Author : Ciolacu Gabriela The 9TH ,,C form Teacher : Boaghe Nadejda

Quote :The real act of marriage takes place in the heart, not in the ballroom or church or synagogue. It's a choice you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again - and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife. Barbara de Angelis

A wedding is a ceremony where two people vow to spend their lives together in marriage. But a wedding is not just about the couple getting married. It is also an exchange between that couple and their community of family and friends. It is a moment whereupon the couple vows to be together as a pillar of support, and simultaneously thanks their community for supporting and loving them. There are many traditions and customs for Weddings in the United States and in the United Kingdom , most of which are based on a wide array of factors such as religion, culture, and social norms . As each country ,they have something specific ,characteristic only for them. Even so, the United States is "a melting pot" of cultures each with their own unique Marriage Customs and Traditions. We can study all of them with the help of USA and thus ,understand the strange superstitions .

In ancient times, weddings were based out of commodity, rather than desire or love. In fact, the word "wedding" implies the security that the groom's family provides to the brides family when the couple marries ..Additionally, brides were chosen based on their economic worth. The wedding had little to do with love. This trend lasted until the 19th Century, when couples started to marry for love.Today, couples in the United States are waiting later in life to get married. The average age for males getting married in the United States is 27 years old, whereas, women's average age is 25.

Marriage in UK hasnt always been about mutual love between two people. In fact, it often hasnt. In the beginning, marriage was nothing at all to do with love or religion In 5th century marriage was a strategic tool in the early Anglo-Saxon period. It was a rule: You established peaceful relationships, trading relationships, mutual obligations with others by marrying them. So marriage began as a way of surviving, helping out or pacifying your neighbour instead of fighting with them. In 12th century, we finally see mutual love starting to become an important aspect of marriage

Marriage is usually initiated by a proposal of marriage.In a relationship, the man traditionally proposes to the woman and the actual proposal often has a ritual quality, involving the presentation of a ring (an engagement ring) and the formalized asking of a question such as "Will you marry me?" The man may even go down on one knee before proposing. If the proposal is accepted, the couple become engaged. In the United Kingdom, the engagement ring is worn, by the woman, on the third finger of the left hand (the ring finger).In the UK the 29th of February (in a leap year) is said to be the one day (coming round only once every four years) when a woman can propose to her partner. Once a wedding date has been set the banns of marriage, commonly known simply as "the banns" in UK (from an Old English word meaning "to summon") are announced. This is a notice, usually placed in the local parish church or registry office, which tells everyone that a marriage is going to take place between two people.The purpose of banns is to enable anyone to raise any legal problems as to why the two people shouldn't get married, basically it is to prevent marriages that are legally invalid.

Weddings are traditionally held in places of worship. Churches, chapels and temples are usual venues to get married. Often a wedding venue is chosen because of its significance to the bride or groom. It could be a church where one attended growing up, or a parish church officiated by a favourite priest. Some couples pick a place of worship because of its excellent artistic or historical attributes.Some want to hold their wedding outdoors. A pretty garden, the sea, a public park are beautiful places that will make a wedding memorable. Other couples go all out with their creativity to make their wedding unique. Sometimes, a hobby or interest will naturally dictate what wedding location is most ideal for a couple. Some couples have gotten married airborne, under the sea or up the mountains.

Wedding Order of Events 1. Engagement 2. Wedding Rehearsal Dinner 3. Wedding 4. Reception Line in church 5. Reception 6. Grand Entrance of Wedding Party 7. Meal 8. Cutting of Cake (sometimes this is done after the dance, since some people believe when the cake is cut the reception is over). 9. Throwing of the Garter 10. Throwing the bouquet 11. Father- Daughter Dance

In England, a marriage is only legally valid if the reading of the banns has taken place or a marriage licence has been obtained . In addition to the bride and groom, traditional weddings involve a lot more people. Typically, these positions are filled by close friends of the bride and groom; being asked to serve in these capacities is seen as a great honour. For the couple:1. Ring-bearer - an attendant, often a young boy, who carries the wedding rings. 2. Ushers - helpers, usually men, who assist with the organization. For the groom:1. Best man - a close male friend or relative of the groom, given a place of honour. 2. Groomsmen - one or more male attendants who support the groom. For the bride:1. Maid of honour - a close female friend or relative of the bride, given a place of honour. If she is married, she is called the "matron of honour" instead. 2. Bridesmaids - one or more female attendants who support the bride. 3. Father of the Bride - One who symbolically "gives away" the bride. If her father is deceased or otherwise unavailable, another male relative, often an uncle or brother, will give the bride away. 4. Flower girl - a young girl who scatters flowers in front of the bridal party. 5. Junior Bridesmaids - young girl typically between the ages of 8 and 16 who is too old to be a flower girl, but the bride wants to be a part of the wedding. A bride's wedding day is often touted as "the happiest day of her life", but in all honesty it's often a very stressful experience as there are lots of conventions surrounding the whole thing and you can get caught up in family rows, and trying to please everyone. Still it's a good test of a couple's fortitude.

You have probably heard the saying: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, A Silver Sixpence Inside Your Shoe.' No one is really sure when this custom started. It is believed by many to have begun during the Victorian era in Engald , while others argue that it started much earlier than that. Nevertheless, couples have honoured this custom through the centuries, and even today. Something old represents the guests in attendance at the ceremony who are already married. Something new represents the newlyweds and the beginning of their new life together. Something borrowed signifies something that the bride must give back, such as her veil or her mother's own wedding dress. Something blue is associated with the bride's virginity and purity. Something silver is any type of silver coin that is tucked into one of the bride's shoes to represent wealth and prosperity .This tradition is characteristic for both USA and UK.

The wedding dress trend currently is white or ivory, as this symbolizes purity. There are a lot of traditions about it .One of is an universal superstition which says that the groom is not supposed to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding day. There is also the superstition for the bride to avoid wearing the dress before the day and see herself in the mirror, because something that prevents the wedding may happen. Also , a great importance has the colour ,depending of the well-spread rhyme below : Married in white, you will have chosen right. Married in gray, you will go far away. Married in black, you will wish yourself back. Married in red, you wish yourself dead. Married in green, ashamed to be seen. Married in blue, you will always be true. Married in pearl, you will live in a whirl. Married in yellow, ashamed of your fellow. Married in brown, you will live out of town. Married in pink, your fortune will sink.

The type of flowers the bride clutches during the wedding ceremony signifies her emotions towards the marriage. In older times, the bridal bouquet has herbs and spices instead of flowers. It was believed that these strongly aromatic plants will ward off evil spirits intent on possessing the bride. At present there are a lot of designs of bouquet the bride may decide to clutch throughout the ceremony.. The designs are endless .Some brides decide to carry a bouquet of other significant thing for her, such as rice stalks or small branches of a special plant. There is also another custom relating bouquet and bride. Single ladies in attendance at the wedding reception are invited to come up and try to catch the bride's bouquet. This is a custom that represents which lady will be the next to be married. As the custom goes, she is to take a small piece of the wedding cake home and slip it under her pillow that very night. She will then have a dream about the man she will soon marry.

In UK ,In the past, Wednesday was considered the n most auspicious day to get married, as shown in this old rhyme, which seems to favour the first half of the week. Monday for wealth, Tuesday for health, Wednesday the best day of all. Thursday for losses, Friday for crosses, Saturday for no luck at all. Nowadays, most weddings take place on a Saturday, which might account for the rise in divorce rates.

In the beginning of the ceremony ,the groom and his best man wait inside the church for the arrival of the bride and her "entourage". This entourage generally arrives in elegant cars or in horse-drawn coaches, specially hired for the occasion. The bride's entourage normally consists of the bride, the bride's father and all the various bridesmaids, maids of honour, sometimes flower girls and page boys attend her. The page boy's task is often to carry the wedding rings on a cushion. The ushers and/or groomsmen escort the guest to their seats. The bridesmaids enter, escorted by the groomsmen. The maid or matron of honour enters, either by herself or escorted by the best man. The ring bearer or page boy enters. The flower girl enters. (In some ceremonies, the ringbearer will accompany the flower girl.) The bride then proceeds down the aisle, escorted by her father, to the accompaniment of music (usually the wedding march, often called "Here comes the bride"), and the ceremony starts. During the ceremony the bride and groom make their marriage vows. Most wedding vows are taken from traditional religious ceremonies, but nowadays in the UK many couples choose touching love poems or lyrics from a love song revised as wedding vows and some couples even choose to write their own vows, rather than relying on standard ones spoken by the celebrant (registrar, priest or vicar). After the vows have been spoken the couple exchange rings. The wedding ring is placed on the third finger of the left hand, also called the "ring" finger. The wedding ring is usually a plain gold ring. I was once told that the third finger was chosen because in the past people believed a vein ran from that finger, straight to the heart - modern anatomy books havel put paid to that theory though.

The reception that follows the wedding and is often a sit down dinner, but some have a buffet. There is often games that are played during the reception .An arranged dance between the bride and her father is also traditional. Sometimes the groom will cut in halfway through the dance, symbolizing the bride leaving her father and joining her new husband. Getting the couples to kiss by banging glasses with chopsticks is a fun tradition. As is the part of where the groom has to share a toast at each table. During the reception a number of speeches and/or toasts are given in honour of the couple.Of course there is always a wedding cake .It isnt just dessert to be served to guests during reception .It s more then that ,due to his importance and significance . Traditionally this is a fruit cake. Often there are a couple of little figures on top of the cake, normally they are a representation of the bride and groom in formal wedding attire. The wedding cake is cut together by the couple during the wedding reception. Then the husband and wife exchange bites of the cake. This is the first act the couple does together as husband and wife. The sweet wedding cake symbolizes caring and nurturance between the couple. Wedding cakes are also usually white, to symbolize purity. In ancient Rome, the wedding cake is a loaf of bread. This cake is broken over the bride's head. The guests would then scramble for the crumbs .There are also numerous superstitions about good luck for those who can bring home the crumbs of the wedding cake. Putting crumbs of a wedding cake under one's pillow will make a guest dream of the future spouse. Crumbs are also believed to enhance fertility. In UK,people who were invited to the wedding, but were unable to attend are often sent a piece of cake in a small box, as a memento. The final tradition is the newly married couple to set off for their honeymoon.