Wedding

In most societies, a number of wedding traditions or customs have emerged around the wedding ceremony, many of which have lost their original symbolic meaning in the modern world; for example, the Western custom of the bride wearing a white dress once symbolised virginity and would not have been allowed in the second or third wedding of a widow. Some elements of the Western wedding ceremony symbolize the bride's departure from her father's control and entry into a new family with her husband. In modern Western weddings, this symbolism is largely vestigial, since husband and wife are of equal power and status.

Weddings in modern China combine both traditional elements and elements influenced by the West. The actual civil ceremony consists of registering the marriage with the local registrar and is brief and done without much ceremony. The wedding reception, however, is elaborate and complex, and the one prominent element of modern Chinese weddings is the Chinese wedding album.

A wedding is often followed or accompanied by a wedding reception, at which an elaborate wedding cake is served. Western traditions include toasting the bride and groom, the newlyweds having the first dance, and cutting the cake. The bride throws her bouquet to the assembled group of all unmarried women in attendance, and the woman who catches it is supposedly going to be the next to wed. A fairly recent egalitarian equivalent has the groom throwing the bride's garter to the assembled unmarried men; the man who catches it is supposedly the next to wed.

Table of contents

1 Music 2 Related articles 3 External links

Music

• the "Bridal Chorus" from Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, often used as the processional and commonly known as "Here Comes the Bride"
• the "Wedding March" from Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for the Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, often used as a recessional
• the "Toccata" from Charles-Marie Widor's Symphony for Organ No. 5, also used as a recessional (ogg format, 20 seconds, 79KB)

• Events related to weddings
  • Betrothal
  • Engagement and Engagement ring
  • Wedding anniversary
  • Wedding reception
• Types of weddings
  • Banns of marriage
  • Handfasting
  • Religious aspects of marriage
  • White wedding
• Wedding traditions
  • Marriage license
  • Wedding band (or ring)
  • Wedding gift
  • Wedding invitation
  • Wedding music
  • Wedding vows
• Clothing
  • Kimono
  • Barong
  • Tuxedo
  • Wedding dress
  • Wedding veil
• Food
  • Wedding cake
• Participants
  • Best man
  • Bridesmaid
  • Flower girl
  • Maid of honor
  • Mail-order bride
  • Ringbearer
  • Usher or Groomsman
• Related travel
  • Honeymoon
  • Wedding trip (traveling to meet a bride or groom in an arranged marriage)

• Wedding invitation wording and etiquette
• Wedding Vows Offers an assortment of wedding vows and ceremonies.