here Comes the Bride". Richard Wagner is said to have been anti-Semitic,[8] and as a result, the Bridal Chorus is often not used at Jewish weddings.
- Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D is an alternative processional.
- The "Wedding March" from Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for the Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, used as a recessional.
- The "Toccata" from Charles-Marie Widor's Symphony for Organ No. 5, used as a recessional.
- Segments of the Ode to Joy, the fourth movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Religious aspects of weddings
 |
This section may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, as the intro to this section is about marriage, and needs to be rewritten to discuss weddings ceremonies and traditions instead, as does the section on Christian customs. A large amount of info in the section on Jewish customs is commented out and needs to be incorporated. Sections on other religious customs such as Islamic and Shinto weddings would also be helpful. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. (May 2009) |
Most religions recognize a life-long union with established ceremonies and rituals. Some religions permit polygamous marriages or same-sex marriages.
Many Christian faiths emphasize the raising of children as a priority in a marriage. In Judaism, marriage is so important that remaining unmarried is deemed unnatural.[citation needed] Islam also recommends marriage highly; among other things, it helps in the pursuit of spiritual perfection.[citation needed] The Bahá'í Faith sees marriage as a foundation of the structure of society, and considers it both a physical and spiritual bond that endures into the afterlife.[9] Hinduism sees marriage as a sacred duty that entails both religious and social obligations.[citation needed] By contrast, Buddhism does not encourage or discourage marriage, although it does teach how one might live a happily married life and emphasizes that marital vows are not to be taken lightly[citation needed].
Different religions have different beliefs as regards the breakup of marriage. For example, the Roman Catholic Church believes that marriage is a sacrament and a valid marriage between two baptized persons cannot be broken by any other means than death. This means that civil divorcés cannot remarry in a Catholic marriage while their spouse is alive. In the area of nullity, religions and the state often apply different rules. A couple, for example, may begin the process to have their marriage annulled by the Catholic Church only after they are no longer married in the eyes of the civil authority.
Customs associated with various religions
Christian customs
Main article: Christian views on marriage
Most Christian churches give some form of blessing to a marriage; the wedding ceremony typically includes some sort of pledge by the community to support the couple's relationship. A church wedding is a ceremony presided over by a Christian priest or pastor. Ceremonies are based on reference to God, and are frequently embodied into other church ceremonies such as Mass.[10]
Customs may vary widely between denominations. In the Roman Catholic Church "Holy Matrimony" is considered to be one of the seven sacraments, in this case one that the spouses bestow upon each other in front of a priest and members of the community as witnesses. As all sacraments, it is seen as having been instituted by Jesus himself (see Gospel of Matthew 19:1-2, Catechism of the Catholic Church §1614-1615). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, it is one of the Mysteries, and is seen as an ordination and a martyrdom. The wedding ceremony of Saint Thomas Christians, an ethnoreligious group of Christians in India incorporate elements from Hindu, Jewish and Christian weddings.
Quaker customs
Main article: Quaker wedding
A Quaker wedding ceremony in a Friends meeting is similar to any other meeting for worship, and therefore often very different from the experience expected by non-Friends.
LDS customs
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The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (October 2011) |
Main article: Celestial marriage
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are from many places and backgrounds with over 14 million LDS members worldwide, with more that half outside the United States. Because of this, most choose to celebrate in the traditions of their own culture, but are married in LDS temples. Members of the LDS Church believe their Temple marriages (Sealings) are eternal. The LDS church also recognizes civil marriages as legally contracted under local law, and LDS Members believe civil marriages are dissolved upon the death of the participants. Temple marriages are performed by those called as sealers with Priesthood authority in temple ordinances. Members must receive recommends from their ecclesiastical leaders to go to the LDS Temple in general, and also interview for a specific recommend to be married to each other.
Those that wish to attend the sealing ceremony must be members of the LDS church who have a "Temple Recommend." Others are welcome in a waiting area inside the LDS temple, and on temple grounds. Members believe that a LDS Temple Sealing (marriage) is sacred, and generally only immediate family and close friends attend. It is common for extended family and friends to take wedding photos outside the temple, as well as wherever they choose to celebrate. Receptions and larger celebrations after the sealing vary. LDS couples from the United States and around the world often hold large wedding receptions to celebrate their Temple Sealing (Wedding).
It’s not at all uncommon for LDS couples to hold two or more separate wedding open houses or receptions. The most usual reason is that the bride’s side of the family lives in one state and the groom’s side lives in another, but other factors may influence the decision to hold more than one wedding reception. Many LDS brides and grooms wish to celebrate with friends from college. In that case, they may hold one reception near home for their family and a second open house near school for classmates and friends.
Some LDS couples decide to have a ring ceremony. Brides or grooms who may anticipate any hurt feelings from anyone who may feel excluded from their sealing, should seriously consider including a ring ceremony at the beginning of the reception. Ring ceremonies are short and sweet. They usually include an opening and closing song and prayer, words from an officiator, short “speeches” from the bride and groom (no vows, though,) and the exchange of wedding rings.
Usually LDS couples obtain wedding licenses to be married (or Sealed) in the LDS temple. A civil wedding is only performed first if required by law, then couples are sealed in the temple ceremony shortly after. Occasionally LDS members are married civilly if they are not prepared to go to the temple or it maybe required by local law, such as the United Kingdom. They may request an LDS bishop or other church leader perform the ceremony in a chapel, or other location. Members of the church not prepared to marry in the temple must adhere to LDS practices and prepare for a year before they can be sealed in the temple after first getting married. Converts also prepare for a year to be sealed. If a couple already has children, they may accompany their parents to the ceremony so all family members are sealed together. Children who are born to parents who have already been sealed need no such ceremony, as they have been 'born in the covenant.'
Hindu customs
Main article: Hindu wedding
Hindu ceremonies are usually conducted totally or at least partially in Sanskrit, the language of the Hindu scriptures. The wedding celebrations may last for several days and they can be extremely diverse, depending upon the region, denomination and caste. On the wedding day, the bride and the bridegroom garland each other in front of the guests. Most guests witness only this short ceremony and then socialize, have food and leave. The religious part (if applicable) comes hours later, witnessed by close friends and relatives. In cases where a religious ceremony is present, a Brahmin (Hindu priest) arranges a sacred yajna (fire-sacrifice), and the sacred fire (Agni) is considered the prime witness (sākshī) of the marriage. He chants mantras from the Vedas and subsidiary texts while the couple are seated before the fire. The most important step is saptapadi or saat phere, wherein the bride and the groom, hand-in-hand, encircle the sacred fire seven times, each circle representing a matrimonial vow. Then the groom marks the bride's forehead with vermilion (sindoor) and puts a gold necklace (mangalsutra) around her neck. Several other rituals may precede or follow these afore-mentioned rites. Then the bride formally departs from her blood-relatives to join the groom's family.
Jewish customs
Main articles: Jewish wedding and Jewish views on marriage
A traditional Jewish wedding usually follows this format:[11][12][13][14][15]
- Before the ceremony, the couple formalize a written ketubah (marriage contract), specifying the obligations of husband to the wife and contingencies in case of divorce. The ketubah is signed by two witnesses and later read under the chuppah.
- The couple is married under a wedding canopy (chuppah), signifying their new home together. The chuppah can be made from a piece of cloth or other material attached to four poles, or a prayer shawl (tallit) held over the couple by four family members or friends.
- The couple is accompanied to the chuppah by both sets of parents, and stands under the chuppah along with other family members if desired.
- Seven blessings are recited, blessing the bride and groom and their new home.
- The couple sip from a glass of wine.
- The groom will step on the glass to crush it, usually with his right foot, ostensibly in remembrance of the fall of the Second Temple.
- At some weddings the couple may declare that each is sanctified to the other, and/or repeat other vows, and exchange rings.
- In Orthodox and traditional Jewish weddings, the bride does not speak under the chuppah and only she receives a ring. The groom recites "Harei at mekudeshet li k'dat Moshe V'Yisrael"- "behold you are [thus] sanctified to me by the law of Moses and Israel" as he places the ring on the bride's right index finger. The bride's silence and acceptance of the ring signify her agreement to the marriage. This part of the ceremony is called kiddushin. The groom's giving an object of value to the bride is necessary for the wedding to be valid.
- In more egalitarian weddings, the bride responds verbally, often giving the groom a ring in return. A common response is "ani l'dodi, v'dodi li" (I am my beloved's, my beloved is mine)
- In Orthodox weddings, the groom then says:
- "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
- May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth.
- If I do not remember you,
- if I do not consider Jerusalem in my highest joy."
- The ceremony ends with the groom breaking a glass underfoot.
- The couple spend their first moments as man and wife in seclusion (apart from the wedding guests, and with no other person present). This cheder yichud - "the room of seclusion (or 'oneness')" halachically strengthens the marriage bond, since unmarried women are traditionally not alone with an unrelated male.
- The ceremony is followed by a seudat mitzvah, the wedding meal, as well as music and dancing.
- At the conclusion of the wedding meal, Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals) is recited, as well as the seven wedding blessings.
In more observant communities, the couple will celebrate for seven more days, called the Sheva Brachot (seven blessings) during which the seven wedding blessings are recited at every large gathering during this time.
Weddings in Muslim cultures
Main articles: Marriage in Islam and Islamic marital practices
A wedding is always a happy time for families to celebrate. In the Muslim world, there are colorful, cultural variations from place to place.[16]
According to the Quran, a married Muslim couple, both husband and wife act as each other’s protector and comforter and are therefore only meant "for one another".
All Muslim marriages have to be declared publicly and are never be undertaken in secret. For many Muslims, it is the ceremony that counts as the actual wedding alongside a confirmation of that wedding in a registry office according to fiqh, in Islam a wedding is also viewed as a legal contract particularly in Islamic jurisprudences. However, most Muslim cultures separate both the institutions of the mosque and marriage, no religious official is necessary, but very often an Imam presides and performs the ceremony, he may deliver a short sermon.[17]
In Islam, polygyny is allowed with certain religious restrictions, despite that an overwhelming majority of Muslims traditionally practice monogamy.
It is forbidden in Islam for parents or anyone else: to force, coerce, or trick either man or woman into a marriage that is contrary to the individual will of any one of the couple. It is also necessary for all marriages commence with the best of intentions.
Weddings in Chinese cultures
At traditional Chinese weddings, Tea Ceremony is an equivalent of exchange of vows at a western wedding ceremony. This official ritual is still widely practiced at modern Chinese weddings on the wedding day, either at home or at the reception.
When the bride leaves her home with the groom to his house, a "Good Luck Woman" will hold a red umbrella over her head, meaning "raise the bark, spread the leaves." This "good luck woman" should be someone who is blessed with a good marriage, healthy children and husband and living parents. Other relatives will scatter rice, red bean and green bean in front of her. The red umbrella protects the bride from evil spirit, and the rice and beans are to attract the attention of the gold chicken.
Newlyweds kneel in front of parents presenting tea. A Good Luck Woman making the tea says auspicious phrases to bless the family. Newlyweds also present tea to each other, raising the tea cups high to show respect before presenting to each other.
Those who receive the tea usually give the bride gifts such as jewelry or Li Shi money wrapped in red envelope.
Tea Ceremony is an official ritual to introduce the newlyweds to each other's family, and it's a way for newlyweds to show respect and appreciation to their parents. The newlyweds kneel in front of their parents, serving tea to both side of parents, as well as elder close relatives. Parents give their words of blessing and gifts to the newlyweds. During tea presentation, a "Good Luck Woman" would say auspicious phrases to bless the newlyweds and the parents. These auspicious words of blessing are almost a lost art nowadays, that are designed to bless and amuse the family and make the occasion filled with fun and joy.[18]
Wedding types
Below are several types and styles of weddings. A wedding may include several of these aspects.
Civil wedding
A civil wedding is a ceremony presided over by a local civil authority, such as an elected or appointed judge, Justice of the Peace or the mayor of a locality. Civil wedding ceremonies may use references to God or a deity (except in UK law), but generally no references to a particular religion or denomination. They can be either elaborate or simple. Many civil wedding ceremonies take place in local town or city halls or courthouses in judges' chambers.
Elopement
Eloping is the act of getting married, often unexpectedly, without inviting guests to the wedding. In some cases a small group of family and/or friends may be present, while in others, the engaged couple may marry without the consent and/or knowledge of parents or others. While the couple may or may not be widely known to be engaged prior to the elopement, the wedding itself is generally a surprise to those who are later informed of its occurrence.
Same-sex wedding
A same-sex wedding is a ceremony in which two people of the same sex are married. This event may be legally documented as a marriage or another legally recognized partnership such as a civil union. Where such partnerships are not legally recognized, the wedding may be a religious or symbolic ceremony designed to provide an opportunity to make the same public declarations and celebration with friends and family that any other type of wedding may afford. These are often referred to as "commitment ceremonies."
Officiants at same-sex weddings may be religiously ordained. Some religions and branches of religions, including Quakers, Unitarians, Ethical Culture, Reform and Reconstructionist Jews, the Metropolitan Community Church, and the Reformed Catholic Church perform and recognize same-sex marriages, even if the government of their geographic area may not.
Destination wedding
Not to be confused with an elopement, a destination wedding is one in which a wedding is hosted, often in a vacation-like setting, at a location to which most of the invited guests must travel and often stay for several days. This could be a beach ceremony in the tropics, a lavish event in a metropolitan resort, or a simple ceremony at the home of a geographically distant friend or relative. During the recession of 2009, destination weddings continued to see growth compared to traditional weddings, as the typically smaller size results in lower costs.[19]
White wedding
Main article: White wedding
A white wedding is a term for a traditional formal or semi-formal Western wedding. This term refers to the color of the wedding dress, which became popular after Queen Victoria wore a pure white gown when she married Prince Albert, and many were quick to copy her choice. At the time, the color white to many symbolized both extravagance and sexual purity, and had become the color for use by girls of the royal court.[1]
Weekend wedding
A weekend wedding is a wedding in which couples and their guests celebrate over the course of an entire weekend. Special activities, such as spa treatments and golf tournaments may be scheduled into the wedding itinerary. Lodging usually is at the same facility as the wedding and couples often host a Sunday brunch for the weekend's finale.
Military wedding
A military wedding is a ceremony conducted in a military chapel and may involve a Saber Arch. In most military weddings the groom, bride, or both (depending on which is a member of the armed services) will wear a military dress uniform in lieu of civilian formal wear, although military dress uniforms largely serve the same purpose. Some retired military personnel who marry after their service has ended may opt for a military wedding.
Double wedding
A double wedding is a single ceremony where two affianced couples rendezvous for two simultaneous or consecutive weddings. Typically, a fiancé with a sibling who is also engaged, or four close friends in which both couples within the friendship are engaged might plan a double wedding where both couples legally marry.
Mass wedding
A mass wedding is a single ceremony where numerous couples are married simultaneously.
Wedding ceremony participants
Wedding ceremony participants, also referred to as the wedding party, are the people that participate directly in the wedding ceremony itself.
Depending on the location, religion, and style of the wedding, this group may include only the individual people that are marrying, or it may include one or more brides, grooms (or bridegrooms), persons of honor, bridespersons, best persons, groomsmen, flower girls, pages and ringbearers.
A woman’s wedding party consists of only those on her side of the wedding party. Those on a groom’s side are called his groom’s party.
- Bride: A woman about to be married.
- Bridegroom or Groom: A man who is about to be married.
- Marriage officiant: the person who officiates at the wedding, validating the wedding from a legal and/or religious standpoint. This person may be a judge, justice of the peace, or a member of clergy.
- Best Man, Woman, or Person: The chief assistant to a bridegroom at a wedding, typically a sibling or friend of special significance in his life. Often holds the wedding rings until their exchange.
- Maid, Matron or Man of Honor: The title and position held by a bride's chief attendant, typically her closest friend or sibling.
- Bridesmaids: The female attendants to a bride. Males in this role may be called honor attendants or sometimes bridesmen, but that term has a different traditional meaning.
- Groomsmen or Ushers: The attendants, usually male, to a bridegroom in a wedding ceremony. Female attendants, such as a sister of the groom, are typically called honor attendants.
- Page(s): Young attendants may carry the bride’s train. In a formal wedding, the ring bearer is a special page who carries the rings down the aisle. The coin bearer is similar page who marches on the wedding aisle to bring the wedding coins.
- Flower girl(s): In some traditions, one or more children carry bouquets or drop rose petals in front of the bride in the wedding procession.
See also
- Wedding anniversary
- Wedding photography
- Wedding videography
- Marryoke
- Wedding invitation
- Wedding planner
- Save the date
References
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011) |
- ^ a b Otnes, Cele and Pleck, Elizabeth (2003). Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding, p.31. University of California Press, Berkley.
- ^ Judith Martin on Who Should and Shouldn't Wear White to Weddings | wowOwow
- ^ Howard, Vicky (2006). Brides Inc.: American Weddings and the Business of Tradition, p. 34. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
- ^ Howard, Vicky (2006). Brides Inc.: American Weddings and the Business of Tradition, p. 61. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
- ^ "Kilts: tightly woven into Scots culture". Scotsman. 2005-02-10. Archived from the original on 2007-02-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20070202162115/http://heritage.scotsman.com/clans.cfm?id=41882005. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "The Scottish Kilt". Visit Scotland. http://www.visitscotland.com/guide/scotland-factfile/scottish-icons/. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ Jim Murdoch. "Scottish Culture and Heritage: The Kilt". Scotsmart. http://www.scotsmart.com/info/culture/kilt.html. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ Britannica article: Richard Wagner
- ^ Smith, Peter (2000). "Marriage". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 232–233. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- ^ Making Wedding Arrangements at Holy Spirit Church
- ^ "Guide to the Jewish Wedding". http://www.aish.com/literacy/lifecycle/Guide_to_the_Jewish_Wedding.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ "Nissuin: The Second of the Two Ceremonies". http://www.myjewishlearning.com/life/Life_Events/Weddings/Liturgy_Ritual_and_Custom/Nissuin.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ "Understanding the Jewish Wedding". Archived from the original on 2007-09-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20070921063911/http://www.rebgoldie.com/Wedding.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ "Ceremony: Jewish Wedding Rituals". http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-ceremony/articles/jewish-wedding-ceremony-rituals.aspx. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ "Marriage in Jewish Art". http://www.jhom.com/lifecycle/marriage/art.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ Islamic Wedding Party Customs
- ^ Muslim weddings
- ^ http://lovely-wedding.com/
- ^ Reuters.com, May 12, 2009 "Destination weddings see growth despite recession", Accessed May 25, 2010
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Translations:
Top
Wedding
idioms:
- wedding day bryllupsdag
- wedding march brudemarch
- wedding night bryllupsnat
Nederlands (Dutch)
bruiloft, huwelijksfeest, trouwen, bruids-, trouw-, trouwend
Français (French)
n. - mariage, noces
adj. - de mariage
idioms:
- wedding day jour des noces
- wedding march marche nuptiale
- wedding night nuit de noces
Deutsch (German)
n. - Hochzeit
adj. - Braut-, Hochzeits-
idioms:
- wedding day Hochzeitstag
- wedding march Hochzeitsmarsch
- wedding night Hochzeitsnacht
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - γάμος, γαμήλια τελετή
adj. - γαμήλιος
idioms:
- wedding day ημέρα ή επέτειος γάμου
- wedding march το γαμήλιο εμβατήριο
- wedding night πρώτη νύχτα γάμου
Italiano (Italian)
nozze, nuziale
idioms:
- diamond wedding nozze di diamante
- golden wedding nozze d'oro
- silver wedding nozze d'argento
- wedding day giorno delle nozze
- wedding march marcia nuziale
- wedding night notte di nozze
Português (Portuguese)
n. - casamento (m)
adj. - relativo a casamento
idioms:
- diamond wedding bodas de diamante
- golden wedding bodas de ouro
- silver wedding bodas de prata
- wedding day dia de casamento (m)
- wedding march marcha nupcial (f)
- wedding night noite do casamento (f)
Русский (Russian)
свадьба, годовщина свадьбы, соединение
idioms:
- diamond wedding бриллиантовая свадьба
- golden wedding золотая свадьба
- silver wedding серебряная свадьба
- wedding day день свадьбы
- wedding march свадебный марш
- wedding night брачная ночь
Español (Spanish)
n. - boda, casamiento, matrimonio, nupcias
adj. - nupcial, de bodas, de novios
idioms:
- wedding day día de la boda
- wedding march marcha nupcial
- wedding night noche de bodas
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bröllop
adj. - bröllops-
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
婚礼, 结婚仪式, 结婚
idioms:
- wedding day 婚礼日, 结婚纪念日
- wedding march 婚礼进行曲
- wedding night 洞房花烛夜
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 婚禮, 結婚儀式, 結婚
idioms:
- wedding day 婚禮日, 結婚紀念日
- wedding march 婚禮進行曲
- wedding night 洞房花燭夜
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 결혼식, 금혼식, 융합
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 結婚式, 結婚記念日
idioms:
- wedding day 結婚式の日, 結婚記念日
- wedding march 結婚行進曲
- wedding night 結婚初夜
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) عرس, , فرح, زفاف, قران (صفه) ما يتعلق بالزفاف
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - חתונה, טקס-כלולות
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