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Many people from across the world come to the UK to start a new life and, eventually, that includes getting wed. Some will meld their own cultures with those of their adopted nation - whether it's the hairstyle and headdress or the words of the ceremony - but most will include some wedding traditions of their own. However, common to the vast majority of weddings are - Wedding ring designers, shoes, dresses, cakes, hairdressers, photography, invitations. Because a couple's nationality is not recorded on the marriage certificate it is hard to know how many of the 240,000 weddings each year are immigrants but some London seamstresses gave their statistics which said that the brides coming to their shop for dresses were 60% foreign and 40% British Many foreign couples will have a civil ceremony in a registry office first - you only need proof of identification and an address - but the bride must understand her vows, so there may need to be a translator in attendance. This is then followed by a traditional celebration for their national culture. Hindu Wedding ceremonies To maintain the proper Hindu wedding traditions, there can be as many as 13 symbolic rituals involved in the greeting of the groom and his family by the bride's family through to the final blessings on the married couple. Two famous symbolic moments are the wedding knot, where the couple are physically joined together by a piece of cloth attached to their clothing, and the taking of steps around the fire and towards the North - both aimed at faith, financial stability, procreation and the liberation of the soul. Romanian Wedding Traditions The Romanian groom picks up his bride from her house and followers have to make lots of noise on the trip so the bride's family knows that they are coming. However, they then have to give the bride's family money and he won't be admitted until he has given them something - even if it is only the promise to love their daughter for the rest of his life. In some parts of Romania it is traditional to kidnap the bride and hold her to ransom during the feast after the wedding. Then, once the ransom has been paid, the guilty party have to consume their prize - usually lots of alcohol. Jewish Wedding Traditions At a Jewish wedding, the bride traditionally walks around the groom three or seven times when she arrives at the Chuppah. This represents the three virtues of marriage: righteousness, justice and loving kindness or the Biblical interpretation that seven denotes completeness or perfection. Depending on local custom, either at the end of the ceremony or after the bride has received the ring, the groom breaks a glass. He has to crush it with his right foot and then the guests shout "Mazel tov!" ("Congratulations"). Some say that it comes from a tale in the Talmud where a rabbi who, upon seeing that his son's wedding celebration was getting out of hand, broke a vessel to calm things down. Probably the most famous Jewish custom is The Horah - a circle dance where the bride and groom are lifted on chairs. Turkish and African Marriage Traditions For both Turkish and African communities, the drum is a central part of the celebrations - accompanied by a flute for the Turks and lots of traditional songs for the Somalis. Brazilian Wedding Traditions Rain and the sharing of sweets are both regarded as good fortune at Brazilian weddings and the honeymoon will be funded by guests paying to cut small strips off the tie of the bridegroom. However they celebrate, we wish all the bridal couples a prosperous and happy life together.
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