English Wedding Traditions and Ceremonies

1.

English Wedding Traditions
and Ceremonies
Performed: Anna Ivanova
1st year student of the Faculty of Economics and Business
Administration
Supervisor: Dmitri A. Stepanov

2.

Introduction
Wedding ceremonies are ceremonies that accompany the
conclusion of a marriage. All nations have a lot of beliefs, acceptances
and rites associated with a wedding.
Great Britain, like not every European country, is famous
for its love and respect for its traditions and customs. But no matter
what customs, no matter how highly a nation values its commitment
to tradition, time is of the essence. However, the British have also
found some symbiosis between what was once considered cult,
absolutely indestructible and modern, comfortable and convenient.
This trend is particularly good in the case of modern English weddings.
This is where you can see, on the one hand, the meticulous pedantry,
the desire to do everything in the best centuries-old traditions, and,
on the other hand, the desire not to get lost in longstanding obscure
customs.

3.

The history of England's wedding celebrations
Up until the nineteenth century in England, the decision to
marry was made by the parents or guardians of young people, often for
their benefit. They were also the ones who organised the wedding.
However, the bride and groom often did not even know each other at the
time the decision to marry them was made.
Often young people who were in love with each other would
run away and secretly get married without their parents' consent. This was
a protest against parental despotism and lack of freedom in choosing their
future spouse.
In 1653, a civil law was passed that required a civil marriage
ceremony to be held by a justice of the peace.

4.

Since 1753, only marriages concluded in an Anglican
church with a special registration have been recognised as legal. Until
1990, it was only possible to get married in a church in the county
where one of the future spouses lived.
A serious obstacle to free marriage in England was the
issue of the religion of the married couple. There were strict
boundaries between Catholics and Protestants, so that people with
different faiths rarely married, because their relatives, friends and
acquaintances turned away from them.
Since the 17th century, the number of unmarried men and
unmarried women in England has gradually increased.
By the 18th century, real "marriage" fairs had begun to
function in major cities, where balls, meetings, etc. were held, helping
young people to meet and get to know each other.

5.

Wedding celebrations in the royal dynasty
Many wedding traditions have been brought to this day by
the famous wedding of Queen Victoria and her cousin Albert of SaxeCoburg-Gotha, which took place on 10 February 1840. An interesting
feature of this marriage is that Victoria took the main initiative. Her
words: "A few minutes later I said that he must have guessed why I called
him - and that I would be very happy if he gave in to my wish (to marry
me)".
The wedding ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince
Philip took place on 20 November 1947 in the presence of over 2,000
guests at Westminster Abbey. The British Queen and her husband, with
whom she was destined to live together for 60 years, fell in love as
teenagers.As you might expect, the wedding attire was also kingly rich.
Elisabeth's wedding dress, designed by Norman Hartnell,
was luxurious thanks to a strap of up to 4.5 metres in length alone. But at
the same time, it was a vivid reflection of the position of post-war
Britain.

6.

The wedding of Diana and Charles was the most expensive wedding in
British history.
Diana's wedding dress looked like a puffed meringue, with huge lush
sleeves and a neckline.
The dress was
made of silk taffeta
embellished with lace,
hand embroidery,
rhinestones and 10,000
pearls. The dress had a
25-foot ivory taffeta trail
and antique lace

7.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton were
married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Middleton was
wearing a white dress. For the wedding custom of "something old, something
new, something borrowed and something blue", Middleton's dress was with
traditional lace - "old", diamond earrings from her parents were "new", the
queen's tiara was "borrowed" and the blue ribbon sewn into the bodice was
accordingly "blue" . Prince William was in the form of his honorary title of Colonel
of the Irish Guard

8.

Place and time of the wedding ceremony
For the English, the choice of a wedding day and month has
long been very important. The English wedding is divided into two
parts: wedding breakfast and reception. Wedding breakfast is a gala
dinner immediately after the registration of the marriage, whether it
is at 11am or 'at work noon'. - This is a full lunch, where only the
closest relatives are present. Reception is already a party with a buffet
at 19:00, no matter whether you choose: hand buffet (only canape) or
fork buffet (when cutlery is used), hotcold (a full-blown banquet with
a hot dish).
So choosing a place is very important. Because you have to
choose two places - for wedding breakfast and reception. For a
wedding breakfast, you do not need a large room, but a spacious one
for reception. Modern British brides and grooms prefer to hold a
wedding in a suburb or village, unlike in Russia, where the
approximate wedding programme looks different. Those who can
afford it rent locks or park areas at the worst. The wedding itself
becomes a kind of public performance, a kind of ancient-style show.

9.

Superstitions
Guessing about the 'silent pie' was particularly popular.
Made of flour, salt and water, the girl took half of it and, walking
backwards to bed, ate, hoping to see her future husband in her
sleep. Back in the 15th century, there was a belief in England that
on Valentine's Day (13-14 February), the patron saint of all lovers,
people, like birds, choose their marriage partners. On this day, a girl
met her first man and believed that he would be her husband. On
the eve of the holiday, guys would send the girls so-called
valentines, gifts in the form of elegant knickknacks, and often
poems would be attached:
If you love me, send me a blue ribbon. If you don't love
me, send me a green ribbon.
However, in a more or less pure form and almost
everywhere, pre-marriage beliefs and customs were preserved,
which manifested themselves in various kinds of fortune-telling,
timed to certain days.

10.

Traditions
A traditional custom at a wedding in the UK is to throw
daisies on the way to Church. Sometimes a small bench is placed on the
doorstep of a building so that a couple can jump over it. It is a symbol of
joint overcoming of all obstacles in joint life. The ceremony itself is
usually scheduled for noon. All the guests are waiting for the clock to
strike. Only then do they go inside. It is believed that the striking of the
clock during the wedding procession promises misfortune. At the
ceremony itself, the bride walks down the aisle to her father's right.
There they take an oath of allegiance with the groom and exchange
rings. The procedure in the Church is as follows:
1.
entrance of the bride with her father;
2.
greeting;
3.
hymn;
4.
sermon;
5.
exchange of marriage vows;
6.
prayer;
7.
registration of marriage;

11.

The image of the bride and groom
Modern English brides prefer not to leave their wedding dress for their
daughter, as fashion changes and their daughter is unlikely to be happy to wear a 25year-old dress to her wedding. Therefore, the wedding dress after the wedding is
either sold or used more interestingly and touchingly: the fabric of the wedding
dress is used to make baptismal clothing for the firstborn.

12.

Brides still try to keep to the old English tradition:
"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
and 6p in shoes".
The bride's garter of blue is her indispensable attribute.

13.

Approximate wedding scenario
A mandatory element of an English wedding is to hold a
touching wedding in a Church.
As usual, the bride, introduced into the hall by the
groom's father, will be preceded by a little girl who will sprinkle fresh
flowers on the path. To the sound of wonderful music, the newlyweds
will swear allegiance to each other and then the fun events will begin.
Before the wedding feast, business cards are laid out on
the tables with the names of guests and small bags of sweets,
expressing the gratitude of the newlyweds to the guests. The wedding
feast menu has a wide variety and assortment. The leading place
among wedding dishes is occupied by baked lamb, from alcohol –
champagne, wine, and for dessert there are many different fruits.
Wedding cake is a mandatory component of a wedding
Banquet. The bride and groom independently cut and divide between
the invited guests, but keep the top. The last piece is given according
to the rules to the bachelor of her husband's friends, so that he will
soon have a family. Toasts are made at a wedding celebration after a
meal, and the first toast should be made by the groom's friend. Then
everyone goes for a walk, after which there are incendiary dances.
That's it!

14.

Conclusion
A study of the tradition of marriage ceremonies in England leads
us to the conclusion that this rite of marriage dates back to the 16th-17th
centuries. An analysis of the information collected showed that many
traditions are relevant today, which leads us to the conclusion that the British
honour their traditions despite the fact that they also welcome new ones.

15.

Literature
1. Himunina T.N., Konon N.V., Walsh I.A. In Great Britain it is accepted
to do so (about English customs). - M: "Enlightenment", 1984
2. http://www.britishcouncil.ru/programmes/arts/uk-russia.
3. http://svadbamsk.ru/info/story/korolevskaja_svadba_diana_i_charlz/.
4. http://www.gofashion.ru/news/naryady-na-svadbe-katemiddlaton.116.html.
5. http://www.zelenaya-svadba.com/svadby-znamenityxlyudej/svadby-zvezd/svadba-korolevy-viktorii-i-princza-alberta-istokisvadebnoj-mody.
6. http://emelinaludmila.ru/forum/topic/5107-svadebnye-ceremonii-itradicii-v-korolevskoy-seme-anglii/.
7. https://ru.wikipedia.org.