Wedding Styles and Themes

The joining of two different families to create a brand new one can mean the continuation of age-old traditions, as well as the opportunities to create new ones. While planning a wedding, most couples want a particular style, be it a religious, civil or a commitment ceremony.

Religious Ceremonies

Getting married in a church has religious implications that attract most couples. It is a religious ceremony in which the bride and groom have their marriage sanctified in the presence of God. Christian matrimony gives a special grace to the couple. It is a civil ceremony and must be recognized by the law. A clergyman has to be registered in order to perform the ceremony. Christianity teaches its followers that marriage is for life. These days, religious weddings are open to people of every faith. Most catholic weddings include communion, which is only offered to those who have received their First Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. For Jewish weddings, the services are often in Hebrew.

Civil Ceremonies

A civil wedding is a service conducted by a superintendent registrar. After the wedding vows are exchanged, the registrar records the marriage in the register and then the bride, groom and witnesses are required to sign the register. The registrar and superintendent will then sign the register and present the certificate to the bride. This is a very short ceremony and lasts for approximately half an hour.

Commitment Ceremonies

Commitment ceremonies are not necessarily contracts that are legally binding. It means that two people can show their commitment to each other without making it legal. This is also a perfect way for a gay couple to make public their love for each other. These services are similar to civil ceremonies and can be recognized in any local authority venue.

Wedding themes

More and more couples these days seem to be opting out of traditional weddings and veering towards weddings of their own choice. As a result of which, themed weddings have gained popularity but most couples don’t know how to incorporate a theme into their wedding.

The fairy tale theme is the most popular with the brides, as they like to be treated like royalty on their wedding day. Fairy tale brides wear extravagant wedding dresses and shoes. Common choices for bridal gowns include, ball gowns and princess dresses with matching tiaras. Outdoor garden themes are also very popular. Summer garden themes allow for dresses with airy fabrics and wedding shoes that are comfortable and relaxed.

The more adventurous brides opt for beach weddings. Since the beach is the chosen venue, the usual bridal dresses for such weddings show a lot of skin. Beaches are generally chosen as the venue if there are sentimental moments between the couple that happened at the beach. Medieval themed weddings are a romantic and beautiful way of getting married. The chosen venues are generally beautiful old castles and stately old homes with acres of stunning gardens. Bridal dresses can be dramatic and full corseted with bold colors when the wedding theme is medieval.

Getting married on Valentines Day would make the most memorable anniversary date. The beauty of this kind of wedding is that it gives you the opportunity to embrace the powerful feeling of romanticism that Valentines Day brings. But make sure the location is booked well in advance because Valentines Day is a very popular day to tie the knot. Travel themed and ethnic weddings are also getting popular and common inspirations are the Japanese, Arabian and African cultures.