Four people to avoid on your wedding morning

Your wedding morning is an incredibly nerve-wracking time. Not only do you have the pressure of executing what’s arguably the biggest party you’ll ever host, but you’re also about to make a life-long commitment to another human being! Scary stuff huh? So the last thing you want around you during that incredibly jittery preparation time is this lot:

The pessimist

“Uh oh, it looks like rain!”
Are you sure that dress doesn’t make your arms look fat?”
“Your other half looked a bit on edge, reckon he’ll show up?”

Everyone needs a voice of reason – but nobody needs the worst-case scenario police on their case when they may well already be worried about what could go wrong. If you have someone like this around you, send them on an errand that conveniently ensures they’re too busy (and far away) to talk to you!

The jealous friend

Similar to the pessimist, but rather than just being a pessimist for the sake of it, the jealous friend has an agenda. The jealous friend isn’t happy to see you happy and will, rather than saying things, sit there with a sour face and an unwillingness to help or participate in the joy of the occasion. Not cool.

The good news is, the jealous friend can be spotted a mile off. Quite often she’ll have shown her true colours well in advance of the wedding – so you can make sure she’s not there when you need her the least!

The control freak

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have someone in charge. In fact, I’d advise having a coordinator or a self-appointed coordinator to take some of the stress out of the day. However, when someone who isn’t in charge starts trying to change things at the last minute, it can test anyone’s patience.

Avoid having to deal with this on your big day by assigning people clearly to jobs. That way if someone starts to step out of line, you’ll already have someone in place to deal with them. Like the jealous best friend, control freaks are easy to spot, so just have somebody briefed to keep a lid on them while you’re getting ready.

The ex!

For obvious reasons, while you may have decided you’re happy to have an ex around on the day, having them there when you’re getting ready (unless you have a completely anomalous relationship to the norm) will be at best aggravating and at worst confusing.

The last thing you need when you’re about to commit yourself to someone is to see what happens when it goes wrong played out in front of you! Make sure your feet stay warm and keep them separated until after the ceremony!

source : http://underthevintageveil.com

Wedding Dress

A wedding dress or wedding gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western culture brides often choose a dress of white to symbolize purity of the soul, and the dress may form part of a bride's trousseau. In eastern cultures, brides often choose red to symbolize auspiciousness.


Western Culture :

Weddings performed during and immediately following the Middle Ages were often more than just a union between two people. They could be a union between two families, two businesses or even two countries. Many weddings were more a matter of politics than love, particularly among the nobility and the higher social classes. Brides were therefore expected to dress in a manner that cast their families in the most favorable light, for they were not representing only themselves during the ceremony. Brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors and exclusive fabrics. It was common to see them wearing bold colors and layers of furs, velvet and silk.

The woman to the far right is wearing a typical wedding dress from 1929. Until the late 1930s, wedding dresses reflected the styles of the day. From that time onward, wedding dresses have traditionally been based on Victorian styles.

Over the centuries, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status—always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress contained also was a reflection of the bride's social standing and indicated the extent of the family's wealth to wedding guests. Today, there are wedding dresses available in all price ranges, and Western traditions have loosened up to include a rainbow of colors and variety of lengths, which are now considered acceptable. Women may purchase ready-made gowns, wear a family heirloom, or they may choose to have a dressmaker create one for her. In addition, today many bridal salons have samples of wedding gowns in their stores where the bride selects a certain style and orders one to be made to fit.

Wedding dresses have traditionally been based on the popular styles of the day. For example, in the 1920s, wedding dresses were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. This tendency to follow current fashions continued until the late 1940s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. Although there has always been a style that dominates the bridal market for a time, and then shifts with the changes in fashion, a growing number of modern brides are not choosing to follow these trends. This is due in large part to non-traditional and non-first-time weddings, and women who are marrying later in life.

Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white though "wedding white" includes shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. Lowering wedding costs by selecting a second hand wedding dress rather than purchasing a new one is a growing trend.

Mary, Queen of Scots, wore a white wedding gown in 1559 when she married her first husband, Francis Dauphin of France because it was her favorite color, although white was then the color of mourning for French Queens. The first documented instance of a princess who wore a white wedding gown for a royal wedding ceremony is that of Philippa of England, who wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine in 1406.

White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria wore a white gown for the event to incorporate some lace she prized. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for white in accordance with the Queen's choice.

The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia. Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this was not the original intention. (It was the color blue that was connected to purity.) The white gown is in fact a symbolic Christening gown. They are a variation of the white surplice worn in the Western Catholic tradition by members of the clergy, church choirs and servers and the gowns worn by girls making their first communion and at their confirmation and also by women making religious vows. Jews have gone to great lengths  to follow these Western (Judeo-Christian) customs, whilst adhering to the laws of Tzniut. Today, the white dress is understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings.

Eastern Culture :

Many wedding dresses in China, India (wedding sari) and Vietnam (in the traditional form of the Ao dai) are colored red, the traditional color of good luck and auspiciousness. Nowadays, many women choose other colors besides red. In modern mainland Chinese weddings, the bride may opt for Western dresses of any color, and later don a traditional costume for the official tea ceremony.

Qing dynasty styled traditional Chinese wedding dress with phoenix crown (鳳冠) headpiece still used in modern Taiwanese weddings. 

In modern Taiwanese weddings, the bride generally picks red (following Chinese tradition) or white (more Western) silk for the wedding gown material, but most will wear the red traditional garmet for their formal wedding banquets. Traditionally, the father of the bride is responsible for the wedding banquet hosted on the bride's side and the alcohol (specifically called "xi-jiu," confusingly the same as what the wedding banquet itself is called) consumed during both banquets. While the wedding itself is often based on the couple's choices, the wedding banquets are a symbolic gesture of "thanks" and appreciation, to those that have raised the bride and groom (such as grandparents and uncles) and those who will continue to be there to help the bride and groom in the future. Thus out of respect for the elders, wedding banquets are usually done formally and traditionally.

Red wedding saris are the traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Sari fabric is also traditionally silk. Over time, color options and fabric choices for Indian brides have expanded. Today fabrics like crepe, Georgette, charmeuse, and satin are used, and colors have been expanded to include gold, pink, orange, maroon, brown, and yellow as well.Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (lehnga, choli, etc.).

Japanese formal wedding dress still used today.

At Japanese weddings, brides will often wear three or more dresses throughout the ceremony and subsequent celebrations with a traditional kimono, white and colour dress combination being popular. White is used, because in Japan it symbolizes death—in this case, the bride becomes dead to her family. The bride will eventually remove her white kimono to reveal another colored one—usually red—to symbolize her rebirth into her husband's family.

The Javanese people of Indonesia wear a kebaya, a traditional kind of blouse, along with batik.

In the Philippines, variations of the Baro't saya are considered to be wedding attire for women, along with the Barong Tagalog for men.

Native American Culture :

The indigenous peoples of the Americas have varying traditions related to weddings and thus wedding dresses. A Hopi bride traditionally would have her garments woven by the groom and any men in the village who wished to participate. The garments consisted of a large belt, two all-white wedding robes, a white wedding robe with red stripes at top and bottom, white buckskin leggings and moccasins, a string for tying the hair, and a reed mat in which to wrap the outfit. This outfit also would serve as a shroud, since these garments would be necessary for the trip through the underworld.

A Pueblo bride wore a cotton garment tied above the right shoulder, secured with a belt around the waist.

In the traditions of the Delaware, a bride would wear a knee-length skirt of deerskin and a band of wampum beads around her forehead. Except for fine beads or shell necklaces, the body would be bare from the waist up. If it were a winter wedding, she would wear deerskin leggings and moccasins and a robe of turkey feathers. Her face would be painted with white, red and yellow clay.

The tribes of Northern California (which include the Klamath, the Modoc and the Yurok) had a traditional bridal dress woven in symbolic colors: white for the east, blue for the south, yellow (orange) for the west; and black for the north. Turquoise and silver jewelry were worn by both the bride and the groom in addition to a silver concho belt. Jewelry was considered a shield against evils including hunger, poverty and bad luck.

source : wikipedia.org

HONEYMOON : History and Etymology

HISTORY:

One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy .“When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him. He shall be exempt for one year for the sake of his family, to bring joy to the wife he has married.

Originally "honeymoon" simply described the period just after the wedding when things are at their sweetest; it is assumed to wane in a month. The earliest term for this in English was hony moone, which was recorded as early as 1546.

In Western culture, the custom of a newlywed couple going on a holiday together originated in early 19th century Great Britain, a concept borrowed from the Indian elite, in the Indian Subcontinent. Upper-class couples would take a "bridal tour", sometimes accompanied by friends or family, to visit relatives who had not been able to attend the wedding. The practice soon spread to the European continent and was known as voyage à la façon anglaise (English-style voyage) in France from the 1820s on.

Honeymoons in the modern sense (i.e. a pure holiday voyage undertaken by the married couple) became widespread during the Belle Époque, as one of the first instances of modern mass tourism. This came about in spite of initial disapproval by contemporary medical opinion (which worried about women's frail health) and by savoir vivre guidebooks (which deplored the public attention drawn to what was assumed to be the wife's sexual initiation). The most popular honeymoon destinations at the time were the French Riviera and Italy, particularly its seaside resorts and romantic cities such as Rome, Verona or Venice. Typically honeymoons would start on the night they were married, with the couple leaving midway through the reception to catch a late train or ship. However, in the 21st century, many couples will not leave until 1–3 days after the ceremony and reception in order to tie up loose ends with the reception venue and/or simply enjoy the reception to its fullest and have a relaxing night afterwards to recover, before undertaking a long journey.

ETYMOLOGY:

The Oxford English Dictionary offers no etymology, but gives examples dating back to the 16th century. The Merriam-Webster dictionary reports the etymology as from "the idea that the first month of marriage is the sweetest" (1546).

A honeymoon can also be the first moments a newly-wed couple spend together, or the first holiday they spend together to celebrate their marriage.

“

"The first month after marriage, when there is nothing but tenderness and pleasure" (Samuel Johnson); originally having no reference to the period of a month, but comparing the mutual affection of newly-married persons to the changing moon which is no sooner full than it begins to wane; now, usually, the holiday spent together by a newly-married couple, before settling down at home.

”

One of the more recent citations in the Oxford English Dictionary indicates that, while today honeymoon has a positive meaning, the word was originally a reference to the inevitable waning of love like a phase of the moon. This, the first known literary reference to the honeymoon, was penned in 1552, in Richard Huloet's Abecedarium Anglico Latinum. Huloet writes:

“	Hony mone, a term proverbially applied to such as be newly married, which will not fall out at the first, but th'one loveth the other at the beginning exceedingly, the likelihood of their exceadinge love appearing to aswage, ye which time the vulgar people call the hony mone.	”
—Abcedarium Anglico-Latinum pro Tyrunculis, 1552

In many parts of Europe it was traditional to supply a newly married couple with enough mead for a month, ensuring happiness and fertility. From this practice we get honeymoon or, as the French say,lune de miel [lit. "moon of honey"] Given that this etymology does not appear in the usual scholarly works on etymology, this claim is usually dismissed as a false etymology.

There are many calques of the word honeymoon from English into other languages. The French form translates as "moon of honey" (lune de miel), as do the Spanish (luna de miel), Portuguese (lua de mel) and Italian (luna di miele) equivalents. The Welsh word for honeymoon is mis mêl, which translates as "honey month", and similarly the Polish (miesiąc miodowy), Russian (Медовый месяц),Arabic (شهر العسل shahr el 'assal), Greek (μήνας του μέλιτος) and Hebrew (ירח דבש yerach d'vash) versions. (Interestingly, Yerach is used for month, rather than the more common Chodesh. Yerach is related to the word Yare'ach for moon and the two words are spelled alike: ירח.) The Persian word is ماه عسل mah e asal which has both the translations "honey moon" and "honey month" (mah in Persian meaning both moon and month). The same applies to the word ay in the Turkish equivalent, balayı. In Hungarian language it is called "honey weeks" (mézeshetek). Likewise, the Tamil word for honeymoon is "Then Nilavu" meaning Then-honey and nilavu-moon

Source : wikipedia.

Wedding Rings : Origin, Customs & Much more

Egyptians

From the ancient Egyptians, rings and bracelets were plaited from reeds that grew beside the fertile Nile River where the biblical basket containing the baby Moses was found by the Egyptian princess. Initially, rings were made from vegetation but since it required frequent renewal, it was replaced by tougher materials such as bone or ivory, and leather.

The Egyptians believed that the veins on the third finger of the left hand traveled directly to the heart. However, at that time, rings were worn more for their decorative worth than their sentimental value.

From 332 BC - The Romans 

In 332 BC, after conquering Egypt, the armies of Alexander the Great continued to adopt the notion of this "vein of love" or veno amoris and eventually, passed it on to the Romans who took on far greater importance on the finger rings.
At the time of betrothal, and as a way of binding the future bride to her future husband, the groom's family gave a ring made from iron to her. During the days when marriage was more negotiation than love match, perhaps still practiced in other cultures today, the act of giving a ring was a show of the groom's goodwill. It also serves to protecting the future bride's rights in the face of possible home-wreckers.


Christian
The use of rings in wedding ceremonies is traced back to the early part of the fourth century. However, the first explicit description of the ring’s usage seems to come from Isidore of Seville, who became archbishop of that city in 595. He wrote: "The ring is given by the espouser to the espoused either for a sign of mutual fidelity or still more to join their hearts by this pledge; and therefore the ring is placed on the fourth finger because a certain vein, it is said, flows thence to the heart."

The belief that the fourth finger (counting from the thumb), has a vena amoris–a love vein running directly to the heart–is obviously pure superstition. The annular (ring) finger shares the same "route" to the heart as the other fingers. In spite of its superstitious origin, the custom of wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand has prevailed in most Christian countries to this day.  

Early Pagan Practices

The practice of wearing a ring is also thought to stem from earlier pagan times when a man would encircle a likely woman in rope to ensure her spirit would remain under his command. Although the early Christians discarded most of the pagan customs, in 200 AD, they continued the Roman practice of the betrothal ring. The Christian betrothal rings have been found in the catacombs outside Rome. The use of a wedding ring in a marriage ceremony is first recorded in the early part of the fourth century.
During the Middle Ages, gold rings set with gems overtook iron as the most fashionable demonstration of eternal love.

13th Century Customs

In the early 1200s, Pope Innocent III decreed that a waiting period between betrothal and marriage should be observed. This created a practical need for the engagement ring. In 1217, the Bishop of Salisbury decreed: "Let no man put a ring or rush, or of any other material, upon the hands of young girls, by way of mock celebration for the purpose of easily seducing them."

16th Century Customs

The Puritans avoided the notion of wedding rings in the 1500s, as they perceived jewelry to be materialistic and frivolous. Instead, couples had to exchange more practical and useful wedding thimbles when they were married.

It was not until 1549, when King Edward VI of England officially declared the third finger as the "ring finger" and designated the left hand as the "marriage hand" in the Book of Common Prayer.

19th Century's Victorian Era

In 1840, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert handed out six dozen rings to guests, each engraved with the queen's profile, on their wedding day.

20th Century Wedding Rings

During World War II, many young soldiers chose to exchange rings with their bride so they could be reminded of their wife during the long separation.

21st Century Generation

In 2000, the world's largest gold ring is made in Saudi Arabia. It consists of more than 56 kilograms of gold.

Today, the engagement and wedding rings represent a mix of old customs, as a symbol of love and devotion, as they are of wealth, power and ownership.

Source:

Sunday Life Magazine, supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald

Related Website:

History of Wedding Rings

MATRiMONY

MATRIMONY:

       The union of man and woman as husband and wife :marriage

1. two people joined in matrimony
2. we intend to be joined in matrimony until “death do us part
3. Origin of MATRIMONY
4. Middle English, from Anglo-French matrimoignie, from Latin matrimonium
5. First Known Use: 14th century