After a long day at the beach and picking up my aspiring football player (my son), I decided to browse through the Internet and I came across this interesting article. We all know what a wedding is, but have you ever thought about what the word Wedding actually means? Read on below... its amazing how weddings have evolved!
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.
Written by Heather Long
source: Families.com
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