The History of Bride and Groom

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In 1604, the word Bridegroom came into being for the need to call a man about to be married something other than, "the poor soul," or, "the doomed one." The word is derived from two words, The "Bride" which simply means the woman about to be married and in some dominantly male run countries, the bride means, a screaming, and slave-driving banshee from the pits of Hades itself, and the word "Guma" which is roughly translated from old English as "boy." The bridegroom, on the day of his wedding, usually wore clothing specific to the type of religion, the time of the day, or the uniform of whatever branch of service or position he held with a government status. We have since shortened the word to the simple "groom," which is what many bachelors believe any man would have to be to get married.

In those days, it was not uncommon for the groom to have the final say in matters of the ceremony, especially as to where and when it would be held and who would be the Celebrant. The Celebrant is someone other than clergy or government official who is licensed to perform ceremonies if the couple or party wishes not to involve church or state. This person is now more commonly referred to as the officiant and can perform many types of ceremonies, including weddings. The groom and the bride's father would usually hammer out the details of the wedding and then inform the rest of the family.

The word Teutonic, which translates as "cook" is believed to be the origin of the word "Bride," although that has been hotly debated by, you guessed it, women around the world as not being the origin of the word. Many women feel the word, Bride, actually came from the words, "Beauty," and, "Iconic." But that could be simple hearsay. Almost every culture has elaborate and beautiful wedding apparel that the bride is required to wear on her wedding day during the ceremony and in some cultures; there is specific clothing that she is required to wear for a set number of days after. In this country however, after the wedding, the bride is required to wear nothing at all.

Today, the bride and the shortened and more accepted form of the original, the groom, have the option of planning their own wedding or even hiring someone to do this planning for them under their close supervision. This person, known as an event planner or more specifically, a wedding planner is a special type of person who is genetically grown in a test tube for the sole purpose of saving young couples a ton of money, and to prevent them from making terribly time-consuming mistakes while planning for their nuptials.

These planners are grown with built in wedding planning technology and can actually produce wedding favors or unique wedding favors from some secret place in their bodies which also saves the couple a ton of money. The laboratories that make these super-planners are called Planners-R-Us and cannot be found anywhere due to the secrecy of their technology. The only thing that is really known about the company is that it has more than quadrupled its output of wedding planners and is also coming out with a new line of divorce negotiators. It is hoped by the stockholders that this super-negotiation technology will make divorce lawyers obsolete by the year 2020.

Wedding planners are easy to find by looking in your local phone book or typing wedding planners, followed by the name of your city and state, into any search engine. It has been rumored that the divorce negotiators can be found by hanging a white business shirt with lipstick on the collar from any open window.

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The History of Mail Order Brides

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The mail order bride system commonly in place today is by no means a new one. It is said that the early settlers of the American continent, the major portion of whom were men, were not able to not find brides in their own country. Therefore, they had to turn to Europe with the expectation of securing a bride. Many years later, during the World War 2, American GIs started writing love letters to women they had never met with the same expectation in mind. Arranged marriages in this fashion have been carried out for thousands of years and they continue to be a common way for people to be married.

In the early 1980s, it was seen that there was an increased tendency for Western men to look beyond their own country to find their soul mate. This was done, as the western men believed that extending their search would speed up the whole process of meeting that special someone, ensuring a perfect match.

Early on, Asian women were predominantly the ones advertising themselves as mail order brides, with Thailand and the Philippines being the main countries involved. The false notion of the typical mail order bride transaction being a Westerner buying an Asian woman stems from these origins.

The fall of the Iron Curtain saw the creation of a completely new resource of mail order brides, looking for the possibilities of meeting a Westerner with a view to settle down. The number of Russian brides that participate in the mail order system has greatly increased in last few years.

Initially, the mail order bride system was paper catalogue-based, which were often printed only once. This was a more limited way for people to interact.

The introduction of the Internet in the 1990s revolutionized the mail order bride system, making introductions faster, easier and reliable. This system was more time-efficient and enjoyable than the earlier one, as well as attracted a substantial number of affluent men.

The future of the mail order bride system seems geared to move online entirely. This system is becoming an increasingly popular mode of meeting people, ideally suited to the time, lifestyles and resultant expectations of both parties.

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Wedding Customs Throughout History From Kissing The Bride To Flowers Associated With Weddings

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The legend concerning kissing as part of the ceremony

There is a story that the custom was for the priest to kiss the groom after the ceremony. The groom then kissed the bride, the priest kissed his assistants, and they kissed the guests!

The tradition regarding the white bridal gown

The lovely silk illusion veil of today has evolved out of a series of Oriental customs from past ages. Once, in Far Eastern countries, people believed that wicked spirits were especially attracted to women. So, as protection from the Evil Eye, women always wore veils. The custom continued although the feeling behind it changed with time into a role of modesty and obedience. From this the veil developed into a symbol of chastity. Then it became accepted as a sign of the submission of women.

The introduction of the veil into Europe came through returning Crusaders. In early wedding traditions in Europe, the bride was bargained for through her father, was swathed in a bridal veil, and revealed to her mate after the ceremony!

In early centuries, Hebrew, Greek and Roman brides wore veils of many hues and veils threaded with gold and silver. In Southern Europe, early Christians placed a large cloth over both bride and groom. In Anglo-Saxon times, the bride wore her hair hanging loose as part of the wedding ritual. The Chinese held a sacred umbrella over the bride's head. Around 1500 in Europe, there was a fashionable conical headdress topped with a veil that hung to the toes. Each era has revealed a different style for the bridal veil. Now the bride prefers a transparent one that does not conceal her hair.

The origin of the trousseau

The trousseau can be directly traced back to the barter-price, purchase-price and dowry systems. It was customary for a bride to come to her husband well-provided with a dowry, so that the man might be compensated for his expenses in caring for the children of his wife's lineage. In our present time in this country, it is not thought essential that a bride bring to her husband money or land, but she is usually provided with a good supply of personal clothing, household linen, silver, china, etc., although much of this also comes along as wedding presents and the meaning of flowers.

The origin of the wedding gifts

The tradition is also closely related to the bride's dowry. In all societies and in all centuries, the celebrations attending the marriage ceremony included the exchange of gifts, even if only of food. By Saxon and Elizabethan times, it was customary to bestow upon the bride various items of hardware which she carried in her belt, such as bodkins, knives, scissors, pinchers, scales, etc. There is record of wedding gift-giving as far back as the Norman Conquest. Among the peasants, gifts were understood to be loans which the couple was expected to return once they were established. As the feudal lord grew in power, he passed laws requiring that all those dependent upon him make generous gifts for his children's marriages. He even arranged for the Church to act as record-keeper for him to insure that no one escaped from "giving" his share.

How Flowers are associated with a wedding

Throughout history, most celebrations of weddings, whether pagan or Christian, use flowers in some way. Almost every country has its own traditions and symbolism concerning flowers.

Popular contemporary customs associate the orange blossoms most closely to the wedding ceremony. The wearing of a wreath of orange blossoms as a crown over the bridal veil was a Saracen custom introduced by returning Crusaders. Orange blossoms were so expensive that only the wealthy could afford them and poorer brides resorted to artificial ones. A "kissing knot" of croton leaves and rosemary was hung over the bridal couple in Elizabethan England. In Sweden it was believed necessary to put chives, garlic or rosemary in the bride's bouquet to keep the dwarfs from bothering her on her wedding day! In Poland it was believed that to sprinkle the bride's bouquet with sugar would keep her temper sweet. In Rome, roses and marigolds were used to decorate the bride's home. Here are some of the "meanings" associated with certain flowers:

Apple blossoms or quince blossoms: better things to come

Clematis: love vine

Ivy: good luck

Rosebud: a promise

Myrtle: lover's flower

Laurel: peace

Tulips: infidelity

Yellow flowers of any kind: jealousy

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Wedding Customs Throughout History From Tossing Of The Bride Her Bouquet To Honeymoons

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The tradition of tossing the Bride's bouquet

The significance, as everyone knows, is that the one who catches it will be the next to marry! Originally, it was not a bouquet but a garter that was tossed. This custom of tossing the garter originated in 14th century France. However even when the bride left it dangling around her ankle in order to make the snatching easy, she was considerably mauled. For a time a stocking was tossed, but its removal was neither easy nor graceful. Finally some bride, whose identity has been lost to us, thought of tossing her bouquet and this custom has been followed ever since. Even now, however, some grooms like to follow the old garter tossing custom so that the ushers as well as the bridesmaids may know who among them will be next to marry.

The origin of the wedding reception and wedding refreshments

Marriage feasts have been in existence nearly as long as marriage ceremonies. The early Greeks had a feast at the end of the wedding procession when the bride was conducted to her new home at night. Although usually the Greek custom was not to include women at their banquets, they were invited to wedding feasts.

The wedding cake

This was always an important part of any wedding feast. Where or when it first originated cannot be told it is so ancient a custom. Among certain American Indian tribes, and among the Fiji Islanders, a bride offered her husband a cake of meal. The Romans broke a cake made of salted meal over the bride's head as a symbol of abundance. Many peoples of various nations customarily dropped wheat, flour or cake upon the bride's head, then ate these offerings for good luck. The early Britons baked large baskets of small dry crackers for weddings, and every guest took one home thus the tradition of taking wedding cake home to "dream on." The small cakes gradually increased in size and richness, and, so the story is told, a French chef in London finally had the idea of icing the mass of cakes together the first English-French wedding cake. During the reign of Charles II in England, the elaborate, highly ornamented wedding cakes as we know them first came into being.

Throwing rice, old shoes and other things

The rice-throwing is closely related to the wedding cake itself in fact throwing grain preceded the baking of cakes and the cake developed from that earlier practice. The throwing of grain seemed to involve two symbols, good luck and fertility or abundance.

Among the ancient Assyrians and Jews, when a bargain was made, a man gave his sandal as an indication of good faith. A shoe was the symbol of authority. When the Anglo-Saxons hurled a shoe, it indicated that authority had been transferred. Some authorities believe that the throwing of a shoe can be traced back to the missiles which the bride's father hurled at the robber caveman.

Seating arrangements at weddings

It is said that the practice of seating the groom's family and friends on the right and the bride's on the left derived from the custom of seating honoured guests on the right of the host. On the wedding day, the bride's parents are hosts and the groom's are the honoured guests.

The Bachelor Dinner

This appears to have had its source in Sparta. A Spartan groom always invited his close friends to a supper on the eve of his wedding. The custom is very old and many believe it originated simultaneously in many different lands.

Engraved invitations or announcements

Many centuries ago the monastic schools kept marriage books for royalty. These records were made in the very beautiful handwriting of the monks. Later, formal invitations were issued by Royalty in this handwriting, referred to as script. In 1620 copper plate engraving of script writing was first achieved and gradually the custom evolved of engraved rather than hand written invitations to weddings and other formal affairs.

The Honeymoon

This tradition is as old as from the caveman era, once the man had abducted his bride, he kept her carefully hidden until her father's tribesmen gave up the pursuit and permitted their tempers to cool. Among certain northern European peoples in early centuries, a newly married couple drank a wine made of mead and honey, known as metheglin, for a month after their marriage. A month was then a "moon," and therefore the month during which the wine was drunk became known as the honeymoon. Among certain peoples, seclusion from the world after the marriage ceremony was definitely part of the marriage rites.
Today all couples who can afford it travel to their honeymoon straight after the wedding party has finished.

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The History of the Unity Candle

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The candle manufacturers, like any good company, are never ones to turn down a new trend. The advent of Unity Candles into Protestant weddings some 30 or 40 years ago was just such a trend and today has become a booming business for the makers of all things waxy and flammable.

The act itself is packed with symbolism, the creation of a tradition that involves the entirety of both the bride and groom's in-laws in the act of joining in matrimony. The mothers of both the Bride and Groom will light a candle, and depending on just how symbolic said families are, the grandparents might light those candles for the mothers. The Bride and Groom will then take their freshly lit candles and light the unity candle, a single flame between them to symbolize their union. It usually takes place after the vows are completed.

The origins of the unity candle are still fuzzy, as no one will own up to the initial introduction of the tradition. Born in America within the last 50 years or so, some believe it to have sprouted from the Catholic Church, although the rite itself is not permitted in Catholic weddings now as it's not part of the wedding Mass.

Like Valentine's Day and any other candy coated holiday that Hallmark invented, some even believe it to be the result of a marketing guru within the Candle making companies themselves thinking of new ways to spread their product. The truth may never be known, but the history is entertaining nonetheless.

Some will even point to a particular wedding on General Hospital in 1981 in which the symbolic lighting was performed, but there are records of the Unity Candle being lit earlier than that in Protestant ceremonies. The appearance of the candle on a show like General Hospital no doubt didn't work towards curbing the newly created tradition though.

As for the importance of the ceremony, it's a symbolic show of unity under God, but also under the eyes of two families coming together. The use of a unity candle is just one more way to show visually how two people feel about each other on the most important day of their relationship. The candle itself means nothing, it's the act with which it is lit, and that's more than a good reason why the origin itself isn't necessarily as important as the thought behind the act.

***You may use this article on your website as long as the two URLs are hyperlinked.***

Anthony Chatfield is a professional author who writes for Candles 4U, where you can find information on unity candles and much more!

The History Of The 16th Century Weddings

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Party favors were actually inherited from Europe and it is actually a very old tradition. Thus selecting a unique favor is not a small task. If you are really interested in making your celebration different and allowing your special day to really stand out and show off your work then I think you should consider some of the really great unique items that I have found online for you.

Your selection of this unique item will be a reflection of this noble tradition. Candles are always universally a reflection of light and beauty and thus selection of this unique candle favor will be a universal choice for all brides and grooms to choose for their guests.

This candle is highly beautiful and addictive for everyone. Especially their elegantly designed Ribbon and Tag will make your wedding favors more beautiful and something to be admired. So don't waste your time any more looking for these kinds of items and go online and find your wedding favor that make your special day stand out like the "Apple of My Eye" Mini-Candle in Gift Box with Ribbon and Tag today.

It will be the most unique item selected and all of your guests will feel content in receiving the great candle wedding favor that is so unique that it will win every time with your family and guest. Many Candle and Unique wedding favors can be personalized and will allow your guest who can use this wonderful gift at home as well, to really feel that they were part of your celebration.

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The History of Mail Order Brides

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The mail order bride system commonly in place today is by no means a new one. It is said that the early settlers of the American continent, the major portion of whom were men, were not able to not find brides in their own country. Therefore, they had to turn to Europe with the expectation of securing a bride. Many years later, during the World War 2, American GIs started writing love letters to women they had never met with the same expectation in mind. Arranged marriages in this fashion have been carried out for thousands of years and they continue to be a common way for people to be married.

In the early 1980s, it was seen that there was an increased tendency for Western men to look beyond their own country to find their soul mate. This was done, as the western men believed that extending their search would speed up the whole process of meeting that special someone, ensuring a perfect match.

Early on, Asian women were predominantly the ones advertising themselves as mail order brides, with Thailand and the Philippines being the main countries involved. The false notion of the typical mail order bride transaction being a Westerner buying an Asian woman stems from these origins.

The fall of the Iron Curtain saw the creation of a completely new resource of mail order brides, looking for the possibilities of meeting a Westerner with a view to settle down. The number of Russian brides that participate in the mail order system has greatly increased in last few years.

Initially, the mail order bride system was paper catalogue-based, which were often printed only once. This was a more limited way for people to interact.

The introduction of the Internet in the 1990s revolutionized the mail order bride system, making introductions faster, easier and reliable. This system was more time-efficient and enjoyable than the earlier one, as well as attracted a substantial number of affluent men.

The future of the mail order bride system seems geared to move online entirely. This system is becoming an increasingly popular mode of meeting people, ideally suited to the time, lifestyles and resultant expectations of both parties.

Mail Order Brides provides detailed information on Mail Order Brides, Russian Mail Order Brides, Latin Mail Order Brides, Asian Mail Order Brides and more. Mail Order Brides is affiliated with Online Russian Brides [http://www.i-RussianBrides.com].