#in the UK bachelor/bachelorette parties are sometimes called Stag/Hen Do

[pandapool]

Wade: you know how there's a Stag Do and a Hen Do? Wade: i think we should established a Deer Do and a Cock Do Logan: it's 3am please let me sleep

[londoninternship2019]

Marriage

Marriage in the United States mainstream wedding traditions that take place when couples get married consist of:

Attire “Something old, something new, / Something borrowed, something blue” and the bride wearing a white dress with flowers and the groom wearing a suit or tuxedo.

The bridal shower before the wedding, and is usually thrown by the bride's chosen maid of honor.

A ceremony sometimes held in a place of worship filled with vows, ceremonial kisses, bridesmaids and groomsmen.

The reception where the wedding cake is served to guests. There is dancing and drinking with the throwing of the bouquet and the garter.

Honeymoons where the newlyweds usually leave on a trip to a destination of their choice. As they leave the reception, guests throw rice as they head on their Honeymoon.

Protestantism makes up 48% of the United States so Marriage and specifically the wedding culture is dominant from Christian values. I am a Methodist Christian and my weddings practices in my culture are very similar to the US dominate wedding culture practices.

Most United States wedding customs stem from Europe. Yet there are some differences in the wedding procedures in the UK and the US.

The UK has ‘hen dos’ and ‘stag parties’ before the big day. In the UK they don’t have bachelor and bachelorette parties. Instead, they are called ‘hen dos’ (for women) and ‘stag parties’ (for men)

Wedding ceremonies tend to start much earlier in the day. The British commonly have their ceremonies around at midday or one o’clock. This allows for the British to have more time for drinking.

Lots of people get married in religious venues even if they don’t go for the rest of the year. In the UK it is the location (not the person) who is licensed to legally perform a marriage, unlike the US. So couples have to be in a licensed venue. This means that lots of people who are not religious will have their ceremony in a church.

The wedding meal is known as the ‘wedding breakfast’ contrary to the US dominant culture’s ‘reception dinners’. This is the name given to the meal (normally late afternoon/early evening) after the ceremony.

The best man’s speech is more embarrassing anecdotes than the US tradition of sentimental stories. British best man’s speeches are all about unearthing those embarrassing school/stag night anecdotes for maximum humiliation.

In the dominant wedding cultures in both the US and UK are heteronormative values are reflected in both practices. Same-sex marriage only has become legal in the UK in 2014 and the US 2015 so the wedding traditions still consist of very gender-specific roles throughout the wedding traditional practices. These heteronormative traditions occur from the Bridal Shower to the throwing of the bouquet and garter. Another cultural norm that occurs in both the UK and US wedding traditions is Protestantism this can be seen with the UK laws requiring weddings in licensed venues (most often protestant churches) or US law requiring a licensed person (often times protestant religious leaders). Cultural norms of heterosexuality and Christianity are two extremely prevalent ideals reflected in US & UK wedding culture.

As of now, I am not sure if I want to get married. I have not been able to see marriage in my future as a twenty-year-old college student. I am not saying that I don’t believe marriage is never in the cards for me but as of now its not a concept on the table. I think since marriage isn’t something I want to participate in I can not firmly say whether I would choose in-group or out-group practices. If I were required to give an answer though, I guess I would say that I think I would be a part of the out-group. I say this just because I am very frugal with money and in both UK and US dominant wedding culture weddings have become extremely expensive rituals. I would choose the low-cost option and think about the other things those funds could be put towards. I would make the decision to ignore the societal expectations to spend a lot of money on a one-day event