General Wedding Customs A wedding is a civil or religious ceremony at which the beginning of a marriage is celebrated. Wedding ceremonies may contain any number of different elements, however most contain wedding vows of some kind and a proclamation of marriage, usually by the officiant. Most weddings also involve wearing the traditional clothes of the culture in which the couple is wedding. A wedding is often followed or accompanied by a wedding reception. Other elements may include music, poetry, prayer, scripture, or other traditions. In most societies a number of traditions or customs have emerged around the wedding ceremony, many of which have lost their original symbolic meaning in the modern world. Other wedding traditions are relatively recent. Some elements of the Western heterosexual wedding ceremony symbolize the bride's departure from her father's control and entry into a new family with her husband. In modern Western wedding, this symbolism is largely vestigial, since husband and wife are of equal power and status. In some cultures, same-sex weddings are celebrated.

A wedding's particular customs may be varied, mixed, or invented to suit the personalities, interests, and cultural backgrounds of the couple. Such hybrid ceremonies are more common when performed by Civil Celebrants, as in Australia. Music often played at western weddings includes: • The "Bridal Chorus" from Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, often used as the processional and commonly known as "Here Comes the Bride" - Note: Richard Wagner is said to have been Anti-Semitic, and as a result, the Bridal Chorus is often not used at Jewish weddings. • Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D is often used as an alternative processional. • 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. Segments of the Ode To Joy, the fourth movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, sometimes make appearances at weddings; its message of unity is suitable for the occasion.

At wedding receptions, Der Ententanz, a 1950s Swiss Oom-pah song known more commonly in America as The Chicken Dance, has become a popular part of the reception dance music. A double wedding is a single ceremony where two fiancee couples rendezvous for two separate weddings. Typically, a fiancée with a sibling might plan a double wedding with that sibling. A destination wedding is any wedding in which the engaged couple and/or a majority of their guests travel to attend the ceremony. Whether this happens for an intimate beach ceremony in the Caribbean, extravagant nuptials in Las Vegas or for a simple ceremony in someone's back yard, chances are it qualifies as a destination wedding.

Items 1 - 12 of 12