Editing Wedding (section)

==Common elements across cultures==
{{See also|Wedding customs by country}}
[[File:Edmund Blair Leighton - The Wedding Register.jpg|thumb|Many cultures have adopted the traditional Western custom of a [[white wedding]], when a [[bride]] wears a white [[wedding dress]] and [[veil]]. Painting by [[Edmund Leighton]] (1853–1922).]]
[[File:Rådberg-Eikner Wedding group 2 2017.jpg|thumb|Wedding party at Stockholm's [[Lillienhoff Palace]] in Sweden in 2017]]

Some cultures have adopted the traditional Western custom of the [[white wedding]], in which a [[bride]] wears a white [[wedding dress]] and [[veil]]. This tradition was popularized through the marriage of [[Queen Victoria]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-brides-wear-white|title=Why Do Brides Wear White?|website=britannica.com|access-date=Sep 7, 2021|archive-date=September 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906175716/https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-brides-wear-white|url-status=live}}</ref> Some say Queen Victoria's choice of a white gown may have simply been a sign of extravagance, but may have also been influenced by the values she held which emphasized [[Chastity|sexual purity]].<ref name="Otnes 2003 p.31">Otnes, Cele & Pleck, Elizabeth (2003). ''Cinderella Dreams: the Allure of the Lavish Wedding'', p. 31. University of California Press, Berkeley.</ref>

The use of a wedding ring has long been part of religious weddings in Indian sub-continent, Europe and America, but the origin of the tradition is unclear. One possibility is the Roman belief in the [[Vena amoris]], which was believed to be a blood vessel that ran from the fourth finger (ring finger) directly to the heart. Thus, when a couple wore rings on this finger, their hearts were connected. Historian Vicki Howard points out that the belief in the "ancient" quality of the practice is most likely a modern invention.<ref>Howard, Vicky (2006). ''Brides Inc.: American Weddings and the Business of Tradition'', p. 34. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.</ref> In the United States, a groom's wedding band has not appeared until the early 20th century,<ref name="autogenerated61">Howard, Vicky (2006). ''Brides Inc.: American Weddings and the Business of Tradition'', p. 61. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.</ref> while in Europe it has been part of the tradition since the ancient Romans, as witnessed by [[Gaius (jurist)|the jurist Gaius]].

{{anchor|Send off}}The exit from the wedding ceremony is also called the "send off" and often includes traditional practices; for instance, in Ethiopian weddings, newlyweds and the rest of the wedding party bow and kiss the elders' knees. In most of the [[Western world]],<ref name="XuChen2018">{{cite book |last1=Xu |first1=Guobin |title=Introduction to Western Culture |last2=Chen |first2=Yanhui |last3=Xu |first3=Lianhua |year=2018 |isbn=978-981-10-8152-1 |pages=163–187 |chapter=Western Folklore |doi=10.1007/978-981-10-8153-8_6}}</ref> as well as in countries such as [[India]]<ref name="Singh2013">{{cite web |author=B Singh |year=2013 |title=Marketing strategies of rice exporters |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/41104/8/08_summary.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509165615/http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/41104/8/08_summary.pdf |archive-date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref> and [[Malaysia]],<ref>{{cite journal |author=Abd. Razak Aziz, Awang Azaman Awang Pawi |date=2016-12-01 |title=Redefining Malay Food in the Post Malaysia's New Economic Policy (NEP) |url=https://fhtm.uitm.edu.my/images/jthca/Vol8Issue2/Chap-1.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Tourism, Hospitality & Culinary Arts |volume=8 |issue=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509165615/https://fhtm.uitm.edu.my/images/jthca/Vol8Issue2/Chap-1.pdf |archive-date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref> the send off often includes the practice of throwing rice (a symbol of prosperity and fertility)<ref name=Singh2013/> or other seeds at the newlyweds. Despite popular belief, using uncooked rice for this purpose is not harmful to birds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/reactions/videos/2018/fact-or-fiction-uncooked-rice-is-bad-for-birds.html|title=Fact or Fiction: Uncooked Rice is Bad for Birds|website=[[American Chemical Society]]|date=2018-11-05|access-date=May 9, 2019|archive-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509184114/https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/reactions/videos/2018/fact-or-fiction-uncooked-rice-is-bad-for-birds.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In several cultures, people [[Shoe tossing|toss shoes]] instead of rice.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Britain)|first=Folklore Society (Great|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVgCAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA258|title=Publications|date=1895|language=en|access-date=July 29, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812234414/https://books.google.com/books?id=rVgCAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA258|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Mahnalan lava - häät.jpg|thumb|Wedding decorations at the Mahnala Stage (''Mahnalan lava'') in [[Hämeenkyrö]], [[Pirkanmaa]], [[Finland]] in July 2019]]
The wedding ceremony is often followed by a [[wedding reception]] or [[wedding breakfast]], in which the rituals may include speeches from a groom, best man, father of a bride and possibly a bride,<ref>[http://www.rhymingspeeches.com/bridespeech] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814003503/http://www.rhymingspeeches.com/bridespeech|date=August 14, 2012}}</ref> the newlyweds' [[First dance#Weddings|first dance]] as a couple, and the cutting of an elegant [[wedding cake]]. In recent years traditions have changed to include a father-daughter dance for a bride and her father, and sometimes also a mother-son dance for a groom and his mother.