WEDDING RITUALS AND TRADITIONS
Wedding Sand Ceremony
Handfasting
Hand-Holding Ceremony / Hand Blessing
Unity Candle Ceremony
Ring Warming Ceremony
Garland or Lei Ceremony
Wine Ceremony
Rings
Rice Throwing
Flower Girls
Bouquet Toss
Love Heart
Salt Ceremony
Circling Ceremony
Different Entries
Made-up Bells
From the Old Farmers Almanac
"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half shut afterwards."
–Benjamin Franklin (1706-90)
Rules of Engagement:
Although engagement rings have been popular through the ages, it wasn't until Archduke Maximilian of Austria presented a diamond to Mary of Burgundy in 1477 that the tradition of offering the most enduring gem on Earth took hold. These days, the majority of brides receive diamond engagement rings.
The Time and the Place:
Ancient Greeks used pig entrails to determine the luckiest day to marry.
Who Pays?
Tradition suggests that the bride's parents pay all wedding expenses. Today, when couples tend to be older, the majority of couples often share the wedding expenses with their parents. A small percent still rely on their parents to fully fund their big event.
The Wedding Party:
According to tradition, only an unmarried woman could be a maid of honour, and only the brother, best friend, or father of the groom could be the best man.
The original purpose of the bridesmaid and the best man was to aid in the capture of the bride, get her to church on time, and keep any hostile family members away! Now the bridesmaids usher the guests to their seats, the best man carries the ring, and offers a toast.
Once the flower girl's role was not simply to spread petals down the aisle but, with her shield of virginity, to protect the bride from the Devil. Today, the ring bearer can be a girl, boy, or even a dog!
The Ceremony:
Being given away is a tradition that evolved from the days when men bought brides from fathers or, even worse, captured them. Today, brides ask either parent or both parents to walk them down the aisle.
The traditional wedding vows have given way to more personal expressions of love. Many couples have dropped the wording "honour and obey" in favour of promising to be each other's best friend.
For a Smooth Send-Off:
Rice is the latest in a long list of fertility symbols that have been thrown at newlyweds. Over the centuries, guests have tossed cakes, grain, fruit, sweetmeats, and biscuits.
Nowadays, it's common to shower the couple with rice or the more environmentally-friendly birdseed. Another idea is to toss dried rose petals.
Early English Wedding Traditions:
As early as the sixteenth, up to the nineteenth century, marriages were arranged by parents or guardians. The bride and bridegroom often were not acquainted until their marriage. The parents often made the marriage arrangements and betrothals while the bride and bridegroom were small children (ages three to seven). The children would continue to live with their own parents and meet from time to time for meals or holiday celebrations.
These prearranged marriages came under fire in the late seventeenth century when a judge held that betrothals and marriages prior the age of seven were “utterly void”. However, they would be valid if, after the age of seven, the children called each other husband and wife, embraced, kissed each other, gave and received Gifts of Token.
Later, young couples ran away and had a ceremony privately performed without banns or license. These elopements and private ceremonies represented the beginning of a revolt against parental control of marital selection.
The Civil Marriage Act of 1653, passed by the Puritans under Cromwell, required a civil ceremony before a justice of the peace after presentation of the certificate from the parish register that banns had been published. If either party were under twenty-one, proof of parental consent must also be presented. The wedding ceremony consisted of a simple formula to be repeated by the man and woman and was accompanied by hand fastening. The use of a ring was forbidden.
By the Hardwicke Act of 1753, all weddings, except members of the royal family, were to be performed only after publication of banns or issuance of a license, only during the morning hours of eight to twelve, only in an Anglican Church or chapel, and only before an Anglican clergyman. Two or more witnesses were required and a register must be kept. Parental consent was demanded unless the banns had been published.
The Catholic Church, in the Council of Trent, restated its position that marriage was one of the seven sacraments and therefore could not be dissolved.
Up until the early 1990′s, it was very difficult to get married in Great Britain. If one wishes to marry in England or Wales, they must do so in a church which has a register, (which is like a special license), and they can do so only in the district (shire) where one of the couple resides. All Church of England parishes (Anglican) are automatically registered, regardless of their size. No blood tests or counselling are required.
I am happy to work closely with you to develop a customised ceremony that fulfils all your wishes and needs. . . . . Lena.
If you wish to know more about any of the Rituals and Traditions mentioned above, please contact me . . . Thanks.
Wedding Sand Ceremony
Handfasting
Hand-Holding Ceremony / Hand Blessing
Unity Candle Ceremony
Ring Warming Ceremony
Garland or Lei Ceremony
Wine Ceremony
Rings
Rice Throwing
Flower Girls
Bouquet Toss
Love Heart
Salt Ceremony
Circling Ceremony
Different Entries
Made-up Bells
From the Old Farmers Almanac
"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half shut afterwards."
–Benjamin Franklin (1706-90)
Rules of Engagement:
Although engagement rings have been popular through the ages, it wasn't until Archduke Maximilian of Austria presented a diamond to Mary of Burgundy in 1477 that the tradition of offering the most enduring gem on Earth took hold. These days, the majority of brides receive diamond engagement rings.
The Time and the Place:
Ancient Greeks used pig entrails to determine the luckiest day to marry.
- The Japanese traditionally looked to an ancient astrological calendar for propitious days.
- In early U.S. history, Wednesday was the luckiest day for weddings. Friday was avoided as the "hangman's day."
- Sunday used to be a popular wedding day; it was the one day most people were free from work. Puritans in the seventeenth century put a stop to this, believing it was improper to be festive on the Sabbath. Today, Saturdays are busiest, despite this old rhyme:
Monday for health, Tuesday for wealth, Wednesday best of all, Thursday for losses, Friday for crosses, Saturday for no luck at all. - June is still the most popular month to marry, followed by August, July, May, and September. The goddess Juno was the protector of women in all aspects of life, but especially in marriage and childbearing, so a wedding in Juno's month was considered most auspicious.
- The idea of June weddings also comes from the Celtic calendar. On the Cross-Quarter Day of Beltane, or May Day (May 1), young couples would pair off to court for 3 months and then be wed on the next Cross-Quarter Day (Lammas Day, August 1). Youths being impatient, the waiting period was shortened to mid-June, and the popularity of June weddings was ensured.
Who Pays?
Tradition suggests that the bride's parents pay all wedding expenses. Today, when couples tend to be older, the majority of couples often share the wedding expenses with their parents. A small percent still rely on their parents to fully fund their big event.
The Wedding Party:
According to tradition, only an unmarried woman could be a maid of honour, and only the brother, best friend, or father of the groom could be the best man.
The original purpose of the bridesmaid and the best man was to aid in the capture of the bride, get her to church on time, and keep any hostile family members away! Now the bridesmaids usher the guests to their seats, the best man carries the ring, and offers a toast.
Once the flower girl's role was not simply to spread petals down the aisle but, with her shield of virginity, to protect the bride from the Devil. Today, the ring bearer can be a girl, boy, or even a dog!
The Ceremony:
Being given away is a tradition that evolved from the days when men bought brides from fathers or, even worse, captured them. Today, brides ask either parent or both parents to walk them down the aisle.
The traditional wedding vows have given way to more personal expressions of love. Many couples have dropped the wording "honour and obey" in favour of promising to be each other's best friend.
For a Smooth Send-Off:
Rice is the latest in a long list of fertility symbols that have been thrown at newlyweds. Over the centuries, guests have tossed cakes, grain, fruit, sweetmeats, and biscuits.
Nowadays, it's common to shower the couple with rice or the more environmentally-friendly birdseed. Another idea is to toss dried rose petals.
Early English Wedding Traditions:
As early as the sixteenth, up to the nineteenth century, marriages were arranged by parents or guardians. The bride and bridegroom often were not acquainted until their marriage. The parents often made the marriage arrangements and betrothals while the bride and bridegroom were small children (ages three to seven). The children would continue to live with their own parents and meet from time to time for meals or holiday celebrations.
These prearranged marriages came under fire in the late seventeenth century when a judge held that betrothals and marriages prior the age of seven were “utterly void”. However, they would be valid if, after the age of seven, the children called each other husband and wife, embraced, kissed each other, gave and received Gifts of Token.
Later, young couples ran away and had a ceremony privately performed without banns or license. These elopements and private ceremonies represented the beginning of a revolt against parental control of marital selection.
The Civil Marriage Act of 1653, passed by the Puritans under Cromwell, required a civil ceremony before a justice of the peace after presentation of the certificate from the parish register that banns had been published. If either party were under twenty-one, proof of parental consent must also be presented. The wedding ceremony consisted of a simple formula to be repeated by the man and woman and was accompanied by hand fastening. The use of a ring was forbidden.
By the Hardwicke Act of 1753, all weddings, except members of the royal family, were to be performed only after publication of banns or issuance of a license, only during the morning hours of eight to twelve, only in an Anglican Church or chapel, and only before an Anglican clergyman. Two or more witnesses were required and a register must be kept. Parental consent was demanded unless the banns had been published.
The Catholic Church, in the Council of Trent, restated its position that marriage was one of the seven sacraments and therefore could not be dissolved.
Up until the early 1990′s, it was very difficult to get married in Great Britain. If one wishes to marry in England or Wales, they must do so in a church which has a register, (which is like a special license), and they can do so only in the district (shire) where one of the couple resides. All Church of England parishes (Anglican) are automatically registered, regardless of their size. No blood tests or counselling are required.
I am happy to work closely with you to develop a customised ceremony that fulfils all your wishes and needs. . . . . Lena.
If you wish to know more about any of the Rituals and Traditions mentioned above, please contact me . . . Thanks.
