Global InformationWeddings in the United States and Canada information
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In the United States and Canada, weddings follow traditions often based on religion, culture, and social norms. Most wedding traditions in the United States and Canada were assimilated from other, generally European, countries.[1] Marriages in the U.S. and Canada are typically arranged by the participants and ceremonies may either be religious or civil. There is a tradition that the prospective bridegroom ask his future father-in-law for his blessing.[1]
In a traditional wedding, the couple to be wed invite all of their family and friends. A woman who is getting married is referred to as a bride and a man who is getting married is referred to as a groom. Those with the closest relationships to the couple are selected to be bridesmaids and groomsmen, with the closest of each selected to be the maid of honor and best man.[1] The couple may add a list of desired gifts—usually necessities for a new household, such as dishes and bedding—to a bridal registry.
Weeks before the wedding, the maid of honor may plan a wedding shower, where the bride-to-be receives gifts from family and friends.[1] The best man often organizes a bachelor party shortly before the wedding, where male friends join the groom in a "last night of freedom" from the responsibilities of marriage.
Traditionally, U.S. and Canadian weddings would take place in a religious building such as a church, with a religious leader officiating the ceremony. During the ceremony, the couple vow their love and commitment for one another with church-provided vows.[1] The officiant asks the guests if they know of any reason why the couple should not be married.[1] If no one objects, the couple then exchanges rings, which symbolizes their never-ending love and commitment towards one another.[1] Finally, for the first time in public, the couple is pronounced as married and referred to as the other's husband or wife. It is then that they share their first kiss as a married couple and thus seal their union.[1] The couple leaves the building, and family and friends throw rice or wheat their way, which symbolizes fertility.[1]
After the actual wedding ceremony itself, there may be a wedding reception.[1] During this reception it is tradition that the best man and the maid of honor proposes a toast.[1] The couple may receive gifts.[1] The couple then usually goes on a honeymoon to celebrate their marriage, which lasts several days or weeks.[1]
Modern weddings often deviate from these traditions. A bride and her female friends may enjoy a bachelorette party to match the men's bachelor party. Weddings are sometimes held outdoors or in other buildings instead of churches, and officiants may not be religious leaders but other people licensed by the state. The religious vows may be replaced by vows written by the couple themselves, and most venues today discourage the throwing of rice and encourage the use of birdseed or grass seed. Other traditional elements of a wedding may be changed or omitted, and weddings may even vary wildly in format from the traditional template.
As of 2012, the median cost of a wedding, including both the ceremony and reception, but not the honeymoon, in the United States and Canada, was about US$18,000 (CAN $22,924) per wedding, according to a large survey at an online wedding website.[2] Regional differences are significant, with residents of Manhattan paying more than three times the median, while residents of Alaska spent less than half as much.[2] Additionally, the survey probably overestimates the typical cost because of a biased sample population.[2]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "United States Wedding Traditions". Euroevents & Travel, LLC. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
- ^ a b c Oremus, Will (19 March 2015). "The Wedding Industry's Pricey Little Secret". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2015-05-03.