The Ceremony

Marriage is recognized as a spiritual and a legal state of being. Most cultures believe that this formal joining of two individuals into a new family is something sacred and thus worthy of much attention and forethought.

Wedding rituals range from simple handfasting (in the Celtic tradition) to formal Catholic masses to 10-minute ceremonies at City Hall to Las Vegas chapels with vows read by Elvis impersonators. They can be as small as the couple and a witness or as large as a thousand people in attendance. More than a billion people watched Princess Di and Prince Charles' televised wedding.

The ritual of a wedding not only binds the couple together, it creates an official relationship among the two families. The wedding reception provides a place for family members to get to know each other and often lasts long after the couple escapes.

In one such post-ceremony bash, one family hosted the other on a weeklong mule-packing trip into the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho, with a raft trip down the Salmon River thrown in for good measure. Those who went along weathered a snowstorm, exchanged recipes, told stories and shared wood-gathering chores. The two families, from far-flung corners of the United States, have kept an active correspondance for many years.

The ceremony is the official astrological birth of the marriage. A chart based on that moment and place can become a valuable tool as you build your life together -- a little help in seeing potential conflict areas and an aid to understanding each other.

More on Weddings:

Weddings
The Engagement
Wedding Planning
The Honeymoon
Superstitions

Recommended Links on Weddings:

The Wedding Center

Order your romantic reading!