A wedding ceremony is one in which a couple get married to become man and wife and live the rest of their life together in love. A wedding ceremony is often a grand celebration which involves pretty dresses, decorations, cake, wine, food and a lot of dancing. Wedding traditions may differ in one or many ways depending upon the place and the people involved. Different places have different wedding traditions that are followed by the couple getting married. Let’s have a look at how a traditional wedding is celebrated in London, UK.
A wedding in UK is usually planned after an individual has proposed to his/her partner with ring that can be a lab diamond engagement ring or a natural diamond engagement ring. Once the partner accepts the proposal the couple are said to be engaged and promise to marry each other. The wedding preparations can now begin.
On the actual day of the wedding the bride and the groom are married to each other by a priest or registrar. The bride wears a white dress with a veil which is known to signify purity and the groom wears a tuxedo. The bride’s entourage include her father, flower girls, maid of honour and bridesmaids. The groom along with his best man waits at the alter for the arrival of the bride. During the ceremony, the bride and groom exchange wedding vows which they can repeat after the priest or write their own vows promising love and loyalty to each other. After the vows the couple exchange ring, the traditional one being a plain gold ring. However, nowadays the couple can choose their wedding rings according to their taste which is not necessarily a plain gold band. The ring is worn by the bride and groom on the third finger of the hand, the ring finger.
After the exchanging vows and rings the priest pronounces the couple as man and wife and they along with two witnesses sign the wedding register to legalize and certify the marriage. Afterwards the couple walk down the aisle during which the guests throw uncooked rice, birdseed, confetti and flower petals on the newlyweds to wish them luck. The bride then throws her bouquet behind her to a group of unmarried girls and it is said that whoever catches the bouquet is supposed to get married next.
The wedding ceremony is followed by the reception where the couple along with their family and friends celebrate the momentous occasion. A few speeches and toasts are offered in honour of the couple by their close friends or family. This is followed by the first dance of the couple as newlyweds. A dance may also be arranged between the bride and her father where the groom takes over midway signifying the girl leaving her dad and joining her husband. The bride and groom also cut a tiered fruit cake and eat it together as their first meal after the wedding. All of this is followed by food, wine and dancing.
There are several highlights in a traditional English wedding such as the vows, the ring which may be made of Hatton Garden lab grown diamonds or a traditional gold band and the first dance. Irrespective of the different cultures, each wedding is a beautiful story in itself.
