Wedding

Marriage, socially recognized and approved union between individuals, who commit to one another with the expectation of a stable and lasting intimate relationship. It begins with a ceremony known as a wedding, which formally unites the marriage partners. A marital relationship usually involves some kind of contract, either written or specified by tradition, which defines the partners rights and obligations to each other, to any children they may have, and to their relatives. In most contemporary industrialized societies, marriage is certified by the government. In addition to being a personal relationship between two people, marriage is one of societys most important and basic institutions. Marriage is commonly defined as a partnership between two members of opposite sex known as husband and wife.

Dating, Courtship, and Engagement. In societies in which individuals choose their own partners, young people typically date prior to marriage. Dating is the process of spending time with prospective partners to become acquainted. Dates may take place in groups or between just two individuals. When dating becomes more serious it may be referred to as courtship. Courtship implies a deeper level of commitment than dating does. During courtship the individuals specifically contemplate marriage, rather than merely enjoy one anothers company for the time being. Courtship may lead to engagement, also known as betrothal the formal agreement to marry. Couples usually spend some period of time engaged before they actually marry. A woman who is engaged is known as the mans fiance, and the man is known as the womans fianc . Men typically give an engagement ring to their fiance as a symbol of the agreement to marry. In the past, dating, courtship, and engagement were distinct stages in the selection of a marital partner. Each stage represented an increasing level of commitment and intimacy.

The ceremony

The bride and groom stand at the altar during the wedding ceremony, surrounded by the bridesmaids and groomsmen. When the guests arrive for a wedding, the ushers, if any, help the guests take their places. In a typical white wedding ceremony, which is derived primarily from the Anglican tradition, the bride and groom will stand side by side at the front of the church or other venue throughout most or all the ceremony. Consequently, some guests prefer to sit on the side

closer to the person they know best. Typically, this means that the bride's family sits on the house left and the groom's family on house right. The front rows are generally reserved for close family members or friends. Some couples make a ceremony of having their grandparents, step-parents, and parents escorted to their seats immediately before the wedding procession begins. In other cases, these relatives form part of the wedding procession. Depending on the country, her age and situation, and her personal preferences, the bride may walk alone or be escorted by her father, both of her parents, one or more relatives she wishes to honor, or the groom. In Swedish white weddings, the bride and groom usually go down the aisle together. Similarly, some couples choose to have the groom escorted to the altar by his family. Whether the bride is the first or the last of the wedding party to enter the church varies by country. In the US, the bride is typically last, being preceded by the rest of the wedding party. In the UK, she leads the procession, followed by any bridesmaids, flower girls and page boys. Sometimes the groom is already present in the church; other times, he and any groomsmen form part of the procession. The music played during this procession is commonly called a wedding march, no matter what songs are played.If the wedding is part of a religious service, then technically the service begins after the arrival of the participants, commonly with a prayer, blessing, or ritual greeting. During the ceremony, each partner in the couple makes marriage vows to the other in front of the marriage officiant. The ceremony might include the singing of hymns or performance of a popular song, a Bible reading, or apoem.After the wedding ceremony itself ends, the bride, groom, officiant, and two witnesses generally go off to a side room to sign the wedding register in the United Kingdom or the state-issued marriage license in the United States. Without the signing of the register or the marriage license, the marriage is not legally recognized.Afterward, guests may cheer the departure of the couple from the church by throwing flower petals, confetti, birdseed, or rice over them.

The reception

After this, the celebrations shift to a reception at which the newly married couple, as the guests of honor, and the hosts and perhaps members of the wedding party greet the guests in a receiving line. Although now commonly called a reception no matter the style of party, wedding celebrations range from simple receptions to dinner parties to grandwedding balls.Food is served, particularly including a wedding cake. Wedding cakes are often multi-tiered layer cakes that are elaborately decorated with white icing. Cutting the wedding cake is often turned into a ritual, complete with sharing a symbolic bite of the cake in a rite that harks back to the pagan confarreatio weddings in ancient Rome.During the reception, a number of short speeches and/or toasts may be given in honor of the couple.If there is dancing, the bride and groom, as the guests of honor, are expected to be the first people to begin dancing. This is usually termed the bridal waltz, even if the couple has arranged for a different style of music. In Denmark, it is still normal to dance the first dance as a couple to waltz. Some families then contrive a series of arranged dances between the newlyweds and their parents, or other members of the wedding party, with guests expected to watch the performances.At some point, the married couple may become the object of a charivari, a good-natured hazing of the newly-married couple. This is most familiar in the form of tying tin cans or a sign saying "Just Married" to the bumper of the couple's car, if they depart in their own car rather than a hired one.As the guests of honor, the newly married couple is the first to leave the party. It is typical to throw rice, a symbol of fertility, at the couple as they depart.

Chlothes
-for grooms mother Traditional dress etiquette dictates that the mother of the groom should wait until the mother of the bride picks out her dress. You want to make sure that you end up in similarly formal outfits. Since the mother of the groom's dress should match the bridesmaids' dresses in formality,many mothers choose to have a similar dress length. However, a dress shorter or longer than the bridesmaids' dresses is acceptable as long as it is the same level of formality.

-for brides mother It's an tradition that says that the mother of the bride chooses her dress before the mother of the groom. The reason of this tradition is that only the bride should outshine her mother. The mother of the groom is not allowed to overshadow the mother of the bride.Both mothers should select dresses that complement the bridal party as well as each other. Keeping this in mind, the mother of the groom should not select a short dress when the mother of the bride has selected a floor-length gown.The bride will let all bridal party members know what her color scheme is. The reason the mothers of the bride and groom should coordinate their dresses to the bridal party is so they don't "clash" when wedding photos are taken. In general, at a formal wedding, the mother of the bride/groom dresses should be formal and floor length. At the very least, they should both choose tea-length dresses. -for bride White became a popular option in 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg, where Victoria wore a white gown to incorporate some lace she prized. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many brides opted for white in accordance with the Queen's choice.Even after that, for a period, wedding dresses were adapted to the styles of the day. For example, in the 1920s, they were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. This tendency to follow current fashions continued until the late 1960s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era.Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white though "wedding white" includes shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory.Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize innocence, though this was not the original intention: it was the color blue that was connected to purity, piety, faithfulness, and the Virgin Mary.About 75% of wedding dresses on the market are strapless, sleeveless gowns, in part because such dresses require less skill from the designers and are easier to alter to fit correctly.

-for groom In the last few decades, black tie has been increasingly seen in the United States at formal day wedding in place of the traditional Morning dress. However, etiquette and clothing experts continue to condemn the wearing of black tie before 6 PM. Prior to the late 1930s, black tie was even discouraged as too informal for evening weddings, with Amy Vanderbilt arguing that "no man should ever be caught in a church in a tuxedo." Indeed Emily Post would continue to argue in preference of white tie at evening weddings into the 1950s.In England and Wales, black tie is seldom worn at weddings as morning dress or a lounge suit is normally favoured. In Scotland, a dinner jacket is also not common but highland dress is often chosen.

-for bridesmaids Bridesmaids dresses can be any length the bride chooses, though rules of etiquette state that the gowns should not be longer than the bride's. Also, daytime weddings are an appropriate time to wear tea length, or knee length, dresses, while evening and black tie weddings lend themselves better to floor length gowns.Junior bridesmaids are becoming a popular alternative as a way to include older pre-teen girls who may be too old to act as a flower girl. Junior bridesmaids can wear the same dress as the other bridesmaids, or if the style is too mature, can wear a similar dress made from the same fabric.Bridesmaids typically choose their own shoes and jewelry, though brides can feel free to give suggestions on style or color. Brides may also want to consider giving an item like a necklace as a bridal gift to her attendants, which can be worn on the day of the wedding.

-for guests Unless the couple specifies a certain type of attire on a wedding invitation or through direct contact with guests, it is acceptable to assume that guests can choose clothing that is appropriate and tasteful. Guests should take into consideration the venue for the wedding, the time of day the wedding will take place, and the climate conditions of the location. It is also important to consider the tastes of the couple; some couples feel uncomfortable when in a formal situation while others abhor casual wear.If its specified, it will be rude not to take care of the dress code.

Year U.S. U.K. st 1 Paper 2nd Cotton 3rd Leather 4th Linen, silk Fruit and flowers 5th Wood 6th Iron Sugar 7th Wool, copper 8th Bronze 9th Pottery Willow, Pottery 10th Tin/Aluminum Tin 11th Steel 12th Silk Silk and fine linen 13th Lace 14th Ivory 15th Crystal 16th Porcelain 20th China

25th Silver 30th Pearl 35th Coral, Jade Coral 40th Ruby 45thSapphire 50thGold 55thEmerald 60thDiamond 65thBlue Sapphire 70thPlatinum 75thDiamond & Gold 80thOak 85thWine