Whilst there are many interpretations of a wedding, generally speaking they are still a religious or legal union between two individuals; many changes have been made to the law surrounding a marriage in the last twenty years or so. Although the service may be quite lengthy and involved, it is not complete until the legal aspect is fulfilled; the marriage certificate must be signed at the end of the service for the law to legitimize the couple’s relationship. A woman taking part in the ceremony is called a bride, a man called a bridegroom; after the ceremony they become a wife and a husband, respectively.
Religious Wedding Ceremonies
Other wedding traditions vary according to the religion, race, ethnic group and even class the couple may belong too. Although it may seem like the world has turned away from the Christian religion generally, it has not stopped the popularity of a Church ceremony. The traditional white wedding as we know it is really only a service that is popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland and some other Commonwealth countries.
Multiple Ceremonies
Although unusual a double marriage is a where two couples are married at the same time; typically, a person with a brother or sister might plan this type of occasion with that sibling.
Weddings in a Foreign Country
You will probably already know of a couple that decided on a destination wedding and asked the guests to travel to where they were staying; the definition of a destination wedding is flexible as you don’t actually have to leave your country for it to qualify, just so it isn’t in your home town.
Activity Weddings
Two day or weekend weddings are a great way to extend the ceremony and festivities as an increasing number of people are finding out. Special activities, such as spa treatments and golf tournaments, are scheduled into the itinerary for guests’ enjoyment throughout the weekend. Accommodation for these is normally arranged at the place where the service is going to take place and where the other events are also being held.
Online Marriages
An online wedding is conducted on the internet which can resemble a normal ceremony; internet based specialists are already available to help organize your ceremony. This can prove a useful tool where relatives and friends from around the world can see an online wedding take place in real time without actually being there!
Town Hall Services
Civil weddings have to be carried out by a local justice of the peace, judge, even a mayor can carry out the ceremony and most places out side of a church will use one of these people. For people that elect this type of ceremony it is not important to them if God or religion is referred to in such a brief service. Many civil ceremonies take place in local town or city halls or courthouses in judge’s chambers. I hope this has helped with your understanding of what a wedding is even though the information has been mainly based around Christian beliefs.
