Christian Wedding

INTRODUCTION
Christian wedding like most of the weddings of the world have their root in its religion. In fact it is regarded as a form of worship. Christians believe that the God has intended marriage to be an instrument to bring about the welfare and happiness of mankind. Christian life is living out one's baptism. A Christian disciple after being baptized dies and rises with Christ. Marriage is thought to be a part of living out one's baptism for many Christians. Christian marriage has its grounding in baptism is well understood from the following opening words of the priest to the assembled couple:

-"He [Christ] has already consecrated you in baptism and now he enriches and strengthens you by a special sacrament so that you may assume the duties of marriage in mutual and lasting faith."

MARRIAGE THROUGH THE AGES
In Christian Marriage, husband and wife are one. As we can see from what God said: "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."(Genesis 2:24) Christians are ordained to marry Christians only as both are thought to be parts of the body of Christ. The idea is how could one Christian unite with a non-Christian in the Christ. That's why the idea of marrying a Christian only. An ideal Christian marriage has the "Christ as the head, the husband, of each partner in the marriage individually; both man and woman, as part of the church, are the bride of Christ". The union of husband and wife begins with the unity of the two in Christ. As the Genesis says, "The two shall become one flesh". It implies more than the oneness of bodies, it indicates oneness of souls.

A Christian wedding usually takes place in a Church, before a priest. A Christian bride traditionally wears a white gown. Her head is covered with a white veil and a bunch of white flowers crown her. Both the groom and the bride accept each other in front of the priest.

COSTUMES
Bridal Wear White gown is the most common dress worn by Christian brides worldwide. It came into being because people thought that it represented purity, affluence and virginity. She also wears a veil of net and carries a bouquet of flowers in her arm. In the Indian subcontinent, white saree is worn at many places.

Groom's Attire The Christian groom is mostly seen in the suit with a bow. The preferred color for the suit is black

RITUALS
Rituals Before Marriage Christian marriages can begin either with wedding directly or with the engagement or betrothal. The betrothal ordinances are brief. They comprise of making the sign of the cross three times on both the engaged couple and the marriage rings. The engagement ring is a promise for marriage. In the Roman period, a man had to barter for his future bride. The ring provided a kind of security for the betrothed. With time, men began presenting rings of diamond to their betrotheds as the precious ring would signify a stronger promise and more security in turn. In the engagement ceremony, after doing the triple cross, the priest prays to the One and Only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit to bless the couple. The betrothal is based on the acceptance of both the fiancés that involves no legal compulsions and objections whatsoever. Then follows the prayer of thanksgiving by the priest in which the priest offers everybody's thanks to the Lord. There takes place a feast at the bride's place.

Christian Weddings are simple yet elegant. There is this picturesque bride embellished all in white flowing bridal gown entering the church. She is being greeted by the best man with a wedding bouquet and a kiss. The best man is usually someone close to the bridegroom. After this greeting, she walks towards the altar. She walks arm in arm with either her father. The tradition of the father walking his daughter down the aisle reflects the old belief that she was his property to "give away" to the groom. While the bridesmaid comes lifting her trail behind. The bridesmaids and ushers are the part of a Christian marriage since the period when marriage by kidnapping was the norm. It so happened that he usually took along some good men who could detract the girl's brothers and other suitors. And the girl would usually plan with her girlfriends so that she would be kidnapped by the right person. Since then , these bridesmaids and ushers have continued to be an uniform source of moral support.

Marriage Rituals Actual marriage rituals commence with the groom and his bride coming to the altar. As they come forward the priest start talking about the 'blushing' couple ready to get united with each other for life. As this proceeding goes on, hymns are begun to be sung by the choir. Then there follows the readings from the Bible. There come forward two witnesses from each side, in whose presence the groom and the bride proclaim that they want to take each other as man and wife. They declare the wedding vows after this. The priest would then bless the rings and give them to the eager couple. The boy and the girl exchange the rings. Subsequently, the priest declare them to be man and wife. The holy process ends with the sealing of their vows as the priest asking the groom to kiss his bride.

Rituals After Marriage The assembled guests, friends and relatives continue with prayers. A communion service takes place after this. It is time for the couple to sign the register and leave for a happy married life arm in arm.

Marriage is perhaps the most joyous occasion for celebration for the mankind. And every marriage all over the world is deemed to be incomplete without the wedding feast. Christian wedding is no exception where a small reception takes place where the couple cut the traditional wedding cake. The Christians' wedding cake is one big affair which originated primarily with lots of little wheat cakes. These little cakes were broken over the bride's head to bring good luck and fertility. The present guests then eat a crumb to make it ensure good luck. The vogue of three tier wedding cake started off after the bizarre shape of the spire of Saint Bride's Church in London. The cutting of the cake together implies that the "just married couple" would share their life together. Tradition has it that the top layer represents them as a couple, while the bottom layer represents the couple as a family. The layer in betweens represent the number of children the couple would have.

CELEBRATIONS
Music & Dance During the marriage proceeding, as the priest talks about the couple that are to be joined in marriage, the choir sings hymns, and there are readings from the Bible, specially chosen for the occasion. After the marriage is completed and the groom kisses the bride, the organist plays a joyful tune as the bride and the groom walk arm-in-arm down the aisle. So, the assembled masses are mostly accompanied by a choir. The choir sings selected wonderful hymns, with perhaps a special solo at communion.

Cuisine The wedding cuisine for the Christian wedding includes dishes that are popular in that region. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes abound. There would be wine and other alcoholic drinks. Christians believe in giving a toast to the newly married couple. Typical Christian dishes like cakes, puddings, custards and other frozen desserts are found among the sweet dishes.

Indian Marriages