Informative Essay
by
Fe Briones
The Wedding
When a young lady or a young bachelor agreed to live together and start a family, their commitment will be sealed in a ritual or ceremony called wedding. This is far different from the earliest weddings of our ancestors. Our primitive ancestors came together for protection and survival rather than meaningful relationships. Since there was safety in numbers, primitive people formed tribes to which they were very loyal. It is believed that the first marriages may have actually been group weddings - marriage to the tribe.
Until such time that men and women came together in couples, and formed individual families. But marriage wasn't always a happy event. Due to tribal rivalry, women and children were often captured or stolen. Since many tribes had rules forbidding intermarriage within a clan, women were kidnapped and forced to marry the strangers who captured them. This period in history is called the "marriage by capture" era.
Little by little, as time evolves, wedding became a sacred commitmment between a man and woman who wished to form a family. Wedding legalized the couples living together and recognized them as husband and wife. Under the law, children of married couples are called legitimate children and children outside marriage are called illigitimate children whether they are acknowlegded or not by their biological father.
Wedding ceremony can be performed by civil authorities just like a judge or by church authorities like priests, pastors or church ministers. Both are legal and is recognized by the society. Church wedding ceremony is performed according to the teaching of the church, but, they used almost the same wedding symbols.
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| Wedding Rings |
All wedding, wether civil wedding or church wedding uses ring as a wedding symbol. The wedding ring is the most ancient of all marriage traditions. Nearly every civilization since the Egyptians has used the wedding ring as a symbol of the marriage agreement. In Egyptian hieroglyphics, the circle represents eternity, and the earliest rings were made of braided grass, hay, leather, bone and ivory. When metals were eventually discovered, the first metal rings were lumpy and awkward. Today, wedding rings can be anything from an inexpensive, plain band to an intricate setting studded with gems.
In most civil wedding, bride do not wear bridal gown but not in church weddings. Wedding gowns have not always been elaborate, as many are today. In the eighteenth century, poor brides dressed in simple robes. This symbolized to her future husband that she brought nothing with her into the marriage and would therefore not burden him with any debt. It wasn't until the mid nineteenth century that the all-white wedding dress became fashionable. Up until then a bride simply wore her best dress, regardless of its color. In 1840, Queen Victoria's pure white gown started the trend that many women follow today.
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| Bride's bouquet of flowers |
Bridal bouquet complete the looks of the bride. Before the use of flowers in the bridal bouquet, women carried aromatic bunches of garlic, herbs, and grains to drive evil spirits away as they walked down the aisle. Over time, these were replaced with flowers, symbolizing fertility and everlasting love. Specific flowers have special meanings in many cultures. In Hawaii, the bride and groom wear leis; newlyweds in India use floral headdresses.
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| Bride's Veil |
Another symbol used in church weddings is veil. Veils were originally worn by unmarried women to show modesty. In early weddings, men bargained for wives with the woman's father. At the wedding ceremony, a bride wore the veil as a symbol of submissiveness and a promise to obey her new husband. Only after the ceremony was the veil lifted to reveal the bride's appearance to the groom. Sometime in the sixteenth century, headdresses with delicate veils became fashionable; lace veils became popular after Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840.
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| Wedding Cake |
Wedding cakes have been a part of marriage ceremonies since medieval times. In Rome, the first wedding cakes were actually loaves of wheat bread. During the ceremony, the bread was broken over the bride's head as a blessing for long life and many children. Guests often ate the crumbs as a sign of good luck.Overtime, it became traditional to stack several cakes atop one another, as tall as possible. The bride and groom would then be charged to kiss over this tower without knocking it over. If they weresuccessful, a lifetime of good fortune was certain for the new couple. Finally, during the reign of King Charles II of England, it became customary for cake to be a palatable palace iced with sugar.Today, wedding cake comes in diffrent design, sizes and colors. Before, wedding cake was always white inside and out.
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| Wedding Cord |
Another wedding symbol is the wedding cord. Others use cloth rope while some prefered flower cord.
Wedding ceremony is followed by the banquet or the wedding party. In the Philppines before, wedding guests gathered at the bride’s house for the banquet which is hosted by the groom’s family. They usually come a day before to cook and prepare the place for the big occassion. Today, most of the couples preferred to bring their guests in hotels, resturants or reception halls for the wedding party.
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