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[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Wedding.jpg|right|frame]]
*before [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_Century 12th century]
==Definitions==
1 : a [[marriage]] [[ceremony]] usually with its accompanying festivities : nuptials
2: an [[act]], [[process]], or instance of joining in close [[association]]
3: a wedding anniversary or its celebration —usually used in combination <a golden wedding>
==Description==
A '''wedding''' is the [[ceremony]] in which two people are united in [[marriage]] or a similar institution. Wedding [[traditions]] and [[customs]] vary greatly between [[cultures]], ethnic [[groups]], [[religions]], countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of wedding [[vows]] by the couple, presentation of a gift (offering, ring(s), [[symbolic]] item, flowers, [[money]]), and a [[public]] [[proclamation]] of marriage by an [[authority]] figure or [[leader]]. Special wedding [[garments]] are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. [[Music]], [[poetry]], [[prayers]] or [[readings]] from [[Scripture]] or [[literature]] is also [[option]]ally incorporated into the ceremony.
==Common elements across cultures==
A number of [[cultures]] have adopted the [[traditional]] Western custom of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_wedding white wedding], in which a bride wears a white [[dress]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil veil]. This [[tradition]] was popularized through the wedding of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria Queen Victoria]. Some say Victoria's [[choice]] of a white gown may have simply been a sign of extravagance, but may have also been [[influenced]] by the [[values]] she held which emphasized [[sexual]] [[purity]]. Within the [[modern]] 'white wedding' [[tradition]], a white [[dress]] and veil are unusual [[choices]] for a woman's second or subsequent wedding. The notion that a white gown might [[symbolize]] [[sexual]] [[purity]] has been long abandoned, and is criticized by etiquette writers like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Martin Judith Martin] as distasteful.
The use of a wedding ring has long been part of religious weddings in Europe and America, but the [[origin]] of the [[tradition]] is unclear. Historians like Vicky Howard point out that belief in the "[[ancient]]" [[quality]] of the [[practice]] are most likely a [[modern]] [[invention]]. "Double ring" ceremonies are also a [[modern]] [[practice]], a groom's wedding band not appearing in the United States until the early 20th Century.
The wedding is often followed by a reception, in which the [[rituals]] may include toasting the newlyweds, their first [[dance]] as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spouse spouses], and the cutting of a wedding cake.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding]
[[Category: Anthropology]]
*before [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_Century 12th century]
==Definitions==
1 : a [[marriage]] [[ceremony]] usually with its accompanying festivities : nuptials
2: an [[act]], [[process]], or instance of joining in close [[association]]
3: a wedding anniversary or its celebration —usually used in combination <a golden wedding>
==Description==
A '''wedding''' is the [[ceremony]] in which two people are united in [[marriage]] or a similar institution. Wedding [[traditions]] and [[customs]] vary greatly between [[cultures]], ethnic [[groups]], [[religions]], countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of wedding [[vows]] by the couple, presentation of a gift (offering, ring(s), [[symbolic]] item, flowers, [[money]]), and a [[public]] [[proclamation]] of marriage by an [[authority]] figure or [[leader]]. Special wedding [[garments]] are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. [[Music]], [[poetry]], [[prayers]] or [[readings]] from [[Scripture]] or [[literature]] is also [[option]]ally incorporated into the ceremony.
==Common elements across cultures==
A number of [[cultures]] have adopted the [[traditional]] Western custom of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_wedding white wedding], in which a bride wears a white [[dress]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil veil]. This [[tradition]] was popularized through the wedding of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria Queen Victoria]. Some say Victoria's [[choice]] of a white gown may have simply been a sign of extravagance, but may have also been [[influenced]] by the [[values]] she held which emphasized [[sexual]] [[purity]]. Within the [[modern]] 'white wedding' [[tradition]], a white [[dress]] and veil are unusual [[choices]] for a woman's second or subsequent wedding. The notion that a white gown might [[symbolize]] [[sexual]] [[purity]] has been long abandoned, and is criticized by etiquette writers like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Martin Judith Martin] as distasteful.
The use of a wedding ring has long been part of religious weddings in Europe and America, but the [[origin]] of the [[tradition]] is unclear. Historians like Vicky Howard point out that belief in the "[[ancient]]" [[quality]] of the [[practice]] are most likely a [[modern]] [[invention]]. "Double ring" ceremonies are also a [[modern]] [[practice]], a groom's wedding band not appearing in the United States until the early 20th Century.
The wedding is often followed by a reception, in which the [[rituals]] may include toasting the newlyweds, their first [[dance]] as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spouse spouses], and the cutting of a wedding cake.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding]
[[Category: Anthropology]]
