There have been weddings in one form or another for as long as there has been a human race. Customs and names vary from culture to culture, but the ceremony and traditions that have been handed down to us with reference to weddings seem to have always existed. There was polyandry, polygamy and bride swapping. The acquisition of wives took place via purchase, capture, arrangement, courtship or trade negotiations.
What I find interesting, in the study of wedding history is that it wasn’t until the 1800s that marriages and the weddings to create a marriage became a holy and spiritual act. Prior to that, weddings and marriages were far more about survival food sharing. It was organized religion that transformed weddings into the creation of unions that included the divine into the relationship between a man and a woman.
Yes, religion and ceremonies go hand in hand, but while marriage contracts have always been important, they were never extraordinary bond that exceeded the financial, physical and proprietarily, but also a spiritual bond. While individuals may sever their marriage contracts in the physical realm, the spiritual one is an entirely different matter.
The Word: Wedding
A wed is an Anglo-Saxon word that refers to the security provided by the groom’s family to the bride’s family when a betrothal took place. The wed guaranteed the future ceremony, in essence a deposit paid by the groom’s family whether the couple were infants or of age when the betrothal took place. The wedding was the culmination of this betrothal, uniting the bride and groom in marriage.
Many assume that the dowry, the gifts a wife brought from her family into her marriage was what assured such a good match. The dowry was a later product designed to insure that the bride and groom had the supplies they needed to start their own dwelling and living. The wed guaranteed both the bride and groom’s family that the match would be made and served as a security of intentions.
How does this history affect the modern day wedding? Very little, at least in Western Society where arranged marriages are hardly the norm and couples marry for a variety of reasons, but the majority seek a union based on love and romance. Weds are offered in the form of engagement rings and pledges to the bride rather than security deposits to the bride’s family.
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