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Many aspects of a typical Renaissance wedding are popular during today's age.  We see marriage ceremonies and receptions as extravagant events, while still incorporating valuable traditions, such as the modern day white bridal dress as a sign of purity.  Along with the dress, flowers, flower wreath crows, handfasting, and the throwing of rice are widely used in modern day weddings.  In some cases, couples decide to use a theme to tell a story or portray a message at their wedding.  Renaissance themed wedding ceremonies are often used today, such as the ceremony in Gilmore Girls shown below.  One major connection to today is the royal wedding that united Prince William and Kate Middleton as husband and wife on April 29, 2011.  Kate Middleton wore a white dress and veil, similar to the way that a Renaissance woman wore a blue dress and blue veil.  The wedding included many flowers and a large feast for the royal family to enjoy.  In the video below, we see the exchanging of vows and the ritual of handfasting through the use of a gold and cardinal fabric.  One major connection from the Renaissance weddings of the nobility and the royal couple is that Kate married into a very wealthy and upper class family, taking the name of the Princess, or Duchess of Cambridge.  Through this marriage, Kate took the family name as her own.

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Many couples choose the Renaissance wedding theme and traditions for their own weddings.  As seen in this clip from the television series, Gilmore Girls, the wedding includes traditional Renaissance music, entertainment, and floral decorations, such as the flower head pieces.

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Hilarious! Thanks to eatsleepbreathe.net for the clip - i own nothing. Any requests for a gilmore girls clip - just private message me & I'll post it up for ya. Thanks for all the views on this video :) Please comment, rate & subscribe. LiteratiRulz xx

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Exchanging of Vows and Handfasting Tradition

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Exchanging of Vows and Handfasting Tradition

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Modern day marriages also incorporate the trading of vows; couples either exchange the traditional vows or write their own vows to make them personal.

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Prince William and Catherine Middleton say their vows

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Ornate wedding meals included meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, and desserts.

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The binding of hands using ribbon, cloth, or cord unites the couple forever.

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Performance Task: Preparation for the Wedding and Its Traditions

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Performance Task: Preparation for the Wedding and Its Traditions

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Here is the making and preparation of homemade items and objects used in a traditional Renaissance wedding, including their meaning and symbolism!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW1MvO6juTw

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Leading up to a lavish wedding ceremony and celebration comes the long anticipated wait of two lovers and their families.  Families arranged marriages for the bride and groom when they were only between the ages of ten and eleven.  Marriage arrangements were based on social classes, for example, the nobility would marry each other to receive land and grow their family names. Not only were the bride and groom going to marry each other, but they were also going to "marry" into each others' families.  About forty days before the wedding day, the couple would meet with a priest to exchange their rings and make commitment promises.  On this day, known as the Betrothal, the soon-to-be groom would pay a large sum of money to officially stamp his agreement to marry his future wife and promise her his land estates and wealth.  When planning a wedding during the Renaissance Era, the couple had to be sure they were not planning their wedding day around the holidays of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.  The requirement emphasized the importance of those three major holidays in which there could not be an interference of celebrations.

Wedding ceremonies were usually held at the bride's house, but other locations included the outdoors, medieval castles, and chapels.  The couple would exchange vows with rings and partake in handfasting, or the literal binding of their hands with a ribbon to join the lives of both the bride and groom.  As seen on the left, the bride would wear a blue dress, symbolizing her purity as a young woman.  Without the blue dress, a bride would be seen as a woman who is not pure, referring to the saying, "Something old, something blue."  Another sign of purity was the veil, which was also blue to match the symbolism of the dress.  The significance of the veil was that it kept the bride away from "the evil eye."  Accessorized with flowers, herbs, and wheat, the bride was clothed in happiness, luck, and fertility.  At the wedding feast, various amounts of meat and fish were served, such as quail, goose, boar, peacock, and oysters.  Common vegetables included carrots, cabbage, lettuce, onions, parsley, and asparagus.  The traditional tiered wedding cake was a common feature of the Renaissance weddings; the couple's guests would bring tiers to stack on top of one another.  If the couple could kiss over the cake without knocking down the tiers, good luck would be brought to their marriage.

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Websites

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/index.htm

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/marriage_traditions.htm

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/the_betrothal.htm

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/religion_during_renaissance.htm

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/nobles_and_peasant.htm

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/wedding_tradition.htm

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/renaissance_fashion.htm

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/wedding_feasts.htm

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/love_and_chivalry.htm

http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/romantic_love.htm

All one website, ten different tabs

http://weddings.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Renaissance_Wedding_Ceremony

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Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The honour of your presence is requested....

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Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The honour of your presence is requested....

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Both a Renaissance and modern day tradition, the rice symbolizes fertility and good fortune.

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Wedding cakes were one of the many treats served at Renaissance weddings.  Other desserts included different breads and fruits, such as apples, pears, quinces, peaches, strawberries, and raspberries.

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"Something old, something blue."