Many Christian couples don't fully understand their wedding ceremony as a holy act of worship, nor do they realize the solemnness of their oath or the expressions of reverence that are represented by Christian wedding traditions and customs. Before we were married, the minister who officiated at our wedding sat down with us and explained the significance of each wedding ceremony tradition associated with the Old Testament blood covenant. As a couple, this knowledge intensified the experience of worship in our wedding ceremony and gave us a clearer picture of our physical and spiritual union. For a deeper appreciation of your Christian wedding ceremony and to make your special day more meaningful, learn the biblical significance of today's Christian wedding traditions and customs.
• Read: Christian Wedding Traditions and Customs
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Although there are certainly corollaries between our modern wedding traditions and certain stories in the Bible, historically, we actually don’t get our traditions from these stories. Rather, most modern wedding traditions have their roots in the Middle Ages. The form and function of our “romantic” wedding traditions–from the bride’s family and the groom’s family sitting on separate sides of the aisle, to the bride’s cake and the groom’s cake, to who traditionally pays for what aspects of the wedding–hail from a time when, for the privileged classes, a wedding was a social contract. Women were property, and they were treated as such.
Until the 1800’s, it was uncommon for a woman to wear a white wedding dress; what we think of as the “traditional” wedding dress was actually popularized by Queen Victoria. Certainly, we can find Christian meaning in the color of the dress, as well as in any aspect of a modern wedding, but I personally think it’s important to honor the actual history behind our traditions.
Knowing where they really come from can, if nothing else, help us keep the good–and throw out the bad. Far more significant, to me, is the decision to get married. Our commitment to this all-important covenant is far more important–and far more central to our salvation–than attention to worldly issues like who wears what dress or sits in what seat.
while I agree that some aspect of a traditional American wedding has some similarities with the things talked about in the Bible, I do not agree that traditional marriage have roots from Christianity. For starters, Christians did not invent marriage and neither did religion. People have always gotten married with or without the influence of religion and a lot of their traditions stand alone.
It does make sense that over the years, man kind converted what our tradition is towards a more religious aspect.
Take for example Asian weddings. Speaking from a Chinese background, our tradition weddings has alot of similarities with the modern American wedding even though we are not in the least influenced by Christianity ever. The Chinese culture have been around for over 4000 years now and the traditions have not changed much. Women back then wore a veil as well and wore rich colors with a massive banquet.
Chinese weddings do not throw rice, that would be considered wasteful (LOL).
bottomline is, not all wedding is religious