Modern Wedding Customs and Traditions in Western
Before the Wedding
In the west, if the couple of lovers going to marriage, firstly the boy should proposed, and the boy should present an engagement ring to his girl. So when people referred "he gave her a ring", it commonly means"He proposed to her, she accepted, and they are now engaged".
Then the engaged couples should make a notice to their parents separately, and the engagement and wedding notice will be declared by the brides parent generally. As per to the traditonal customs, the brides family should pay most part of the wedding fees, while the grooms family should in charged with the rehearsal feast and other accessories. Theres a rehearse should be hold one or two days before the wedding, thus to make everyone who will attend the wedding become more familiar with the routines and procedures on the wedding.
The wedding is one of a most important occasions in the west countries, the siblings and friends of the bride and groom will received invited letters several weeks before. The wedding will be held in the church by daylight, if you have received an invitation, you should dressed very formal on the wedding. Ladies usually wear cocktail lounge dresses or wear long shirts plus a festival coat or sweater, while gentlemen should wearing robes. And you should pay attention that a pair of trousers(no matter what colors) for lady is not proper.
Presenting is a common custom that many nations conceived as a habit, then what is a suitable gift be given on a wedding? Here we provide some principles for your consideration: First of all, it is should be a favorite to the bride and the bridegroom, secondly it should not be too expensive, last is the gift should be practical. Theres a "grace period" of one-year for you to send out your wedding present, that means that it is permitted as long as you send out the wedding present before the newlyweds first anniversary. Traditional wedding gifts include silverwares, porcelain wares, crystal products, as well as some durable articles. However, todays wedding gifts also include electrical appliances and some utility items.
On Wedding Day
Modern wedding customs and traditions have their origins in the past, many coming from the Middle Ages. In ancient Rome, the bride wore a girdle fastened with many tiny knots. The groom had the pleasure of untying all those knots before he could bed his new wife.
Up until the 1400s, the bride usually wore her best dress regardless of the color. It was Queen Victoria (1840) who began the present day fashion of wearing white as the wedding dress. It is also considered unlucky for the bride to make her own wedding dress.
The idea of having bridesmaids, pages, a best man and ushers originated with the belief that evil spirits, envious of the couples happiness, would be out to harm them, but would be confused by so many similarly dressed people.
The custom of the best man probably goes back to the days when the groom took a friend with him when he went to kidnap the bride from her home. Bells were originally rung at weddings to frighten away the evil spirits, and noisy celebrations were held beforehand to try and drive them from the community. These were the ancestors of our stag and hen parties.
Some Interesting Traditions
The giving of an "engagement" ring was first practiced when the groom "purchased" his bride. By giving a token, such as a ring, he pledged to marry her in return for her dowry and social status, among other things. The tradition of giving a diamond began with the Italians. It was believed that diamonds were created from the "flames of love" and represented everlasting love.
The Wedding Kiss dates back to Roman times. The kiss was to seal the marriage legally between the couple and must be witnessed by another person. In addition to the groom not being allowed to see the bride before the ceremony, the veil was also used to protect the bride from being seen by evil spirits and jealous suitors. To this day, it is considered bad luck for the groom to see the bride on her wedding day before the ceremony.
The rowdy bachelor parties were the invention of the Spartan Soldiers. It became customary for the groom to feast with his friends the night before the wedding, often celebrating his last night of freedom by getting severely drunk (not much has changed it seems). In modern times, women have decided they also want their night of fun, so now it is traditional for women to have Stagette or Bachelorette parties as well.
