Wedding traditions

1. Wedding Traditions

2. American Wedding Traditions

• The bride traditionally wears “something old,
something new, something borrowed, and
something blue.”
The bride usually wears a white dress.
A color scheme is often used so that the invitation
matches the bridesmaids' dresses and the table
settings.
Rice is sometimes thrown at the newlyweds as
they leave the ceremony.
The bride's family sends engraved invitations to
the wedding guests, addressed by hand to show
the importance and personal meaning of the
occasion.
Guests send or deliver wedding gifts to the bride's
family home before the wedding day.
A wedding ceremony takes place at a church or
other favorite location, such as an attractive
outdoor venue.

3. The wedding cake, mostly a large cake with lots of ornaments, has to be cut by the bride and the groom together.

4. The bride tosses her bouquet over her shoulder to the assembled unmarried women; the woman who catches it, superstition has it,

will be
the next to
marry. In some
social groups,
the process is
repeated for
unmarried men
with the groom
tossing the
bride's garter
for the same
purpose.

5. In some cultures, the money dance takes place, in which it is expected and encouraged for guests to pin money onto the young

bride and groom to help
them get started in their new lives in a new
household.

6. Scottish Wedding Traditions

• The cake-cutting ceremony takes place; the bride
and groom jointly hold a cake cutter and cut the
first pieces of the wedding cake.
There is a wedding reception following the
ceremony, usually at a different venue.
The bridal party lines up in a receiving line and
the wedding guests file past, introducing
themselves.
Usually a drink is served while the guests and
bridal party mingle. In some cases the drink may
be whiskey or wine with a non alcoholic
alternative.
The bride's family sends invitations on behalf of
the couple to the wedding guests, addressed by
hand. The couple may send the invitations
themselves, especially if they are more middleaged. The invites will specify if the invitation is for
ceremony and/or reception and/or evening
following the meal at the reception.

7. Gifts are not opened at the reception; they are either opened ahead of time and sometimes displayed at the reception, or if

guests could not deliver gifts
ahead of time, they are placed on a table at the
reception for the bride and groom to take home with
them and open later.

8. Japanese Wedding Traditions

• Before the ceremony, there is a rehearsal. Often
during this rehearsal, the bride's mother lowers
the veil for her daughter, signifying the last act
that a mother can do for her daughter, before
giving her away. The father of the bride, much
like in Western culture, walks the bride down the
aisle to her awaiting groom.
• The service, or kekkon shiki, then starts. The
service is given either in Japanese or English, or,
in some cases, a mix of both. It follows a
traditional Protestant ceremony, relaxed and not
overtly religious. The opening hymn is usually the
Japanese version of What a Friend We Have in
Jesus.

9. Japanese bride and groom, wearing white and black kimonos respectively. The Japanese bride-to-be is painted pure white from

head to toe, visibly
declaring her maiden
status to the gods; a
white hood is attached
to her kimono, which the
bride wears like a veil to
hide her 'horns of
jealousy' from the
groom's mother, who will
now become the head of
the family.

10. Polish Wedding Traditions

• According to the old tradition a groom arrives
with his parents at the house of a bride just
before the wedding ceremony.
• The Polish bride traditionally wears a white dress
and a veil. The groom, on the other hand usually
wears an elegant fitted suit with a bow tie and a
boutonnière that matches the brides' bouquet.
• When they leave the church the guests toss rice
or coins at the married couple for good and
prosperous future together
• The married couple is traditionally welcomed at
the reception place by the parents with bread and
salt. The bread symbolizes the prosperity, salt
stands for hardship of life, the parents wish the
young couple that they never go hungry and learn
how to deal with every day hardships together.

11. Once all the guests had showered the couple with kisses,hugs and beautiful flowers everyone heads to the reception. It is a

very popular custom in Poland
to prepare "passing gates" on the way to the
reception for the newlyweds, who in order to pass
have to give the "gate keepers" some vodka.

12. Russian Wedding Traditions

• Ransom for the bride. The groom is coming to the
bride's home with his closest friends and relatives.
To get the bride he has to pay some ransom to
the folks on the bride’s side. Everything is played
out as a joke and both sides are mostly
competing in the sense of humor.
• The civil ceremony takes place at the department
of public services. At the entry to the registration
hall the couple is greeted by the guests with
bread and salt. The ceremony is about 15 minutes
long and at the end of it the couple exchanges
rings.
• Russian wedding receptions are very loud and
they last for two days or sometimes even longer.
They include a lot of Russian music, singing,
dancing, long toasts, and the abundance of food
and drinks to go with it. The guests love to sing
Russian traditional songs to the sounds of
accordion, bayan or garmoshka.

13. After the official part, it is customary for the bride and groom, and some of their close friends and relatives to go on a tour

of the historic sites of the
city, taking pictures and drinking champagne.

14. Conclusion

Marriage ceremonies across cultures,
even though they can be very different,
they share many common aspects. There
are at least a few reasons why these
similarities exist among so many different
cultures of the world. First, marriage is
an important emotional and social
transition for the bride and groom.
Second, marriage often marks a dramatic
change in the social status for the
newlyweds. In most cultures it signifies
adulthood and potential parenthood.

15. The End

16. The project is made by:

• Ann Solopova
• Albina Kuleshova
• Alina Pyatakhina