(Bride’s Name), do you take (Groom’s Name) for your lawful wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live?

I (Bride’s Name) take thee (Groom’s Name) to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, ’til death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; And thereto I plight thee my troth.

When you read the above pledge, what scene would you image at first? ——That’s right, the wedding! Now we are going to find out the history of the language of weddings.

Wedding

A wedding is a ceremony where people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. “Wedding” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “wedd”, which was a promise the groom, would marry the young lady but also the bride’s father would pay the groom’s father for the transaction. It’s no lie the roots of marriage have a lot more to do with business deals than with love.

Bride

A bride is a woman about to be married or newlywed. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by one or more bridesmaids. The word may come from the Proto-Germanic verb root, meaning “to cook, brew, or make a broth”, which was the role of the daughter-in-law in primitive families.

Bridegroom

A bridegroom (sometimes shortened to groom) is a man who will soon or has recently been married. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and groomsmen. The term bridegroom dates to 1604, from the Old English brȳdguma, a compound of brȳd (bride) and guma (man, human being, hero).

In the weddings, the bridegroom will often give a short speech after the reception, thanking the guests for attending, complimenting the bride, thanking members of the wedding party, and possibly sharing a “roast toast”. His speech will normally be followed by one from the best man.

Marriage Officiant

A marriage officiant is a person who officiates at a wedding ceremony. Their main responsibility is to receive and witness the consent of the intended spouses and to ensure the legal formalities, and hence the validity of the marriage or civil union, are observed.

Bridesmaid and Groomsman

The bridesmaids are members of the bride’s party in a wedding. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman, and often a close friend or sister. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony. Traditionally, bridesmaids were chosen from unwed young women of marriageable age.

Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usually chooses one to serve as best man.

The Western bridesmaid tradition is thought to have originated from Roman Law, which required ten witnesses at a wedding in order to outsmart evil spirits by dressing in identical clothing to the bride and groom, so that the evil spirits would not know who was getting married.

Flower Girl

During the wedding procession, flower girl is usually walking through the aisle with her partner, who is called Ring Bearers and Page Boy. They are usually wearing the same color theme as brides and groom.

Wedding music

Wedding music applies to music played at wedding celebrations. Music can be used to announce the arrival of the participants of the wedding (such as a bride’s processional), and in many western cultures, this takes the form of a “wedding march”. For over 100 years, the most popular processional has been the Bridal Chorus from Wagner’s Lohengrin (1850), often called “Here Comes the Bride”.

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