Booming Industry that Says "Yes!"

A History of the American Wedding

Ancient Weddings

-       First original wedding

o   Yalom 2001

o   Men – often visit neighboring village for sole purpose of carrying off a wife

o   Wives – use for sexual release and household

-       Roman civilization

o   Women have a chose to decide their own marriage

o   Chance to divorce

o   Pragmatism (Base on the need of the wedding, without particular themes or styles) – general theme

-       1800s

o   Personal inclination (style of favor) comes in

o   Weddings in America are mostly private events

o   They are often held at home at either the bride or the groom house

-       1820s – 1830s

o   In the beginning

§  The upper class weddings begin to evolve into modern American Wedding

·      Cake

·      Wedding dress

·      Dinner reception

o   Industrial Revolution

§  It rises the middle class

§  It is when wedding become more of a complex

Wedding Industry Booms

-       1920s – 1930s

o   Brides start to go to professional wedding planners to set up weddings for them

-       Booming of Jazz Age

o   Wedding salesmen beginning to see the potential in Wedding business

§  Bridal Department Store – Wedding dress merchandise (making bride wanting to buy)

§  Wedding photographers

·      Key part

·      Record the whole wedding progress

Weddings Diversify and Come Back to Center

-       1970s

o   Desiring for different style of wedding (uniqueness)

o   Wedding not only held in churches, but the idea of “Destination Wedding”

-       1981

o   Princess Diana and Prince Charles Wedding

§  Brings back the royal traditional style

-       1990s

o   The idea of having a perfect, remarkable, memorable wedding starts now

Wedding Industry Booms in China

-       Purple House Weeding Company

-       Most famous nuptial (Wedding) company in Beijing city right now

o   Most Chineses like to choose an Auspicious (fortunate) date to get marry

§  Couples will have to book services several months in advance, and it is also the busiest time for wedding companies

·      Banquet halls

·      Photographers

·      Music (Band)

o   “Shengshi – Xinyuan Wedding Company” – Yang

o   One of the most important factor when wedding couples are choosing a company

o   Wedding DJs – divides into 5 types, with the price range from $72 - $181  

·      Hotels

·      Restaurants

-       Recent survey on the budge a young couple willing to spend in a wedding

o   91.2% of their saving

-       Company provide different spoil type of wedding styles

o   Underwater weddings

o   Villa weddings

o   Overseas travel weddings

o   Group weddings

-       Popular in overseas Honeymoons

o   Travel agency and wedding company joint together

-       

Wedding industry has wealth the development of hotels, wedding photo company, car rental companies, flower boutique, travel agencies, media organizations

The cost of weddings spirals in China

 Wedding prestige

-       Engagement ring is only the threshold of the wedding expense

-       Wedding banquet is the biggest spending

o   According to – “Lawrence Lo” who runs an etiquette consultancy

o   A table of 10 in some five-star hotels have a staring price of nearly $1200

o   Chinese culture: Wedding banquet = Represents the prestige of the host family

The Luxury Wedding BOOM in China

-       Wedding Planner

o   Weddings Beautiful Worldwide is a wedding company that is originate in U.S

o   Wedding Beautiful China is the company's name in China that they are now investing in 

o   They are training for professional wedding planners

o   They think China has a vision of Seeking for the enormous industry potential

o   Chinese people now choose their own style of individualize, and avoiding traditional style

-       Wedding Cake Bakery

o   Couture 

o   Famous Luxury Cake Brand – New York

o   They now owns shops in six different cities in China 

o   Royal Wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate is now a trend in the wedding cake industry

o  It is a favor to Chinese wedding couples now a days

-       Luxury Cars Rental Company

-       Wedding Dress Industry

-       Wine & Flower Decoration

-       Wedding Photos Studio 

Works Citied: 

http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/009wedding.html

http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Oct/46525.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14208448

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/economics/a-marriage-of-money-and-display-in-china#full

http://www.ddbchina.com/ddblog/2012/07/deluxe-june-2012-issue-the-luxury-wedding-boom-in-china.html

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-12/07/c_122389948.htm

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Attractive to Cultural Weddings (New)

Japan –

Shinto Ceremony is the standardize type of traditional Japanese wedding.

Sake Sharing: 

Sake Sharing is the oldest traditional Japanese wedding custom; it is the heart

of a Japanese wedding ceremony that occurs when vows are presented.

 Steps:

-       The groom and the bride takes three sips of sake from three different sake cups.

-       The wedding couple will Offer the sake to their families, first to the groom’s father and mother, then the bride’s.

Represents:

-       It symbolizes a respect and the joint of a new family

-       Finally, in order for the marriage to be approve, the wedding couple have to sign a civil document. 

Wedding attire (dresses):

Japanese bride often wears colorful silk kimono or Shiromuku on their wedding day. 

Make ups:

-       The Bride will also covers white make up on face, which symbolizes virginity, wears red lipsticks, puts on wig with expensive combs and decorations.

After the wedding:

-       Bride will change into Irouchiakake. It is a Silk kimono with red, gold, silver and white colors, and usually has designs with cranes on it, which it symbolizes long life.

Toward the end of the reception:

-       Bride wears Furisode, a kind of kinomo with wide sleeves, which unmarried women wear them. It will be the last time a bride wears them. 

Reception: 

Kekkon Hiroen

There is no particular style or scale for the reception settings, but traditional wedding couple follow the ritual of lighting a candle at every guest table to share their warmth. 

Wedding guests are very respectful in Japan; It is not common for wedding couple to spend more than $50 on one guest for parting gifts. 

Kohaku manjyu is one of the options for parting gifts. They are round sticky rice buns with been paste filling, and it is often give out in pairs to guests, a red one and a white one. 

Shugi – Bukuro:

-       Oshugi is a package of cash gift that every wedding guests are suppose to bring to the wedding reception. There is no specific amount of cash that guests have to put, but Sometimes it will be notify on the wedding invitation. 

Moroccan –

Hammam: 

-       For Moroccan, Hammam is a bounden process before the wedding starts. It is a Moorish bath ceremony that the bride has to take together with women close to her to be purify.

-       It is often take place in a dark room surrounding with pleasant odor, and candles light up.

Henna: 

-       Henna is an event that occurs in festivals and marriages by woman tattoo artist, “hannaya.” The meaning of Henna event in wedding is to protect against disease and achieving prosperity.

-       This event is hold the day before the wedding with women in both families and friends attending.

-       The bride had to dress in a green caftan and tattoos her hands and feet with tattoo designs, which this leads to her status of wife. 

H’dia:

H’dia is an occasion when the groom have to give all kinds of gifts to the bride depending on his social class and region. Each kind of gift symbolizes something different, for examples, sugar is a symbolism of happy life, and milk for clarity and purity.

Berza: 

-       The ceremony begins with songs and dance, and then all the guest will be gather in a huge room.

-       The bride will then come on stage wearing her traditional wedding dress to be seen and admire by the audience.

-       The bride dresses in white caftan with matching ornaments setting on “the Amariya” with her groom, and people that carry along.

Chinese –

General information:

-       Red and gold are colors that uses throughout the wedding, on wedding invitation, bridal dress, and wedding decorations. Red symbolizes love, happiness, and fortune. 

-       The character “雙喜”is the combination of two Chinese character “xi”, which wishing the wedding couple a happy and unify life is the meaning behind.

Tea Ceremony: 

-       The wedding couple will offer tea to their elders, which are usually serve to the parents and new in-law as a respect and simultaneously to receive their blessings.

Hong Bao: 

-       Hong Bao is a package of money that mostly presents in red or gold envelope from guests to the wedding couple.

-       Every guest that gives a Hong Bao will has to sign in the guest book, and will all be turn into the wedding couple after.

Reception: 

The wedding reception is mostly held in a restaurant or a build up tends in open spaces. The banquet will include at least ten courses meal and the name of each course is name after specific praise on the menu.

Wedding Attire: 

Brides often change their dresses three times throughout the wedding day, sometimes more. They change once for the wedding ceremony, two or three times during the reception. Traditionally, Brides wear “旗袍”made from silk along with brocade and embroidery of phoenix or dragon patterns on it. As the old saying, the dragon represents the groom and phoenix will be the bride.

Sources:
"Cultural Wedding Favors & Gifts - Cultural Wedding Customs & Traditions." Cultural Wedding Favors & Gifts -                   Cultural Wedding Customs & Traditions. Copyright © 2010 Worldly Weddings LLC.Template Design                       by ABLANK Studio, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 

          2013. <http://www.worldlyweddings.com/japanese-traditions-a/128.htm>.

"Moroccan Wedding." Moroccan Wedding. N.p., n.d. Web. 24
          Mar. 2013. <http://www.everything-moroccan.com/moroccan-wedding.html>.