Commonalities In Marriage Ceremonies Across Cultures

One of the most interesting things to experience about different cultures are their marriage ceremonies. Each country and each culture have their own traditions, customs and food unique to their celebrations. No matter how different they are however, there are always certain similarities that show us that the human experience isn’t all that different no matter where you come from. Here are some traditions that are similar across cultures and countries.

Someone Runs the Ceremony

Each culture will have different criteria for selecting this person, but very few cultures allow for self-officiated marriages. Most of them call for wedding celebrants Sydney who have been entrusted with a certain authority, be it religious or secular. In most countries, marriages are the domain of the religious institutions, thus the officiant usually belongs to the clergy. Depending on the religion, male or female clergy will perform the marriage rites for the happy couple united. In other societies, the officiant is someone recognized by the government such as a judge, or someone vested with the authority by a humanist organization. In yet other societies, marriage is solemnized by an elderly member of the community. 

They Speak the Words

While there are exceptions, most ceremonies will also include some solemn words from the couple, a sort of vow made to each other. The tradition dates back hundreds of years when marriage was more or less a testament to society that a couple was now ready to bear legal children. Today, some religions have canonical words that are uttered in various languages; others have words that are determined by their community or culture. Still other ceremonies feature words that have been written by the couple themselves, and in most civil unions, the celebrant will invite the couple to make their own vows to each other. No matter how high the statistics are to indicate that marriages fail all the time, these words spoken at a ceremony are still recognized as sacred.

The Couple is Dressed Up

Even in the simplest and most down-to-earth communities on earth, the marriage ceremony brings out some form of finery and ornamentation for the couple. While guests may turn up in their everyday clothes, the couple usually wear something more fashionable and dressy than their everyday wear. Some cultures have specific costumes that the brides and grooms must wear, and there is little to no change or innovation in the design for hundreds of years. In many countries, marriage ceremony attire is modelled after the fashions of the nobility of their country a 100 years ago.