https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix en-us 2018-05-21 18:25:51 UTC 2026-03-27 11:13:35 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Hearts.png gmcmu2 https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262476751 This image depicts what a typical wedding would look like in many places in Canada and the United States of America. Many people opt to wed in a church due to religious beliefs, although people also choose to wed in other locations such as on a beach, on a farm, at a event centre, etc. Church or religious weddings are become less common in today's society because religion is becoming less and less relevant in marriages than it used to be and couples view marriage as more of an affirmation of their relationship and a celebration of their future lives together than as a a way to perhaps declare their relationship to god and devote their married lives to him.The couple will invite family and close friends to come watch the ceremony and often hold a reception with these guests after to celebrate the marriage. This reception will include speeches, dancing, food, and drinks. For the ceremony the bride will generally wear a long white dress and veil and the groom tends to wear a black or blue suit.  There are a large number of various traditions that western couples may chose to observe: often the bride and groom will spend the eve of their wedding apart and they will not see each other until the bride is walking down the aisle, the groom will also refrain from looking at the brides dress before the wedding as it is seen as bad luck. There are a number of other various small traditions that couples may chose to observe or may ignore as, nowadays, western weddings tend to be more personalized to what the couple wants.]]> 2018-05-21 18:52:13 UTC https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262476751 gmcmu2 https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262477731 This image depicts what a typical bride and groom may look like at a Chinese wedding. In China their are many customs and traditions that the bride and groom must, or may choose to follow, before, during, or after the ceremony. In the Chinese culture, many of the customs and traditions are symbolic and represent something unique and special. Exactly one month before the ceremony, the bride must cry once a day, every day, for an hour, as each week passes a female relative (i.e. the mother or grandmother) will join the bride every day for an hour to cry with them. This crying is meant to symbolize the happiness a bride feels for her upcoming wedding. Another pre-wedding tradition includes the groom "bargaining" for the bride, by answering questions or performing tricks to get past the brides friends and family and reach her, this tradition was born when the parents did not condone the marriage and would try and block the groom from getting to their daughter. Red is a very important colour during Chinese weddings as it symbolizes love and luck. During the ceremony (and often afterwards) you will see many red decorations, including tapestries, artwork, tables, chairs, etc, and the bride and groom will often be wearing traditional red outfits and jewellery. A tea ceremony is also part of the wedding ceremony (which is what is being shown in the picture) and includes the newlywed couple serving tea to the grooms family in a specific order starting with the parents. After tea is served the couple would receive an envelope filled with a cash or jewellery gift. After the wedding ceremony the couple will often hold a banquet to celebrate the marriage and declare it to the public. This includes speeches, food and drinking. This feast is often held by the grooms family on the day of the wedding, although several smaller feasts/banquets are often held in the follow days by other relatives as a continuous celebration of the marriage. In the Chinese culture many of the traditions are extremely important, especially to older members of the community or family. In some families the traditions will be followed rigidly and to the extreme, although nowadays traditions and customs are more relaxed and many not be followed in a "textbook" manner.]]> 2018-05-21 18:55:03 UTC https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262477731 gmcmu2 https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262477990 Some aspects of jewish weddings today will follow some customs seen in "western" weddings, as the western culture has heavily influenced what a "normal" wedding may look like. Although, jewish weddings are still heavily influenced by the jewish culture ad traditions are still extremely important before, during and after the ceremony. Often the bride and groom will spend the week before the wedding apart, as to make the heart grow "fonder" with distance, this will supposedly increase their joy when they see each other on their wedding day. At the start of the ceremony, in the presence of a witness, both the bride and the groom sign the "Ketubah": a marriage document that legally and religious declares the marriage of the bride and the groom. This document states many important things includes the responsibilities of both parties and what should happen if divorce arises. During the ceremony the bride will often wear a white gown, but in some places it is more traditional for the bride to wear brighter colours. The style of the dress depends on the denomination of judaism that the bride practices: as some denominations require brides to wear more conservative dresses, while others have no rules on dress style. Brides will also often wear veils. The main part of the ceremony and the vows will take place under a Chuppah, the groom will be the first the walk underneath followed by the bride and her mother. The Chuppah symbolizes the new home the couple will build together. During the ceremony the Rabbi (the officiator) will recite blessings over wine, which will later be drunk by the bride and groom. Another aspect many traditional weddings will uphold is the seven circles: during the ceremony the bride will circle around the groom seven times, this has several meanings: some believe it creates a wall to ward off temptation and evil spirits, some believe it symbolizes the creation of a new "family circle" and some believe the wife circles seven ties to enter the seven souls of the groom. Today, the husband may opt to also walk around the bride, or the couple may walk the circles together. At the end of the ceremony the Rabbi or friends and family will recite seven different blessings that centre around peace, joy, and happiness. After this the groom (and sometimes the bride) will step on a nice wine glass wrapped in cloth, this is to symbolize the groom destroying all of his bad habits or to represent that marriage knows grief as well and joy and they must stand by each other no matter what, this tradition is being depicted in the image below. Like in many other cultures, there is a celebration after the ceremony which includes: traditional dances, singing, speeches, eating traditional meals, and drinking.]]> 2018-05-21 18:55:47 UTC https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262477990 gmcmu2 https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262478026 Hindu weddings are fully of meaning customs and rituals and are focused on celebrating the future ahead of the couple. Weddings are full of celebration and joy and lots of festivities take place throughout the engagement and after the wedding ceremony. A few days before the wedding the "Sangeet", a pre-party to the wedding is held. This party includes the family and close friends of both the bride and groom and celebrates the upcoming marriage. at the end of the celebration the brides family sings a welcoming song to the grooms family who will join in at the end of the song. Family members sing songs and perform dances for the couple and a meal is shared. Below is a picture of family members performing for the bride and groom at a "Sangeet". A day before the wedding, intricate and beautiful henna designs are drawn all over the brides hands, forearms and feet. This is done in a ceremony called the "Mehendi" ceremony which can take hours to complete. In Indian weddings, similar to other east-asian weddings, the bride will wear red and the colour red will appear continuously throughout the ceremony and the festivities as this colour represents prosperity and fertility in Indian culture. During the weddings itself many rituals and customs with significant meaning are upheld. The wedding ceremony is held under a "Mandap", a four pestered structure draped in colour fabric and often decorated with bright flowers. At the centre of this is a small fire used to make offerings during the ceremony as Hindu weddings are not contracts but sacraments. At the start of the ceremony, a prayer is made to Ganesha, the god of beginnings and good fortunes. offerings are made to the fire so that Ganesha may help the couple through the beginning of their married life. Towards the end of the ceremony the couples usually exchange flower garlands which symbolize their desire to marry one another. These garlands are then tied together as the couple circle the fire at the centre of the "Mandap", each circle can signify a different blessing the couple wishes to make to the gods, or the couple may circle the fire seven times to signify friendship, a very important aspect of Hindu marriages. At the end of the ceremony, "Sindoor", a red powder, is applied to the brides hair, this signifies her new status as a married woman. After the ceremony is over, as in many other cultures, the families host a reception for all the guests and will include traditional music, dancing and entertainment, traditional food, drinks, speeches and singing.]]> 2018-05-21 18:55:54 UTC https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262478026 gmcmu2 https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262492992 Kenyan weddings have rigid traditions that are still followed very closely today, although certain families may feel they can be slightly more relaxed than others. Traditions remain fairly similar all throughout Kenya, although they may vary slightly from tribe to tribe. Before an engagement may be considered, the groom and his father must approach his soon to be father in law and ask permission to marry his daughter. They will often bring gifts or food with them and they will all share a large feast together. After arrangements have been made the bride is then brought out. Next the bride and her family will go to the grooms home to make introductions, this is often combined with the "Ruracio" or dowry payment, which is a traditional and important ceremony. During this ceremony both families are present and share a meal together with some of the community, the families are both introduced but the bride remains in the house until she is called for. Once the bride comes out, the groom is asked to identify her. After this the men of the family will go into the house and begin dowry negotiations, oftentimes, Kenyan women are valued at 99 goats, but families may make other arrangements. Once the negotiations are done, wine is drunk and the ceremony ends. The Ngurario is the traditional wedding ceremony. This ceremony begins with the groom entering with his friends and extended family, the women are carrying any gifts the groom wishes to bring while singing as they enter. After the singing ends, a meal is eaten by everyone present and the families are introduced. One of the more important parts of the ceremony takes place after this: a number of women enter with their whole bodies covered in cloth and the groom must identify his bride without seeing the faces or bodies of any of the women, traditionally, if the groom chose the wrong woman he would be fined. This traditional ceremony is depicted below, it shows the groom who has identified his bride amongst the hidden women. After this ceremony the groom would prepare a goat shoulder for the families to feast on, although today this is often done by a caterer. The wedding ceremony must be held order of the groom to leave with his bride, although today the ceremony is a way to honour the culture and have some fun before the real wedding. Many of these traditions are upheld strongly today, and continued out of respect, but many families have become more lenient in upholding all the traditions exactly as they are meant to be executed.]]> 2018-05-21 19:48:48 UTC https://padlet.com/gmcmu2/ys6fec9ji1ix/wish/262492992