Weddings in the United States and Canada

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In the United States and Canada, weddings follow traditions often based on religion, culture, and social norms. Most wedding traditions in the United States and Canada were assimilated from other, generally European, countries.^[1] Marriages in the U.S. and Canada are typically arranged by the participants and ceremonies may either be religious or civil.

In a traditional wedding, the couple to be wed invite all of their family and friends. A woman who is getting married is referred to as a bride and a man who is getting married is referred to as a groom. Those with the closest relationships to the couple are selected to be bridesmaids and groomsmen, with the closest of each selected to be the maid of honor and best man.^[1]

Traditionally, U.S. and Canadian weddings would take place in a religious building such as a church, with a religious leader officiating the ceremony. During the ceremony, the couple vow their love and commitment for one another with church-provided vows.^[1] The couple then exchanges rings, which symbolizes their never-ending love and commitment towards one another.^[1] Finally, for the first time in public, the couple is pronounced as married and referred to as the other's husband or wife. It is then that they share their first kiss as a married couple and thus seal their union.^[1] The couple leaves the building, and family and friends throw rice or wheat their way, which symbolizes fertility.^[1] After the actual wedding ceremony itself, there may be a wedding reception.^[1] The couple then usually goes on a honeymoon to celebrate their marriage, which lasts several days or weeks.^[1]

Modern weddings often deviate from these traditions. Weddings are sometimes held outdoors or in other buildings instead of churches, and officiants may not be religious leaders but other people licensed by the state. The religious vows may be replaced by vows written by the couple themselves, and most venues discourage some traditional activities, such as throwing rice, and encourage alternatives, such as throwing birdseed or grass seed. Other traditional elements of a wedding may be changed or omitted, and weddings may even vary wildly in format from the traditional template.