Canadian Wedding Ceremonies
Canadian weddings don’t see the groom waiting anxiously at the church or venue, hoping his bride will turn up! Instead, it’s custom for the groom and his wedding party to go to the bride’s family home, allowing both parties to get together and “break the ice” before the event. Then, both groups travel to their church or ceremony venue together, just like Armenian couples. This motorcade procession to a Canadian wedding is very much like a Turkish one, with plenty of honking and shouting out of the windows a to alert the whole community to the wedding itself.
The nature of a Canadian ceremony will of course vary depending on the heritage of the couple, the area in which they live and whether it’s a rural, town or city wedding. Some areas have a strong US influence, with wedding ceremonies and receptions taking on a US-like format and schedule, whilst French-Canadian areas, such as Quebec have a distinct Gallic feel to their weddings. Weddings can be church (faith-based) ceremonies or civil ceremonies:
♥ Religious wedding ceremonies, such as the Catholic ceremony can be very long.
♥ Unlike the strictly worded Belgian civil ceremony, Canadian ceremonies can be very diverse, depending on the celebrant. It may be possible to have the ceremony conducted in multiple languages, such as both English and French. Most areas allow the couple the opportunity to include their own words, poems or speeches to one another as part of the ceremony.
♥ One respectful Canadian trend is that when sharing their own thoughts as part of the wedding ceremony (or at the reception if there’s not enough time), the couple might specifically identify other couples attending the wedding who they regard as role models for marriage. The newlyweds might give these couples a special mention to honor their achievement, such as parents who have been married for 30 years, neighbors married 50 years or close friends who’ve just had their first anniversary. This personal touch is fast becoming a new Canadian custom!
Canadian Wedding Clothes
Most Canadian brides will follow the European custom of wearing a white wedding dress. This is particularly important for French-Canadians, who will also want to invoke this custom to reflect their French roots, as the main European trend for wearing a white dress started in France. In some areas of Canada, if ‘s quite customary for the bride to wear an heirloom wedding dress, passed down by her own mother, if this is available.
Unique Traditions
♥ If you’re invited to a Canadian wedding and the words “presentation only” appear in the invitation, it doesn’t mean you’ve got to present a PowerPoint to the assembled company – instead this is a subtle way of letting you know that the wedding gift of choice is money!