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Information about Nuptial

Nuptial is the adjective of "wedding". It is used for example in zoology to denote plumage, coloration, behavior, etc related to or occurring in the mating season.
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A bride in the South of France
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Preparing for the photographs, at a wedding in Thornbury Castle, England
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Ethnic Hakka people in a wedding in East Timor, 2006


A wedding is a ceremony that celebrates the beginning of a marriage or civil union. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. In some countries, cultures and religions, the actual act of marriage begins during the wedding ceremony. In others, the legal act of marriage occurs at the time of signing a marriage license or other legal document, and the wedding is then an opportunity to perform a traditional ceremony and celebrate with friends and family. A woman taking part in the ceremony is called a bride, a man called a bridegroom, after the ceremony they become a wife and a husband, respectively.

Types

A double wedding is a single ceremony where two affianced couples rendezvous for two separate weddings. Typically, a fiancé with a sibling might plan a double wedding with that sibling.

A destination wedding is any wedding in which the engaged couple and/or a majority of their guests travel to attend the ceremony. Whether this happens for an intimate beach ceremony in the Caribbean, extravagant nuptials in Las Vegas or for a simple ceremony in someone's back yard, chances are it qualifies as a destination wedding.

A weekend wedding is a wedding in which couples and their guests celebrate over the course of a weekend. Special activities, such as spa treatments and golf tournaments, are scheduled into the wedding itinerary for guests' enjoyment throughout the weekend. Lodging usually is at the same facility as the wedding and couples often host a Sunday brunch for the weekend's finale.

A white wedding is a formal or semi-formal wedding in the United Kingdom, Ireland and United States, as well as Commonwealth, traditions.

A military wedding is a ceremony conducted in a military chapel.

An online wedding is a wedding that is either conducted on the internet, or is an event that resembles a standard wedding when two people who wish their avatars, or characters, to be married. Many couples are using the internet to meet and share their vows. Planning is made easy, with online wedding guides (see references) where reliable and friendly vendors are listed. Weddings that are broadcast live online are also referred to as online weddings.
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A same-sex wedding for a civil union in Wellington, New Zealand
A same-sex wedding is a ceremony in which two people of the same sex are married or, more commonly, civilly united. This may be an official and legally recognized event, or (in places that do not allow same-sex marriage) it may simply be an opportunity to make the same pledges and have the same celebration with friends and family as at a heterosexual wedding.

A civil wedding is a ceremony presided over by a local civil authority, such as an elected or appointed judge, justice of the peace or the mayor of a locality. Civil wedding ceremonies may use references to God, but generally no references to a particular religion or denomination. They can be either elaborate or simple. Many civil wedding ceremonies take place in local town or city halls or courthouses in judge's chambers.

A church wedding is a ceremony presided over by a Christian priest. Ceremonies are based on reference to God, are frequently embodied into other church ceremonies like Holy Mass.

A Jewish wedding is a ceremony presided over by arabbi. The rabbi recites the wedding blessing, reads out the ketubah, the rabbi, or those close to the couple, bless the couple by saying the seven blessings and the ceremony finishes when the groom breaks a glass underfoot.

Expense

The average expense of a wedding in the United States, as of 2007, is $28,000. This is twice the cost of a wedding in 1990. The wedding industry nets $161 billion dollars yearly, according to Rebecca Mead, author of "One Perfect Day." [1][2]

The average expense of a wedding is typically broken down into payment to several small enterprises and vendors, from caterers to musicians.[3]

Customs

Main article: Wedding traditions and customs
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Nubian wedding with some international modern touches, near Aswan, Egypt
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A traditional Japanese wedding ceremony
Wedding ceremonies may contain any number of different elements, however most contain wedding vows of some kind and a proclamation of marriage, usually by the officiant. Most weddings also involve wearing the traditional clothes of the culture in which the couple is wedding. A wedding is often followed or accompanied by a wedding reception.

Other elements may include music, poetry, prayer, scripture, or other traditions. In most societies a number of traditions or customs have emerged around the wedding ceremony, many of which have lost their original symbolic meaning in the modern world. Other wedding traditions are relatively recent. Some elements of the traditional Western wedding ceremony symbolize the bride's departure from her father's control and entry into a new family with her husband. In modern Western weddings, this symbolism is largely vestigial, since a husband and wife are of equal power and status.

A wedding's particular customs may be varied, mixed, or invented to suit the personalities, interests, and cultural backgrounds of the couple. Such hybrid ceremonies are more common when performed by civil celebrants, as in Australia, the United States and Canada.

Clothing

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Bride and groom wearing traditional Bengali wedding costumes, from Bangladesh
Different wedding traditions call for different wedding outfits:

Music

African weddings

Traditional music throughout Africa is almost always functional; in other words, it is performed to mark a ritual such as a wedding. A traditional African wedding ritual serves to combine the families of the bride and groom. Because Africa is a continent with a wide range of ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity, the music of Africa varies widely.

Chinese weddings

Chinese music plays an important role to create an environment of jolly and noisy atmosphere in the wedding ceremony. A band of musicians with gongs and flute-like instruments accompanies the bride parade to groom's home. Similar music is also played in wedding banquet.

Western weddings

Music often played at western weddings includes a processional song for walking down the aisle (ex: Wedding March) and reception dance music. More at wedding music.

See also

Related events and social processes

Wedding traditions

Main article: Wedding traditions

Participants

Related travel

Other

References

1. ^ "The Wedding-Industrial Complex," "Christian Science Monitor," June 8, 2007, p. 8 [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ A Guide to the Wedding Industry (Business Reference Services, Library of Congress)[3]
4. ^ Kilts: tightly woven into Scots culture. Scotsman (2005-02-10). Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
5. ^ The Scottish Kilt. Visit Scotland. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
6. ^ Jim Murdoch. Scottish Culture and Heritage: The Kilt. Scotsmart. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
    In grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun (called the adjective's subject), giving more information about what the noun or pronoun refers to.
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    Zoology (from Greek: ζῴον, zoion, "animal"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals.
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    Oestrus is also the biological genus name of the gadfly.


    The estrous cycle (also oestrous cycle; originally derived from Latin oestrus
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    ceremony is an activity, infused with ritual significance, performed on a special occasion.

    Celebration of life

    A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human career, marking the significance of (for example):
    • birth
    • initiation
    • puberty

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    A civil union is a legally recognized union similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples with rights, benefits, and responsibilities similar
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    Wedding traditions and customs beyond any formal wedding ceremony vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes and often reflect a particular view of marriage.
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    Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate,") generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significant importance.
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    ethnic group or ethnicity is a population of human beings whose members identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry.[1] Ethnicity is also defined from the recognition by others as a distinct group[2]
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    religion is a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience.
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    In political geography and international politics, a country is a political division of a geographical entity, a sovereign territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation and government.
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    A marriage license (in American English) or marriage licence (in British English) is permission from a legal authority (either church or state) for the marriage of two people to be performed.
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    bride is a female participant in a wedding ceremony: a woman about to be married, currently being married, or, in some uses, very recently married. The term used to mean 'daughter-in-law', as newly married women at one time moved into the husband's family home.
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    A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married, or who has just been married. A groom is defined as a personal hand servant much like a valet. Therefore the "Bride's Groom" is correctly defined as the bride's personal hand servant.
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    A wife is a female participant in a marriage.

    Origin and etymology

    The term originated from the Middle English wif, from Old English wīf, woman, wife, from Germanic * wībam, woman, related to Modern German Weib
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    A husband is a male participant in a marriage.

    Origin and etymology

    The term husband refers to Middle English huseband, from Old English hsbnda, from Old Norse hsbndi
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    engagement is an agreement or promise to marry, and also refers to the time between proposal and marriage. During this period, a couple is said to be affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged.
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    sibling is one's brother or sister, respectively meaning a male or female with whom one shares at least one parent. This is usually taken to mean that the two people are genetically very close, though it is not always necessarily the case, for example one or more siblings
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    white wedding is a term for a traditional formal or semi-formal Western wedding. This term refers to the white color of the wedding dress, which became popular in the Victorian era and came to symbolize purity of heart and the innocence of childhood.
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    Motto
    "Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
    "God and my right"
    Anthem
    "God Save the Queen" [3]
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    Anthem
    Amhrán na bhFiann  
    The Soldier's Song


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    Motto
    "In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
    "E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
    Anthem
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    Headquarters
    (and largest city)
    Official languages English
    Membership 53 sovereign states
    Leaders
     -  Head of the Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth II
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    A civil union is a legally recognized union similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples with rights, benefits, and responsibilities similar
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    An election is a decision making process where people choose people to hold official offices. This is the usual mechanism by which modern democracy fills offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government.
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    A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions.
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    A justice of the peace (JP) is a puisne judicial officer appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice and deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions.
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    A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "larger", "greater") is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer.

    In many systems, the mayor is an elected politician who serves as chief executive and/or ceremonial official of many types of
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