Amazing Wedding Traditions in United States Of America

Marriage trditions in america

A wedding in America is a joyous and happy occasion, which involves all family and friends. American weddings are a time for celebrations and merriment, as two souls unites into a sacred bonding of love and life. Wedding traditions in America is about bachelor parties, bridal showers, kissing the bride, the veil, the groom’s cake and romantic honeymoons.

Back in the day, bridal showers basically meant bracing the friendship between the female friends of the bride and the bride herself. But during the late 19th century, bridal showers developed into a fun event for the bride and her friends, to get-together and present the soon to-be-bride with gifts. All the present were stuffed in a parasol, which was later released over the head of the bride, letting the presents shower on her.

Other important wedding traditions in America include Bridal parties, which originally started from the Anglo Saxon traditions. In the ancient times, Bridal Party was a custom, where the groom used to make sure that the bride goes for the ceremony and then return to her husband’s house safely along with the dowry. However, in the present day world Bridal Parties are all about merriment and celebrations.

American wedding traditions also include wearing of the Veil by the bride at the time of the ceremony. Traditionally, it is a custom in Christian wedding that the bride covers her face behind the veil, which should only be lifted after the priest has declared the couple man and wife. In the ancient times, men and women used to get married without meeting each other beforehand. Therefore, it was thought that the bride should not lift her veil till the wedding ceremonies were over. This was to ensure that the groom should not get a chance to say no to the marriage incase he didn’t like the appearance of the girl. Although the tradition of wearing the veil still remains but the concept is no longer the same as it used to be.
A traditional American wedding is organized in churches and the couples get married keeping The All Mighty as the witness. Friends and family assemble and the traditional wedding rituals and customs are carried out, which include the best man, bridesmaids, flower girls, exchange of rings and vows, followed by the reception. The priest of the church conducts the main wedding ceremony. He asks the bride and groom, if they accept each other as their lawfully wedded life partners; once getting a positive response from both, wedding rings are exchanged between the two. After this the priest declares the couple as man and wife and then the groom is asked to kiss the bride by lifting her veil.
Cake cutting is a major part of wedding traditions in America. It is a post wedding ceremony, where the newly wed couple cut the groom’s cake and feed each other. Then the rest of the cake is shared between everyone present there, which is considered to be a wedding memento. It was believed that a woman sleeping with a piece of that cake underneath her pillow would dream of the man she would marry in future.
The modern concept of honeymoon is very different from what it originally was. Traditionally honeymoon was all about drinking a certain kind of fermented wine by the newly wed couple for one whole month (moon) after their marriage. The wine was prepared from honey and mead; therefore you can figure out where the name ‘honeymoon’ came from. But today the concept has changed entirely and is all about going on a long vacation to a romantic place and spending some time together, away from normal life.
After the wedding ceremony is over, the couple is showered with wheat and rice, which symbolizes fertility. Once the church wedding is over, the guests proceed to the reception venue where everyone gathers to dine and celebrate the union of the two. Another wedding tradition is collecting money for honeymoon in a wedding wheel from the guests. All the guests present at the venue put in a dollar or more in the wheel for dancing with the newly wedded couple.
There is no rigid custom for American weddings that the people follow. Weddings in the US are all about fun and merriment and are primarily based on personal preferences. However, you must have a marriage certificate but everything else depends on the couple’s preferences. One tradition strictly followed even today is the wedding attires, which is white gown for the bride and blue or black suit/tuxedo for the groom.

Some other popular traditions of wedding in America

The wedding traditions in America calls for the bride to wear a white wedding dress for the ceremony. Since, the color symbolizes purity, first-time brides are required to wear dresses in either white or ivory. This tradition evolved in America during the Victorian era. A veil covering eth face is worn with the dress to symbolize virginity. Following the tradition of a "White Wedding" ceremony, a white dress and veil is not worn for the second or third wedding.
A tradition in the line of the famous proverb "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" is also followed in an American wedding. In accordance to the saying, it is customary for the bride to carry something old like, a bracelet or a family necklace during the ceremony. Carrying something new signifies wearing the new dress while something borrowed includes a tiara or some other headpiece and something blue includes garter. This fun tradition is believed to date back to the Victorian era. It is also considered to bring good luck for the bride.
In an American wedding, the ceremony is followed by a reception that customarily serves the wedding cake along with the meal. Usually, the guests and the attendees raise a toast for the newly-weds before the meal and after the meal the newly-weds cuts the cake to serve it to the guests. During the reception, another fun tradition for the guests includes random clinking of their silverware on their glasses thereby obliging the newlyweds to kiss each time. The reception is followed by a dance session with the couples having their first dance together.
Another significant tradition followed during the reception includes the giving of gifts and cards to the newly-weds. The most preferred custom witnesses the bride turning to her back and throwing the flower bouquet backwards to a group of all the young women still to get married. The woman who catches it is believed to be the next one to marry. In present times, a modern twist has been added to the custom. Presently, the groom throws the garter of the bride to a group of unmarried men with the idea of men catching it being the first one to marry.