For one, the Romans placed special attention to June weddings because that month was the time when they paid special obeisance to Juno, the goddess of marriage. As such, getting married in June was deemed lucky. We all know how the gods of the ancient times were very much involved in day to day living. On the other hand, it was not all luck and superstition that had it going for June weddings. It also had a practical aspect to it. If a couple got married in June, it meant that if the wife conceived, she would give birth before harvest time. This translated to the fact that she would be well enough to work the fields come harvest time.

There you are – the nitty gritty stuff about June weddings. With time, however, these reasons faded into the background. People of the modern times merely held on to the tradition that June is a good time to get married and that there is no other more romantic month than this. I have been trying to come up with modern reasons for June being the wedding month. I have done research and racked my brains but to no avail. Unfortunately, I think it is all based on the age old tradition which many do not know about now.

No matter what the reason may be though, June weddings are still quite popular today (though probably not as much as before). With the month of June just peeking around the corner, countless couples are probably getting ready for their own wedding. Their reasons may vary but the fact remains that June is still the prime month for weddings. In the next few posts, let us look into different topics relating to weddings held in June. Though it may be a bit late to plan your own wedding for this June, it will only be a matter of time till the next June comes around.

Technorati Tags: weddings, June weddings, wedding planning, wedding tradition

Wedding cakes have been around for as long as anyone can remember. Yet if you look deeper into its origins, the modern wedding cake as we know it today is not really the same as the wedding cake in the olden times. In fact, the old wedding cakes – and I mean old – were more like sweet bread than the cakes we use for weddings today. The custom in those days was to break the “cake” over the head of the bride. It does sound nasty, doesn’t it? Yet the reason for this was to wish the bride all the blessings and happiness that she can have for the rest of her life. It is the thought that counts, after all!

Anyhow, today’s wedding cakes are far from what they used in those days – both in looks, taste, and purpose. Wedding cakes today are quite grand and are meant to be eaten by everyone. Still, the wedding cake stands to represent the commitment of the bride and groom to each other for the years to come. So in choosing your wedding cake, you have to take into consideration both the presentation and the taste as well.

It used to be that modern wedding cakes had to made as simple as possible, with vanilla as the flavor. With time, however, wedding cakes began to have a character of their own. It is not uncommon to see unique and distinctly flavored cakes in weddings today. What kind of wedding cake should you choose for your special day?

There are really no strict and fast rules for this. If you favor the traditional white wedding cake, then why not? However, if you want to follow your wedding theme, then all the better! For example, there are couples who follow a Hawaiian wedding theme. They normally incorporate the theme into the wedding cake design. Tropical fruits and flowers are incorporate into the cake. You can also choose to follow the color of your wedding. Icing is all that is needed to decorate the cake and it is easy to do.

As for the flavors, you can choose from a gamut of choices. From the plain vanilla to butter to chocolate to mocha – the choice is yours to make! You can even have the picture cakes that are in fashion these days. Have your favorite photo of the two of you “printed” on the surface of a cake. The idea is basic, really. Decide on what you want and have it done. The important thing is that you are happy with what you have decided on. Cheers!

Technorati Tags: weddings, wedding cakes, wedding themes, reception

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!

Technorati Tags: weddings, ceremonies, traditions, ethnic groups, ethnic traditions

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.

Technorati Tags: weddings, traditions, customs, honeymoon