Types of Wedding
Marriage [márrij]: a legally recognized relationship, established by a civil or religious ceremony, between two people who intend to live together as sexual and domestic partners.
Wedding Types
Religious – religious ceremony held in a place of holy worship.
Civil – non religious ceremony performed in Government buildings or public places.
Abroad – ceremonies performed in foreign countries usually
Pagan – hand fasting was performed in the days before marriage was legalised.
Arranged - marriages arranged by parents for sons and daughters.
Covenant – couples get counselling before the ceremony and a divorce is harder to get.
Same sex marriage – marriages for same sex couples.
The importance of weddings
Weddings are an important part of our social culture. The celebration of marriage or Civil Unions can vary greatly depending on ethnicity, traditions and religions not to mention social class. Why we choose to marry is dependant on many factors and differs from country to country culture to culture. The type of wedding ceremony you choose will differ according to which religion you practice. There are many wedding types and religions, below are just few to give you an idea of the variety of weddings practiced today.
For Roman Catholics if both the bride and groom are both practising Catholics a Nuptial Mass might be chosen in which both receive Communion. If however only one partner is Catholic the marriage service will be performed outside of mass in which the ceremony itself will include prayers and readings but no communion. In both ceremonies the vows are same with the ‘obey’ being omitted.
Church of England ceremonies allows all British citizens the right to marry in their local parish church, there is no obligation to attend church services regularly or to have been christened or baptised but you may need to meet with the vicar a few times before the actual wedding itself.
Greek Orthodox weddings are similar to the traditional COE wedding but do not contain reading or music that is not already incorporated into the service and ceremonies usually last for between 40 minutes to 1 hour. Until fairly recently these types of wedding had to backed up by a civil ceremony performed in a register office as before marriages would not be considered legal & binding.
A Jewish marriage ceremony combines the legal and religious elements of marriage in a ceremony. During the ceremony as long as both the bride and groom must stand under a special canopy called a ‘Chuppah’ the ceremony itself can take place anywhere from a synagogue to a public venue or even the couple’s home. There are three variations of Jewish faith Orthodox, Liberal and Reform and depending on which strand you follow will determine the type of ceremony you will take part in.
Muslim weddings can be conducted in different ways depending upon culture with the majority of marriages being arranged by the parents of the bride and groom. The marriage proposal comes from the woman, who contacts the man through a male relative. Muslim women are not allowed to marry outside their faith but Muslim men can provided that their partner are Christian or Jewish and any children produced are raised as Muslims. The Muslim wedding ceremony last for about 1½ hours.
Venues
You can choose a variety of different venues to host a civil wedding and reception or just a Wedding Breakfast after your ceremony. Many Brides and Grooms choose grand Country Houses with spectacular interiors and gardens while others may decide upon less formal surrounding and opt for a relaxed affair in a pub or village hall.
Church or Cathedral
Registry Office
Stately Homes
Country House Hotels
Barns
City Lofts
Castles
In fact you can now get married pretty much anywhere including:
Football Pitches
Racecourse s
Hot Air Balloon
Back garden
Underwater