Many couples wish to carry on the long-established wedding culture of their ancestors, whether or not they reside in the country where it originated. Varying customs and traditions can take place during, before, and/or after the blessed event.

In Western culture, it's conventional for the bride to wear a white dress and face veil, the dress symbolizing purity and the veil symbolizing virginity. The groom wears a formal suit, bow tie, and boutonniere. Numerous societies, many European, have adopted this “white wedding.” Also, it's considered to be good luck for the bride to wear “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a penny in her shoe.” In America, the wedding ceremony usually takes place at a church, in which case everything matches in color, including flowers, bridesmaids' dresses, and decorations. It may, however, be held in a courthouse or other location, such as an outdoors setting.

Special clothing and decorations are important in most other countries as well. For instance, on the night before an Armenian wedding, the groom's family brings the bride's veil and shoes in beautifully wrapped boxes to the bride's family. At a Czech Republican wedding, the bride wears a rosemary wreath made by her bridesmaids, symbolizing wisdom, love, and loyalty. At an Indian wedding, garlands are presented to the guests of honor to wear.

Concern for the future of the married couple is prominent in many places. This is apparent in China, for a Chinese wedding date is carefully chosen according to birth dates and Chinese zodiac signs in order to assure happiness and prosperity. A Dutch wedding custom is to create a “wish tree” where guests write wishes for the couple's future to hang on tree branches at the reception. Before a German wedding, the bride and groom break dishes into pieces and clean them up together in order to prepare them for life's trials.

Family members often take a very significant role at a wedding. In the case of a Filipino wedding, it is conventional for the grandparents to act as the witnesses. At a French wedding, the groom walks his mother down the aisle before he himself arrives at the altar.

As you can see, each tradition in the culture of the wedding ceremony has a flavor of its own. To showcase it is a beautiful and memorable tribute to the families and honorable guests who are present.

不論是哪個地方的傳統，新人大都希望能沿襲祖先流傳下來的婚禮文化。婚禮的前、中、後段都分別有各種不同的傳統習俗。

在西方文化中，新娘通常會穿著白色禮服及面紗；白色禮服象徵純潔，面紗則象徵貞節。新郎會穿著正式禮服，配戴蝶型領結和胸花。很多社會及歐洲人都沿襲了這種「白色婚禮」。此外，新娘要穿戴「一些舊，一些新；一些借來，一些青；並在鞋子裡放個一分硬幣」，據說這樣可以帶來好運。在美國，婚禮通常在教堂裡舉行。婚禮上的花束、伴娘的穿著和會場的裝飾品，通常會做色系的搭配。此外，婚禮也可能在法院或戶外場所舉行。

特殊的服裝和飾品，在大部分其他的國家裡也很重要。舉例來說，在亞美尼亞，新郎的家人會將新娘的面紗和鞋子包裝在漂亮的盒子裡，並在婚禮的前一晚把它交給新娘的家人。在捷克，新娘在婚禮中會戴著由伴娘製作的迷迭香花環，象徵智慧、愛和忠誠。在印度的婚禮上，貴賓們會戴上花環。

在很多地方，大家對新婚夫婦的未來很關心，特別是在中國。為確保婚姻的幸福美滿，會根據生辰八字和生肖來精心挑選舉行婚禮的日子。荷蘭的婚禮傳統則是建造一棵「許願樹」，來賓們會在入場時寫下對新人的祝福，然後把它們掛在 樹枝上。德國的婚禮在舉行之前，新郎和新娘會將碗盤砸碎，然後一起掃乾淨，這象徵他們對於未來的磨難已做好準備。

家庭成員通常在婚禮中扮演很重要的角色。舉菲律賓的婚禮為例，祖父母通常是婚禮的見證人。法國的婚禮中，新郎會挽著母親慢慢走到聖壇之前。

如你所見，每一種婚禮的文化傳統都各具風格。這樣的婚禮呈現，就是要給在場的家人及貴賓有一個美麗又難忘的回憶。