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- Holding hands: This symbolises the couple's unity in coming together to express and seal their eternal love for each other
- The putting on of the rings: This is the sort of 'seal' on their marriage. The rings are a symbol of commitment and love. They put the rings on each other, symbolising their commitment to each other. Sometimes the rings are warmed, as if to be warmed with love.
- Hand Tying: Some couples choose to tie their hands together with ribbons, commonly called 'tying the knot'. They are then bound together in marriage
- Walking down the aisle: The bridesmaids and flower girls walk down the aisle first, and then the bride and her father. The Groom is standing at the Altar, and so is the best man and the priest. This is the grand entrance and the beginning of the wedding.
- The Kiss: The kiss happens after they are pronounced husband and wife, and represents the sealing of the marriage

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Marriage is a very old practice. Right from the beginning, humans have been finding their "significant others" and leaving their families to love and care for each other and create families. Jesus didn't create Marriage, but what he did was he transformed it into a sacramental sign of his presence and love. Jesus encourages the couple uniting in Marriage to become a sacramental sign of his love, care and presence. Although most marriages now are by choice, many years ago this wasn't always the case. Many families saw Marriages as alliances between other families, and therefore arranged for their children to be married. Some cultures still have arranged marriages, but they aren't very common anymore. Marriages weren't always equal either, and some still aren't to this day. The social expectation of a marriage was to have the man rule over the household, while the wife had to be submissive and was to cook and clean and look after the children. Also, gay marriage all over the world was illegal into more recently, and in Australia it is still illegal for gay/lesbian couples to get married. Marriage is now expected to be an equal marriage, but we are still fighting for the rights of gay and lesbian couples.

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During the ceremony, the couple will both exchange wedding vows. These are words said to each other to express how they feel to each other and to show their love to one another. They can choose to have traditional, basic vows, but most of the time they choose to write their own vows and recite the traditional ones. Here are some traditional vows:
"I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith [or] pledge myself to you." (The knot, 2016). The couple then give their consent to the marriage by saying "
Prayers can also be recited to wish the couple a happy marriage and prevent divorce. Here is an example of one:
Let us pray.  God, we ask for your blessings upon this man and woman, as we celebrate this momentous occasion in their lives.

Grant them happiness and contentment as they establish their new home, create a new family and explore the depths of their love for one another and for you.

Bless their families and friends and the relationships, which have supported, strengthened and sustained them throughout their lives.

Bless their home as a place of love and of peace.

And if times grow hard and tempers grow short, help them to look into their hearts and remember the love that brought them here today

Amen. (Officiant Eric)

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The purpose of Marriage is to unite a couple in a formal way with symbols and blessings. In this ceremony, they seal their marriage with wedding rings and with vows that they recite to each other.

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- The Bride and Groom/Two Grooms/Two Brides: The couple that are getting married
- The priest: The priest "marries" the two. They provide the blessings and perform many gestures.
- The Best Man: The best Man assists the groom with everything to do with the ceremony. He is normally very close with the groom.
- Maid of honour: The maid of honour is very close with the Bride and assists her in making important decisions to do with the wedding.
- Bridesmaids: The bridesmaids are the small group of women who walk down the aisle with the bride and assist with wedding preparations. They are usually close with the bride.
- Groomsmen: The groomsmen are a group of men that are close with the groom. They assist and support the Groom throughout the Wedding preparations.
- Father of the bride: The father of the Bride walks her down the aisle, as if to give her over to her new husband/wife

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- "Wedding Symbols And Meanings For Catholics And Christians". Mommy Nova. N.p., 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.http://www.noovah.com/wedding-symbols-and-meanings-for-catholics-and-christians/
- "History Of Wedding Dresses | Meaning Of A White Wedding Gown | Marryjim.Com". Marryjim.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.  https://www.marryjim.com/en/page/show/id/30/template/history
-"A Glossary Of Who's Who In The Wedding Party". theknot.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.  https://www.theknot.com/content/wedding-party-glossary
- Reichert, Richard. Sacraments Jesus With Us. Dubuque, Iowa: Brown Pub., 1989. Print.
- "Weddings Prayers And Blessings". Officiant Eric. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. https://www.officianteric.com/wedding-prayers-and-blessings/
- "Wedding Ceremony Rituals". Huntervalleycelebrant.com.au. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016 http://www.huntervalleycelebrant.com.au/Wedding_Ceremony_rituals.html
-"Janice Thornton – Humanist Celebrant » Symbolic Actions For Your Wedding". Humanist.org.uk. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.  http://humanist.org.uk/janicethornton/wedding-and-civil-partnership-ceremonies/symbolic-actions-for-your-wedding/
- Ring picture http://www.bhatkallys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/171000-Wedding-Day-Screensaver-620x330.jpg
- Chord picture http://www.nexttomestudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/JaronViviana_Wed-011.jpg
- Couple in wedding ceremony picture holding hands) http://www.trinitycatholic.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Catholic-marriage.jpg
- Confetti https://weddingsparklesblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/photography-of-the-wedding-confetti-in-knutsford-cheshire.jpg
- Candles http://www.candlezone.ie/_images/_images/xl/9036-950775_magestic_purple_butterfly_wedding_candles_ivory.jpg

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Marriage, also known as a wedding ceremony, is formal event celebrating the unity of two people in a relationship. The couple make a permanent commitment of love and care to each other in this ceremony. It has many symbols involved and is important to many people

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Wedding rings - The rings symbolize unity and eternal love for each other, and are worn as a reminder of commitment. The wedding ring is worn on the left ring finger. The ring is worn there because it was believed that there was a special vein there that led straight to the heart, making it the official ring finger.
Candles - The wedding candles represent the life of Christ. They represent the light to carry them through life as a couple, and to show that they will always be warm and bright towards each other. The candle has the same meaning in Baptism, but in Baptism it is lit to carry them through life, and the wedding candles through married life.
Confetti - Confetti is not part of the actual ceremony, but is thrown over the couple as they walk out of the ceremony to symbolize success in their marriage and fertility for their life as a married couple.
Chord - The chord symbolizes strength. This is a representation of staying strong and becoming a role model for their future children.
Wedding dress - The wedding dress is the dress the bride or brides wear to their wedding. Queen Victoria set the trend of a white wedding dress. Wedding dresses are traditionally white, and brides choose to wear a white dress to symbolize purity and innocence, but many brides choose to wear different colours.