Ethnic Wedding Traditions

We talked about age old popular wedding traditions of the western world last time. How about taking a look into other wedding traditions that are commonly observed by different ethnic groups? With globalization and the constant migration of people across borders today, it should come as no surprise that various ethnic traditions are being observed in different parts of the world. In the US alone, there are countless ethnic groups. Whether or not you are part of an ethnic group, it would be an interesting thing to know a little bit more about their wedding traditions. Who knows, you just might pick up an idea or two?

Before we go on, I was just thinking about how weddings seem to make people want to find something of the more spiritual nature. For couples who practice a religion or part of an ethnic group, they normally do not have any problem with deciding on the type of ceremony they will have. Yet even couples who do not practice any religion or are not part of an ethnic group seem to want to have a religious or ethnic twist to their wedding. So again, read on and take a look at the options available to you.

African-American
Perhaps the most popular tradition for African-Americans today is Jumping the Broom. This originates from the time when slavery still existed and the slaves were forbidden to marry. Jumping the broom was their way of expressing their commitment to one another. Today, most African-Americans follow the western wedding traditions but many are incorporating this tradition from their heritage.

Chinese
One Chinese wedding tradition that is quite easy to incorporate in a wedding is to drink from goblets with wine and honey. Jujubes – something like date – are then fed to the bride. This is supposed to give her more chances of having a son.

Jewish
The Jewish culture is perhaps one of the most diverse and richest cultures. Within the wide term of “Jewish culture” there so many other sub-cultures that are encompassed. For Orthodox Jews, the groom puts a veil on his bride to signify that they are betrothed. This occurs in a ceremony before the actually wedding. During the wedding, the vows are to be said under a canopy. Then the groom places a plain gold band on his wife’s right hand. At the end of the ceremony, the Seven Blessings are read. The groom then breaks a wine glass on his heels. This symbolizes all the catastrophes that the Jewish nation has undergone throughout the ages.

Native American
The Native American culture is again very diverse, with a lot of wedding traditions. One beautiful tradition is for both the bride and the groom to wear a lot of turquoise and silver jewelry during the ceremony. This is supposed to ward off evil and bad luck. Add to that the aesthetic value of the jewelry and you have a wonderful wedding tradition!

As you can see this is just a small sampling of wedding traditions that you can incorporate into your own wedding. You can choose what interests you and make your own ceremony as unique as can be!
[tags]weddings, ceremonies, traditions, ethnic groups, ethnic traditions[/tags]

Popular Wedding Traditions

In any country or culture, there are a host of wedding traditions that a couple is expected to follow. We normally just take it for granted that these traditions should be a part of the ceremony. Yet have you ever taken a step back and thought about the origins of these wedding traditions? Have you ever wondered how they came into existence and became the standard for weddings? Well, wonder no more. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular wedding traditions and their origins.

Of course, a disclaimer is needed before we go on. These traditions are mainly from the western concept of weddings. There are simply too many different cultures and tradition in the whole world to cover them in one post. Anyhow, read on.

Before the wedding itself, one important event is the bridal shower. Though not everyone holds a bridal shower it is quite a common custom. The bridal shower is, obviously, held for the bride before she gets married. Usually, her friends are the ones who organize this and give her gifts. So where does this custom come from? Story has it that in the 1800s, a poor miller fell in love with a rich girl and they wanted to get married. The girl’s father, however, was totally against the idea and refused to pay a dowry for his daughter. In those days, if the girl cannot provide a dowry, she cannot marry. As such, the girl’s friends organized a “party” to “shower” her with gifts so that she could have a dowry.

How about the age old saying that a bride should have “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue?” No one knows exactly where this tradition originated from. However, we do know that the “old” thing symbolizes wisdom for married life, passed on by the mother to the daughter. The “new” thing symbolizes the family that is being established. The “borrowed” thing has to come from a happily married woman so that she can share some of her marital bliss to the new couple. Last, the “blue” thing can either be from the wardrobe of ancient Roman maidens who wore robes with borders or blue to symbolize love, fidelity, and modesty or from the purity of the Virgin Mary.

Another wedding tradition that is observed in most weddings is the tying of the knot. The idea stems from the ancient Roman times when the bride had to wear a girdle which was tied into many knots. It was then the groom’s duty to untie these knots.

How about the word honeymoon? Again, it arose in the old times when the custom was for couples to get married beneath a full moon and drink honey wine for 30 days for good luck.

As you can see, many of what we consider “normal” wedding customs have obscure or even silly origins. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that we’d rather stick with these customs for tradition’s sake. On the flip side of the coin, you are not obliged to keep with the customs if you do not wish to do so.
[tags]weddings, traditions, customs, honeymoon[/tags]

Ideas for Wedding Favors

You have to admit it, though weddings are of course for the groom and bride – the stars of the day – the guests are also part of the consideration when planning them. Think about it, we only invite people whom we really want to be there. The first people we normally think about are members of the family, high school and college friends, colleagues who are close to us, and the like. Whoever thought of inviting someone you do not really like?

More than organizing a wedding that is meant to be memorable for both the groom and the bride, we also take into consideration the fact that we want the whole affair to be beautiful and memorable for the important people in our lives whom we have invited to bear witness to our union. One aspect of weddings that we cannot overlook is the giving away of wedding favors. I honestly cannot remember a single wedding that I have gone to wherein the couple did not give away wedding favors. Other people call these souvenirs, but however you may want to call them, the idea is the same.

Aside from the precious memories of our wedding, we want to give something to our guests that will remind them of that wonderful day. On top of this, we also want to show them our appreciation for taking part of this momentous occasion in our lives. So what are some good ideas for wedding favors?

One very important consideration would be your wedding theme. You probably have put a lot of effort and time into deciding what your wedding theme should be. As such, it would be silly not to keep with the theme when choosing your wedding favors. In fact, it would be outright illogical. Keeping to your theme with the wedding favors is something like icing on the cake – it just makes things better.

So what can you pick out for wedding favors? There are countless little trinkets that you can give away. My opinion, though, would be to choose something that your guests can use in the future. Though it would be easy to give away any little trinket, it would mean so much more if they are useful as well.

You can never go wrong with candleholders. Almost every household makes use of them. Why not pick out candleholders that go with your wedding theme? You can have your names engraved or printed on them. That way, you can rest assured that you are not giving away an item that will merely collect dust on the shelves. Another good idea would be picture frames. People will never run out of pictures to display. This option also gives you a lot of versatility regarding the design, shape, and color. It will make the task of keeping with your theme easier. How about symbolic suncatchers? These things are quite useful for decorations and are always in style. You also have a lot of options which you can choose from so as to match your theme.

Remember, when picking out wedding favors, bear two things in mind: practicality and your wedding theme. That way, you can never go wrong.

The Color Codes for Wedding Themes

A lot of people may not notice it, but couples would usually follow a certain wedding theme through colors. A lot of the color schemes would normally be patterned to colors like lavender, pink, peach, yellow, blue or green. The theme to be picked out depends largely on what the couple would believe in like tradition and culture. While many would not find this necessary, it is really something important for couples who want to make their wedding rituals colorful and memorable as well.

Wedding themes would usually be picked out by the bride with the consent of the groom in the end. It is customary and only normal that women are more passionate and particular about their wedding themes since they are usually exposed and do the research on how to make such an event in their lives a treasured moment. The color schematics cover the flower arrangements, entourage designs and of course the wedding giveaways that are passed on during the reception proceedings.

It has been a common sight that color themes would usually create the proper ambiance and complement that weddings would usually project. The selection of colors would usually have meanings. These would stem from ancestral and superstitious beliefs that include good luck charms and happy marriages. It would all depend on the level of belief that sides, bride and groom, and their families would normally advice.

Ill-prepared weddings may not have time to go over the necessary preparations, making it something secondary since the main purpose is simply to tie the knot. While implementing colored themes in weddings is not really a requirement, it is a sign of unity and for some who believe in superstitions, a sign of well-preparedness in journeying towards a new life as husband and wife.

But the standard practice in weddings, whether it is big or a small gathering, really follow a certain them to make the occasion unique and different from the standard wedding events that people would get to experience through friends and colleagues. Couples would normally resort to trying to improve or outdo the weddings that they see, mixing ideas and trying to conceptualize something unique for their own wedding to be different and extravagant.

Besides, weddings are usually held once in a lifetime for couples who want to be officially married. Preparations and the like are tedious but after some years, they will always go back to memory lane and look at how exotic and memorable their exchange of vows truly was.

The Moment to Exchange Wedding Vows

Marriage is something that people would usually consider after they feel that they have done it all while being together. Marriage is a big step since it is a union that would drive two people onwards to another stage of their lives, living apart of their families that they have been with for so long. Venturing out in the world on a different type of an approach is something that holds quests and journeys where couples are driven to the test on how they would be able to survive and cope up with the growing demands of being able to live on their own.

Resorting to marriage is not immediate for some. It should be something that would be considered after careful deliberation and thinking. For one, moving their foot forward towards marriage is a rather large step considering that changes in lifestyle and manner of living will truly be something that people would have to be open to. Convenience and luxury will surely be different from the usual routine of being single since needing to look out for your partner as well is the added responsibility that comes with holy matrimony.

Planning a wedding is something that would need extensive preparation. It is not purely a case where a man and a woman would change “I Do’s”. If only marriage was that simple then anyone of legal age can easily get married. Outside the usual planning of ceremonies, wedding guests and necessities to make the occasion a memorable one, the bride and groom to be should consider life after giving up their single status.

One two people would tie the knot, there is no turning back. It is assumed that both people are aware of the predicament that they have placed themselves into and unlike ordinary relationships; it is not easy to break off. Starting a family of their own, deciding on how many off springs to have, where to be situated and computing the finances are only some of the issues that will surely be among the normal marital problems to be faced.

Hence, this is why relationships are considered a test of compatibility. The complement of the partnership and planned union should have a strong foundation and resorting to marriage is done by mutual agreement by both parties. Exchanging vows is something sacred and memorable hence man and woman should carefully consider why marriage is serious that what most people think.

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