the american wedding starts with Bachelor Parties Historically, bachelor parties were a way for ancient Spartan soldiers to gather together and celebrate the last day of an unattached lifestyle for the man who was about to be married. The party was also a time when the men reconfirmed their continuing alliance to each other. then Bridal Shower A bridal shower's origins come from when a man wanted to marry a woman and he would shower the woman's father with bridal gifts such as money, bank notes, jewellery, livestock, tools and weapons as a means of buying the right to marry the woman. wedding Favours The giving of wedding favours by the bride and groom is a common tradition. The bride and groom give party-type favours to their guests as a way to thank everyone for participating in the special event. Right/Left The tradition of the bride standing on the left side and the groom on the right side began when all men carried swords that hung from the right side of their body. The bride had to stand on the side that would leave the sword free to be drawn in case of an emergency. Veil A veil was a necessity, especially when a marriage was the result of an arrangement. The groom was not allowed to see what his wife actually looked like until the veil was lifted at the end of the service as a way of preventing men from cancelling the deal if he was not pleased. The Kiss Legal binding contracts were often concluded in Roman times with both men kissing each other on the cheek leading to the term, "sealed with a kiss." The symbol of a bride and groom kissing each other represents a contract to remain together for the rest of their lives.

Weddings are really different in America depending on where you are. Some people have really big weddings, and some people have really small ones. Most people go for something in between. The bride almost always wears white, and walks down the aisle after all of her bridesmaids have walked down before her. The vows are said at the altar [if the wedding is at a church--sometimes people get married outside] and after saying "I do", then the two are pronounced "man and wife". And that is a very basic idea of what happens at most weddings :)