Wedding Traditions During A Wedding Ceremony

Apr 15
2011
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Wedding Traditions During A Wedding Ceremony
Wedding traditions during a wedding ceremony have always been a wonder as to how or whenthese little things we take for granted were started. There are many traditions and customs that have been going on for hundreds of years, but how did they evolve into the customs that we currently know now. Traditions such as everything to do with the aisle (what side to stand on orthe runner), bridesmaids and groomsmen or even the bouquet and the flowers.
Groom/Bride Sides of the Aisle
The reason that the bride and groom’s families sit separately, as well as on opposite sides, beganback when the bride’s father would offer his daughter to a tribe in which they were havingproblems with as a sign of a peace offering. The opposite sides were established so that therewould be no bloodshed between the two tribes and bring the two groups together, thus ensuringthat there would be no war between the tribes.
The Bride on the Left
Usually the bride stands on the left side of the aisle, while the groom stands on the right. Turnsout that there was a good reason for it back in the old days. Apparently people would be knownto try and rescue the bride if she had been taken or if ex-suitors still fancied the bride. The groomwould have to have his right hand free to be able to grab his sword and fight them off. After allhis left hand was holding his bride-to-be’s hand.
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen
The purpose for having bridesmaids was to confuse the evil spirits, as they thought the spiritswere lying in wait for the actual bride. Therefore, they thought that if they had other nicelydressed women around the bride, the spirits would not know which one was the actual bride.The early days of marriage were quite brutal as they would capture the bride and it was the bestwarrior’s job to fight the other men off for the groom and to keep her family from finding them.Over time the best warrior turned into the best man.
Bouquet and Flowers
The wedding bouquet was originally made of a combination of strong fresh herbs, like thymeand garlic, to ward off the evil spirits. It also helped with the smell of the attendants, as theyapparently did not bathe much back then. The flowers at a wedding are meant to symbolize the beginning of a new life, fertility and never ending love.
The White Aisle Runner and The Kiss
The runner was white as a reminder of God’s holiness and by walking on it you were consideredto be walking on holy ground. By having the runner in the wedding, meant that God would beactively involved in the wedding. In the Roman times, a kiss was considered as a way to sealall contracts and therefore the reason as to why a wedding always ends with “you may now kissyour bride.” After all, a marriage is the biggest and most important contract that you will ever have between your spouse and with God.
The Unity Candle
The lighting of the unity candle is a tradition that began with the Roman Catholic and Protestantchurches. As you take the two individual candles, which represents you and your spouse-to-be,and bring the two flames together to light the one and therefore having only one flame. Lighting the unity candle means you are proclaiming to everyone that you have united as one. Once thetwo of you blow out your single candles, you are considered as blowing away your former singlelife and forming a new life together as husband and wife.
The Jumping of the Broom and Stomping of the Glass
Jumping the broom is a ceremony that started back in the 1600′s from Africa. When the slaveswhere brought over they were not allowed to marry, therefore they would perform their ownwedding traditions and rituals from their tribe and would jump over sticks to represent fertilityand good fortune to the bride and groom. In today’s ceremonies, it has come to represent thesweeping away of the single life and jumping into a new and fun adventure as husband and wife.The Jewish tradition of stomping on a piece of glass in a napkin (for safety reasons) is believed to represent the destruction of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem and could also symbolize that along with great joy comes great sorrows.

Written by nicole in: MAUI WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER, MAUI WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS, Maui Wedding Photography, maui wedding photography service, photographer, maui, photographers in maui, Photographers Maui, photographers on maui, Wedding photography, WEDDINGS MAUI |

Wedding Photography

Feb 06
2011
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There’s nothing like a Maui Wedding.

Written by nicole in: Maui Photographer, Maui Portraits, photographers on maui, Wedding photography | Tags:

Wedding Traditions of the Middle East; Cypress to Iraq

Jan 19
2011
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Wedding Traditions of the Middle East; Cypress to Iraq

Wedding traditions in the Middle East brings together many cultures and various religious
overtones. For the countries of Cypress, Iran and Iraq, these cultural and religious traditions are
steeped in long tradition.
Cypress
For the village of Kilani, an old tradition was that the bride’s family will hand out specially made
bread as the invitation to the wedding.
In many of the villages, there is the tradition of bed laying. This starts by having young girls
surround the bed and, while dancing and singing around it, will lay sheets on to the bed. Once
the sheets have been laid, money will then be placed on the bed by family guests. This financial
support is intended to show for a prosperous wedding. After this, a baby, often a boy will be
placed on the bed and rolled around to represent fertility, thus giving the couple many heirs.
Wedding attire will depend on the location of the wedding. While most big towns or villages are
more modernized, the smaller villages are still set in their traditional ways. In a village wedding,
conservative is the way to go.
Arriving to the church can vary, but it is not uncommon to see the bride and groom arrive to
the church together. In the event the groom arrives before the bride, he may be seen standing
outside waiting for her with her bouquet. In lieu of some traditions, the bride is usually given
away outside the church. Then the groom and bride will walk together up the aisle and despite
having a wedding party, the parents will also stand with the new couple to be.
The best man is known as Koumbaros and the main bridesmaid is the Koumera. Often they will
be asked to place crowns, or headbands that are known as a Stefana, on to the couple’s heads and
are worn until the end of the ceremony.
Iran
In Iran, formerly known as Persia, it is the groom that will purchase his bride’s wedding dress.
The dress will usually consist of ten feet worth of sheeting in which the groom will wrap it
around his bride.
Once the wedding vows have been exchanged, crumb shavings from two decorated sugar cones
are trickled down onto their heads which is known to bring them good luck.
For many in Iran, the wedding will be based on the marriage contract, after all 95% of Iranians
are Muslim. The groom’s first view of his bride-to-be is from her reflection in the mirror. A
wedding cloth, also known as a sofreh-ye aqhd, is placed before the mirror. The cloth will
contain many items that are usually symbolic foods or other items.
The bride will be asked three times and if she agrees to the marriage, at that point they will be
declared as husband and wife.
The after reception known as arusi, or feast, includes a dinner consisting of a whole roasted lamb
with a side of sweet rice is served. After the meal, the dancing and singing will commence.
At the reception the new bride and groom may wet their fingers in honey and then place them
in the other person’s mouth or they may just feed the other person sugar-coated almonds as an
alternative.
After the reception has finally ended, the new couple will go to their new home where they will
knock over a bowl filled with water that is in their doorway, which is thought to bring them good
luck. They will also wrestle with one another in a playful way to see who will be the first to enter
the home as it means the first one in is the head of the household.
Iraq
In many ways, marriages in Iraq are arranged. When an Iraqi man sees a woman that he finds
attractive, he informs his mother. His mom will then research the girl’s family in every aspect to
see if she would be a good match for her son. If his mother agrees, she will be the one that goes
to the young girl’s home and ask for her hand in marriage to her son, at which point the girl’s
family will then research his family.
Once both families agree, they will all come together to meet. The potential bride and groom
will spend some alone time together to get to know each other. In the event one or both do not
like the other, the courtship is over, otherwise the wedding is on. In smaller towns or villages,
marriages between cousins are still the preference.

Wedding Traditions of the Middle East; Cypress to Iraq
Wedding traditions in the Middle East brings together many cultures and various religiousovertones. For the countries of Cypress, Iran and Iraq, these cultural and religious traditions aresteeped in long tradition.
Cypress
For the village of Kilani, an old tradition was that the bride’s family will hand out specially madebread as the invitation to the wedding.
In many of the villages, there is the tradition of bed laying. This starts by having young girlssurround the bed and, while dancing and singing around it, will lay sheets on to the bed. Oncethe sheets have been laid, money will then be placed on the bed by family guests. This financialsupport is intended to show for a prosperous wedding. After this, a baby, often a boy will beplaced on the bed and rolled around to represent fertility, thus giving the couple many heirs.
Wedding attire will depend on the location of the wedding. While most big towns or villages aremore modernized, the smaller villages are still set in their traditional ways. In a village wedding,conservative is the way to go.
Arriving to the church can vary, but it is not uncommon to see the bride and groom arrive tothe church together. In the event the groom arrives before the bride, he may be seen standingoutside waiting for her with her bouquet. In lieu of some traditions, the bride is usually givenaway outside the church. Then the groom and bride will walk together up the aisle and despitehaving a wedding party, the parents will also stand with the new couple to be.
The best man is known as Koumbaros and the main bridesmaid is the Koumera. Often they willbe asked to place crowns, or headbands that are known as a Stefana, on to the couple’s heads andare worn until the end of the ceremony.
Iran
In Iran, formerly known as Persia, it is the groom that will purchase his bride’s wedding dress.The dress will usually consist of ten feet worth of sheeting in which the groom will wrap itaround his bride.
Once the wedding vows have been exchanged, crumb shavings from two decorated sugar conesare trickled down onto their heads which is known to bring them good luck.
For many in Iran, the wedding will be based on the marriage contract, after all 95% of Iraniansare Muslim. The groom’s first view of his bride-to-be is from her reflection in the mirror. Awedding cloth, also known as a sofreh-ye aqhd, is placed before the mirror. The cloth willcontain many items that are usually symbolic foods or other items.
The bride will be asked three times and if she agrees to the marriage, at that point they will be
declared as husband and wife.
The after reception known as arusi, or feast, includes a dinner consisting of a whole roasted lambwith a side of sweet rice is served. After the meal, the dancing and singing will commence.
At the reception the new bride and groom may wet their fingers in honey and then place themin the other person’s mouth or they may just feed the other person sugar-coated almonds as analternative.
After the reception has finally ended, the new couple will go to their new home where they willknock over a bowl filled with water that is in their doorway, which is thought to bring them goodluck. They will also wrestle with one another in a playful way to see who will be the first to enterthe home as it means the first one in is the head of the household.
Iraq
In many ways, marriages in Iraq are arranged. When an Iraqi man sees a woman that he findsattractive, he informs his mother. His mom will then research the girl’s family in every aspect tosee if she would be a good match for her son. If his mother agrees, she will be the one that goesto the young girl’s home and ask for her hand in marriage to her son, at which point the girl’sfamily will then research his family.
Once both families agree, they will all come together to meet. The potential bride and groomwill spend some alone time together to get to know each other. In the event one or both do notlike the other, the courtship is over, otherwise the wedding is on. In smaller towns or villages,marriages between cousins are still the preference.

Written by nicole in: Hawaii Photographer, hawaii professional photographers, Maui Photographer, Maui Photography, MAUI PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY, Maui Wedding Photography, MAUI WEDDING PICTURES, photographers in maui, Photographers Maui, photographers on maui, WEDDINGS MAUI | Tags: , , , , , ,

2011 Weddings

Dec 18
2010
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Aloha,

2010 was a great year for Behind The Lens Maui and we were sometimes shooting 3 weddings a day for sometime in the summer. I’m working on some new fresh ideas for couples having their engagement photos taken before the wedding and have many newly inspired  ideas for couples on their wedding day.

The new year is almost here and 2011 is going to be a fun, exciting and busy wedding season on Maui. I am getting excited for the new year and change is in the air. If your thinking of a Maui Wedding and are looking around for a Maui wedding photographer, please give me the opportunity to speak to you about your day and ideas for unique fun photos to remember your wedding day.

Have a safe and joyful Holiday and I hope to see you next year in Maui.

Written by nicole in: Hawaii Photographer, hawaii professional photographers, Maui Photography, MAUI PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY, MAUI WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER, MAUI WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS, MAUI WEDDING PICTURES, photographer, maui, photographers in maui, Photographers Maui, photographers on maui, PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY, Wedding photography, WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MAUI, wedding pictures maui, WEDDINGS MAUI | Tags: ,
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