When two people get married regardless if it's in front of a priest or other official, it is called a wedding. The ceremony has seen a large change in attitude in a relatively short time. Despite the religious aspect to a marriage, it is still very much a legal matter as well. The law requires that the couple sign the marriage certificate in front of witnesses before the marriage can be legally accepted. Most often, the woman getting married is the bride and the man the bridegroom (usually just groom). The terms husband and wife are then the traditional terms to use after the ceremony.

For more information about planning church weddings, refer to this article.

Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Although it is easy to get the impression the world has started to neglect the Christian religion generally, weddings are the exception. Primarily in the United Kingdo and the United States, these ceremonies are known as white weddings.

More then one way

A double marriage is a single ceremony where two couples get together for two separate ceremonies. These kinds of weddings are usually instigated by siblings who like the idea of getting married side by side.

You will probably already know of a couple that decided on a destination wedding and asked the guests to go "on the road with them" for their wedding. Whether the location is an intimate beach ceremony in the Caribbean, or extravagant nuptials in Las Vegas, it will be grouped under the heading destination wedding.

Weekend weddings again are quickly rising in popularity and in Ireland they take place over the course of three days. To cater for an expanding market a number of companies arrange well-planned themes that incorporate anything from golf to surfing. autumn weddings for example, can be a nice, seasonal alternative. Accommodation for these is normally arranged at the place where the service is going to take place and where the other events are also being held.

Online Ceremonies

Although unusual, you can even get married online and it will still be very much like a normal wedding or you can even have characters of yourselves get married in various online communities. This can actually be quite handy when relatives and friends from around the world can see an online wedding take place in real time without actually being there!

In any case, in marriages without religious representation, Elected and appointed officials can carry out a wedding ceremony instead. Which is usually called a civil wedding. The religious aspect is then unimportant because they are purely a legal requirement. Often, this type of service will take place in frony of a judge, or in a town or city hall or any other appripriate place.

Read more of the authors wedding related articles here.