About
A civil union between two people whether religious or otherwise is commonly called a wedding; once the province of only a male/female relationship, changes to the law have made this concept obsolete. Whilst the ceremony may occur in a church or other religious place the marriage is not recognized until the legal duties are performed; until the marriage certificate is signed by the bride, groom and witnesses, the ceremony is not finalized. The man getting married is called the groom or bridegroom to give him his full title and the woman the bride; they are then referred to by the title husband and wife, once they are married.
Religious Services
As soon as you look outside of your own race, religious and social group, the wedding tradition can become very complex. Many people, whether religious or not, still prefer to have a traditional ceremony performed by a recognized religious minister in a Church of their choice. Of course we all know and love the white wedding but this is not the generally accepted form of ceremony in every Christian country.
Double Weddings
Double marriages are quite rare as they usually entail getting two couples to marry at the same time and same place; this type of ceremony is often organized by a person that has a sibling that wants to get married at the same time.
Getting Married in a Foreign Country
Marriages in foreign countries are called destination weddings where guests can arrive either just before the ceremony or actually travel with the couple; although the idea of a isolated island beach may be your idea of a destination wedding, it doesn’t actually mean you have to travel outside your own country.
Themed Weddings
Whilst it is quite normal for the Irish to have three day weddings, more couples are taking the hint and having theirs over a weekend which gives them more time to enjoy the occasion. Those with a themed element can also be very successful and the activity can be either built into the day or over the course of a weekend. For many people that have outdoor interests this can be a lot of fun and the guests can stay for the weekend with them to extend the occasion.
Online Marriages
Although unusual, you can even get married online and it will resemble a normal wedding or you can even have characters of yourselves get married; there are even guides for information on how to go about an internet ceremony with information on people that can carry it out for you. Strangely, if you decide to have your marriage shown online in real time it is called an online wedding.
City Hall Services
Civil weddings have to be carried out by a local justice of the peace, judge, even a mayor can carry out the ceremony and most places out side of a church will use one of these people. Religion doesn’t normally play a part in these ceremonies because they are purely a legal requirement. Often, this type of service will take place in a judge’s chambers, town or city hall or any other specially designated place.
The information here is to help give people who live primarily in the Western world, a better comprehension of just what a wedding really is.
