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Certificate of Publication, which is displayed for seven days, and it will be valid for three months in any place in Scotland.
Marriage at a registry office in Scotland requires a publication of notice for seven days or a sheriff’s licence, as publication of banns is not accepted. Such a licence is immediately valid but expires after ten days. One of the parties must have lived in Scotland for at least fifteen days before the application, which is often prepared by a solicitor.
As soon as the wedding date has been decided the couple will think about the kind of wedding they want. Though comparatively few young people nowadays regularly attend church, most girls still dream of a white wedding, with its solemn ceremony, bridesmaids and the rest. There is no equivalent in England of our Palaces of Weddings, and civic ceremonies in a registry office are very dull. But what with the church fees which are extremely high and other extra expenses, a white wedding costs a great deal of money, so a couple may decide against it on these grounds.
There are practically no special customs attached to weddings at a registry office. For these reason attention will be mainly given to church weddings, with their age-old ritual and customs. However, the reader should bear in mind that by no means all the customs concerning the preparation for a wedding or the wedding ceremony itself are necessarily maintained, quite often reasons of economy.
The rules are not absolutely hard and fast, but generally they are the follows.
The Bride’s Parents are responsible for the press announcements, the bride’s dress and trousseau, flowers for the church and members of family.
The bridegroom pays for the ring and the wedding licence, fees to the clergyman, the organist and choir, or the awning and anything else directly concerned with the service, although if there are to be order or service, the bride’s parents will have these printed at the same time as the invitations. He will pay for the bouquet for his bride and bouquets for the bridesmaids, buttonholes for his best man and ushers and any flowers worn by the bride’s mother and his own mother, if they want to wear flowers – many women do not. He pays for the cars which take himself and the best man to the church and the car in which he and his bride will drive from the church to the reception. The cost of cars can, however, be divided between the parents of the bride may wish to pay for it all. This is a matter for mutual arrangement.
The groom is expected to give a small present to each of the bridesmaids, and such a gift can range from a piece of jewellery to a beautifully bound book, a powder compact or any personal and pretty article.
Giving away the bride. The bride’s father given her away or, if he is dead or cannot be present at the ceremony, his place is taken by her mother or a close relative, or even a great family friend.
The bridesmaids are usually the sisters, near relatives and close girl friends of the bride, and sisters of the groom. The number is purely a matter of choice but usually does not exceed six. There may be two small page-boys and four grown-up maids, or child attendants only. The bride chooses the material. The custom used to be for the bride’s mother to pay for all the bridesmaids’ dresses, but today they usually pay for their own. A girl asked to be a bridesmaid can always refuse politely if she feels she cannot afford such a dress.
There is always a chief bridesmaid who will take the bride’s bouquet during
the ceremony and hand it back to her back before she goes into the vestry to sign the register.
The Best Man is a brother, relative or close friend of the groom, and his main duty, apart from giving moral support before the wedding, is to see to the clergyman’s fees, the tips to the vergers and to band the wedding ring to the groom in the church. He is also responsible for seeing that the bridesmaids are looked after during the reception and he should reply to any toast to the bridesmaids.
The Ushers are male relatives and friends of both bride and groom. Their duties are to stand just inside the church and ask each guest “bride or groom?” They will place friends of the bride on the left of the aisle and friends of the groom on the right. The ushers should be at the church at least three-quarters of an hour before the ceremony, and may hand out forms of service if these are not being placed before every pew.
The bridegroom’s clothes. When the bride is in white, the bridegroom wears morning dress with a white carnation in his buttonhole (without fern or solver paper).
Widows or Divorcees, when re-marrying, do not wear white, but a short dress or a pretty suit or coat. They remove their first wedding rings and never wear them again. They do not have bridesmaids or pages.
The parents and close relatives of the bride and groom arrive a few minutes before the bride. The bridegroom and his best man should be in their places at least ten minutes before the service starts. The bridesmaids and pages wait in the church porch with whoever is to arrange the bride’s veil before she goes up the aisle.
The bride, by tradition, arrives a couple of minutes late but this should not be exaggerated. She arrives with whoever is giving her away. The verger signals to the organist to start playing, and the bride moves up the aisle with her veil over her face (although many brides don’t follow this custom). She goes in on her father’s right arm, and the bridesmaids follow her according to the plan at the rehearsal the day before. The bridesmaids and ushers go to their places in the front pews during the ceremony, except for the chief bridesmaid who usually stands behind the bride and holds her bouquet.
After the ceremony the couple goes unto the vestry to sign the register with their parents, best man, bridesmaids and perhaps a close relation such as a grandmother. The bride throws back her veil, the verger gives a signal to the organist and the bride and groom walk down the aisle followed by their parents and those who have signed the register. The bride’s mother walks down the aisle on the left arm of the bridegroom’s father and the bridegroom’s mother walks down on the left arm of the bride’s father. Guests wait until the wedding procession has passed them before leaving to go on the reception.
The reception. The bride’s parents stand first in the receiving line, followed by the groom’s parents and the bride and the groom. Guests line up outside the reception room and give their names to the major-domo who will announce them. They need only shake hands and say ‘How do you do?” to the parents, adding perhaps a word about how lovely the bride is or how well the ceremony went. The bride introduces to the husband any friends that he may not already know, and vice versa.
The important parts of the reception are the cutting of the cake and the toast
for the bride and groom. There should never be any long speeches. When all the guests have been received the major-domo requests silence and the bride cuts the cake, with her husband’s hand upon hers.
The toast to the bride and groom is usually proposed by a relative or friend of the bride. he should not make a speech full of jokes or silly references to marriage. It should be short and dignified. The bridegroom replies with a few words of thanks. He may or may not then propose the health of the bridesmaids. The best man replies with a few words of thanks. If a meal is provided, the toasts may come at the end of it. After the toasts the bride and groom may move around the room talking to their friends until it is time for them to go and change. When they are ready to leave, guests gather to see them off. Wedding presents. Can be anything, according to your pocket and your friendship with the bride or groom. Such presents are usually fairly substantial compared with most other presents, and should preferably be things useful for a future home. Some brides have lists at a large store near their homes. It is always wise to ask is there is one, as this eliminates your sending something the couple may have already. The list should contain items of all prices and when one is bought it is crossed off. A wedding is one of the few occasions when money can be given, usually as a cheque. Presents are sent after the invitations have been received, usually to the bride’s home. You address the card to both the bride and bridegroom. After studying this chapter we can make the following conclusions. Wedding in Great Britain is one of the oldest customs. There are a lot of different types of marriage. Some of them require a licence. The preparations usually begin the two months before the wedding. The ceremony itself is always well-organized. Every participant of the ceremony plays his or her important role. After the ceremony newlyweds get a marriage certificate.
CHAPTER II. MARRIAGE CEREMONY IN THE USA
2.1 American wedding traditions
The American ceremony is probably the most well-known in the world. Although these days there are quite a number of unique wedding ceremonies taking place. Today you are allowed to get married in an airplane or in a drive-in movie theatre, all you need is somebody to marry other people will take care of the rest. Money is either very important or not important at all. In Las Vegas there are marriage ceremonies performed for only twenty dollars, but a wedding ceremony could also be the most expensive occasion in two people's lives. The tradition in the USA is different from The Church of England, in the wedding ring ceremony. Instead of just putting a ring on the woman's finger the groom also gets a ring.
Most weddings in the United States follow a similar pattern to the Italian wedding. Customs and traditions vary, but common components are listed below.
An American wedding is typically a happy, joyous occasion for all people of all backgrounds. American wedding traditions really vary from one religion or culture to another, but in American wedding tradition it's a happy time and the life of the new bride and groom is toasted and celebrated as they come together.
Every American wedding has subtle traditional elements, but there are no really strict guidelines that we follow when planning our big day. Over the last ten years, wedding etiquette has really relaxed and American wedding traditions have become a lot more liberal. This new liberal outlook has enabled couples to marry in a style that they are comfortable with, instead of the sometimes rigid standards that some used to associate with American wedding tradition.
One American wedding tradition is still the white dress for the bride. Brides only used to wear white if she was still a virgin and it was her first wedding. American tradition now dictates that any bride can wear white proudly, even though the second weddings tend to be a little bit less formal. The white dress really seals the deal though, and most women choose to wear it.
Another American wedding tradition is to have the ceremony in a church or place of worship. Those that don't have the ceremony in a place of worship usually have a member of the church clergy marry them in another location such as outdoors the mountains. The majority of people still get married in a place of worship, involving faith in their union, even with less rigid etiquette.
One great follow up to an American wedding is a reception or big party celebrating the bride and groom. The reception usually includes a meal, dancing, and mingling among friends and family of both the bride and the groom. A reception really is a great way to get everyone together as the two families really sort of merges as a result of the wedding. Receptions are often the most anticipated event when planning the wedding because there is so much to plan for.
Following an American wedding and reception it's a tradition for the bride and the groom to go on a honeymoon or vacation. The honeymoon was originally done for the bride and the groom to go away and enjoy the company of one another with chaperones for the first time, and even consummate their marriage. Now, it's more about getting away and just enjoying one another for the first time. A honeymoon gives a new husband and wife the chance to dote on each other with no distractions to sort of nurture the new union.
An American wedding has really morphed into a wedding of personal preference. Couples are free to plan a wedding and join in matrimony as they please and when they please. As long as there is a wedding certificate, all is legal, and everything else is up to them. Unlike many other cultures, there are no rigid guidelines or laws about marriage.
In America all you have to do is love someone, and you can marry him or her. And really, what's better than being free to marry and love whom you wish to? Just one more reason for America is so great. Initially Bridal Shower proposed to brace the friendships between the bride and her female friends. In the 1890s it evolved into an event for friends to present the bride-to-be with small gifts. The gifts were placed in a parasol, which was released above the brides head, allowing the gifts to "shower" down on her.
Again Bridal Party tradition commenced from the Anglo-Saxon custom of a groom using "Brides knights" to make certain that the bride head for the ceremony and then back to her husband's home without being attacked and the dowry stolen. Now bridal party is all about celebration and enjoyment.
Even today it is mandatory for every American bride to be to wear a Veil. Traditionally it meant that the broom didn't see the bride until the wedding ceremony. It was thought that if the broom had seen the bride before the ceremony was over and didn't like her, he might refuse to get married. So the veil was not lifted until after the ceremony and this is functional even today in modern American wedding. Traditional American weddings are organized in a place of worship like in a church, where family and friends assemble. Here comes the best man, flower girls, exchanging vows and rings, and the wedding music. The wedding ceremony is conducted by the priest. He formally asks the invitees whether they have any objection for this marriage and getting the positive response from the invitees the priest asks the couple to exchange wedding rings and then the couple is marked as husband and wife. Traditionally the newlyweds kiss to seal their union; this is the concept of Kissing the bride.
The groom's Cake is cut post wedding a piece of the cake is distributed amongst each guest as a memento of the wedding. The belief goes that if a woman
slept with a piece of the groom's cake under her pillow, she would dream about the man she would marry. Honeymoon meant the newly married couples to drinks a fermented wine made from mead and honey for a month (moon) following their wedding. Now it’s all about going for a month long vacation and spending time with each other. As the couple leaves the church, they are showered with rice or wheat which is recognized as the symbols of fertility. Then the couple organizes a reception party where all family members and friends of two families dine, enjoy and makes merry. Another American Wedding tradition is to collect money in a wedding wheel for honeymoon from the guests. The guests form two lines, and they pay a dollar or more to dance with the newlyweds.
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