How Traditional Is Your Wedding Going To Be?
Traditions are just about everywhere in our lives today, be it in politics, courtrooms, the monarchy. Fish and Chips even! It may be traditional in your family to support a certain sports team, or have a parent's name as your middle name. Traditions define our culture and link us to our past, and some can be extremely important. Weddings are no exception to this. Weddings are jam packed with traditions.
Let's start with the proposal. It's traditional for the man to get down on one knee to propose, in fact it's tradition that the man proposes to the woman. However there is one tradition that says a woman asks a man in a leap year! Asking permission of the Father of the Bride is also a long standing tradition.
Before the wedding are the traditional last nights of freedom before marriage: the Stag and Hen Dos. These have become an industry in their own right over the last decade or so. They used to involve a few drinks out in the town the night before the wedding but now involve whole weekends away sometimes. These might be in a different country and can include activities such as go-karting or paintballing. Alternatively they might take the form of an indulgent spa break with massages and pedicures. I'll let you guess which of those are for the men and which for the women!
The wedding dress has its own traditions too. Wearing a white dress is very symbolic of a bride. The use of a veil also. The groom is not supposed to see the dress before the big day and with camera phones and social media this is becoming a much tougher task!
Then there comes the wedding party. Tradition dictates that the groom has a best man and the bride has bridesmaids. Page boys and ushers may be selected too. Whoever is in charge of invites may find their list getting bigger!
On the big day itself there is a long list of traditions to accommodate if you wish. The Father of The Bride normally accompanies his daughter down the aisle to give her away. The Best Man holds the rings before the ceremony. The bride throws a bouquet over her shoulder with whoever catches it is supposedly the next to be married. The first meal after a couple are married is traditionally called the Wedding Breakfast, and this is where the Best Man gives his speech, which normally includes some embarrassing stories about the groom! The list could go on!
Perhaps the biggest tradition of all is marriage itself, and one that is here to stay.
Let's start with the proposal. It's traditional for the man to get down on one knee to propose, in fact it's tradition that the man proposes to the woman. However there is one tradition that says a woman asks a man in a leap year! Asking permission of the Father of the Bride is also a long standing tradition.
Before the wedding are the traditional last nights of freedom before marriage: the Stag and Hen Dos. These have become an industry in their own right over the last decade or so. They used to involve a few drinks out in the town the night before the wedding but now involve whole weekends away sometimes. These might be in a different country and can include activities such as go-karting or paintballing. Alternatively they might take the form of an indulgent spa break with massages and pedicures. I'll let you guess which of those are for the men and which for the women!
The wedding dress has its own traditions too. Wearing a white dress is very symbolic of a bride. The use of a veil also. The groom is not supposed to see the dress before the big day and with camera phones and social media this is becoming a much tougher task!
Then there comes the wedding party. Tradition dictates that the groom has a best man and the bride has bridesmaids. Page boys and ushers may be selected too. Whoever is in charge of invites may find their list getting bigger!
On the big day itself there is a long list of traditions to accommodate if you wish. The Father of The Bride normally accompanies his daughter down the aisle to give her away. The Best Man holds the rings before the ceremony. The bride throws a bouquet over her shoulder with whoever catches it is supposedly the next to be married. The first meal after a couple are married is traditionally called the Wedding Breakfast, and this is where the Best Man gives his speech, which normally includes some embarrassing stories about the groom! The list could go on!
Perhaps the biggest tradition of all is marriage itself, and one that is here to stay.
