Most wedding traditions are generally based on the Italian structure. Catholics start their ceremony with the bride wearing her white bridal gown and wedding jewelry set in a church or in a place where a priest can unite them which will also be performed with a mass. White bridal gowns are worn by brides to symbolize purity, it is commonly called a white wedding and this tradition started in Victorian England.

To symbolize the unity of both families and to show fidelity, virginity, and financial security the tradition of wearing “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a lucky sixpence in her shoe” has now been celebrated around the globe.

When it comes to wedding invitations, the most common style for making them is still engraved. This tradition also started in Italy and they are still addressed by hand to show importance of the occasion.

We may not know it or just because we got used to how we celebrate weddings, but Americans have a lot of tradition when it comes to weddings.

At the wedding ceremony, most grooms together with his groomsmen still enter the church through the back door because they think it would bring bad luck if the couple sees each other until she walks down the aisle. The bride still walks down the aisle with her father and even in an instance that the bride has a stepfather, she may ask for both men to walk her.

Tradition of giving gifts is still common since the bride and the groom still need to prepare their bridesmaid gifts and groomsmen gifts to their bridal party. While the bride can choose on whether giving her bridesmaids some bridesmaid jewelry, grooms on the other hand can choose on the different male selection of cufflinks, beer mugs, Swiss army knife, and more.

Gift giving for guests are still common. Before, guests use to guess what the newlyweds would need as gifts, but now wedding registries are becoming more common. Guests do not have to figure out what the couple would really need for their new home since they all have it on their registry.

There are a lot more wedding tradition that we think. If you are already in the process of planning a wedding, you may already have been following tradition and you may not even know you are doing it. Do not worry most American wedding traditions are fun and just add to the flare of a great wedding.

Weddings in India are more than just a celebration; they’re an event that lasts several days. The country is quite vast and each area had different customs that slowly melted together as improved transportation and communication developed. The term for the wedding ceremony “Vivaha”, means taking a girl away and the sacrifice of giving away a daughter is “kanyadana”, although the literal translation means donating a virgin. The ceremony is a huge celebration and families plan for the event long before the couple ever meets, since it can be quite an expensive occasion.

Usually the first ceremony is the Vanna or the formal commitment ceremony announcing the engagement. The elders from both the bride and groom’s side meet in the temple where they exchange flowers to celebrate the couple’s engagement and merging of the families. The bride’s family offers a traditional Kashmiri meal, and var, a rice pudding, is offered throughout the family and neighborhood. The bride’s family then sends dry fruit, cash, and a pot of misri, a pudding made of milk, ghee, sugar, sliced almonds, and cardamom, which is adorned with silver leaf.

Another celebration involving henna is the Mehendi, the henna ceremony. The Mehendi is a method to show transformation and transcendence. Brides traditionally get together with their friends and spend hours putting henna patterns onto their hands, feet, arms, and legs. The bride gets the most intricate patterns and according to custom, she doesn’t have to participate in housework until the henna wears off her body. Today, the groups often embellish the intricate designs of henna with glitter and other shimmering body powder. The night of painting is more than just for creating beautiful works of art, it is also a time that friends offer advice for the marriage bed and other information for an erotic wedding night.

The actual ceremony may take place around a sacred fire. Some tie golden threads around the foreheads of the bride and groom. There is also a tradition of using seven rupee coins as the stepping-stones around the sacred fire. There are a number of different rituals, depending on the location and religion of the couple. One ritual is the carrying of the bride to the alter by her male family members. While all the rituals vary, there are many parties and changes of clothing for the bride and groom following the wedding. The bride is always treated as a princess. Elaborate decorations to the wedding bed may be another tradition, depending on the couple’s beliefs.