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Jennie and Andrew cannot cut kransekake with a knife. In order to follow the custom of feeding each other wedding cake they must break off pieces to share it., Katrina Thomas's notes: Although Norwegians are the most numerous of the Scandinavian immigrant groups, many starting in the 1800's to settle the upper Midwest, weddings that keep customs are difficult to find. However, at a strictly Wasp reception, I photograph a bride of Norwegian descent, who shares kransekake, the traditional wedding cake. Eventually, in 1999, a Norwegian museum in Iowa informs me that a bride in California will borrow its copy of a 19th century wedding crown. She is of Norwegian ancestry whereas the bridegroom is of Scottish mix. I fly west to photograph the nuptial rite, performed in a Lutheran church, and after it, a potluck reception. In combining the two ethnic traditions, Norwegian musical instruments lead the procession to the nuptials, and a bagpipe leads the newlyweds to the reception.

The Cajun groom's cake, traditionally of German chocolate, usually illustrates the work or play habits of the bridegroom, which in the case of Scott, appear to be lolling in a hammock., Katrina Thomas's notes: Predominantly Roman Catholic, Cajuns are descended from French colonists expelled in the 18th century, primarily from Acadia (Nova Scotia). Most of them live in southern Louisiana, dwelling in the bayous and still speaking a French dialect. They are noted for their spicy cuisine and zydeco music, and maintain some unusual customs at their wedding receptions.

At the reception, sixteen wedding cakes are displayed, only two of which are edible. The others are made primarily of cardboard and plastic, the largest fitted inside with an altar and pews, and many others with water fountains., Katrina Thomas's notes: Chaldeans are Eastern Rite Catholics, who emigrated from Telkaif in Iraq to the Detroit area, and built their church in Southfield in1948. In 1990 and 1992, I photographed two weddings, keeping customs that are now obsolete. In one such event, women put a boy child on a bed made up for the newlyweds in the hope that the first born will be a son. The other custom is a henna evening for the bride in her home, attended only by women. Today the henna evening is a grand affair attended by both sexes and celebrated in a public place. Wedding receptions have become Americanized. Those traditional elements that remain are the welcoming zeffa, Middle Eastern line dances, and the sound of women expressing joy by ululating, in Arabic known as haullhula.

Jackie and John cut two cakes, an American wedding cake and a traditional Carpathian wedding bread, baked by John's mother, who decorated it with three masts representing the Holy Trinity and two dough birds representing the couple. Their guests divide it, wrapping it in periwinkle, a Carpatho-Rusyn custom which assures fertility in the marriage., Katrina Thomas's notes: The homeland of Carpatho-Rusyns is located on the slope of the Carpathian Mountains where the borders of Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland meet. Never having had their own state, they have lived since the sixth century as a national minority in kingdoms whose borders frequently change. And yet they manage to keep their traditional customs, marrying under gilt crowns in the tradition of Eastern Rite Christianity, accompanied by Carpathian plainchant. I photographed two weddings observing various traditions, the highlight of both being the Rjadovyj, during which everyone dances with the bride, ending with the bride's mother placing a silk matron's cap, a cepec, on her daughter's head, while guests line-dancing shoulder to shoulder close in around the new wife, forming walls through which the bridegroom must fight his way to capture her and carry her away.

The bridegroom's father gives a toast at a country wedding in a borrowed home for his son Glenn to KC, an American girl. They will cut a white-tiered wedding cake and then eat dinner using chopsticks, also provided for guests in addition to silverware., Katrina Thomas's notes: The precepts of a Chinese wedding, laid down in feudal times before the Christian era, stipulate a go-between, who seeks genealogical and horoscope data for matching the couple and for fixing the date for the bride's transfer to the groom's household. Upon her arrival in the conjugal home, the bride pays ceremonial respect to the bridegroom's family and ancestors before the marriage may be consummated. In the U.S. many customs have been abandoned for marriages of couples who fall in love. I photograph Chinese wedding customs three times: one in Chinatown, NYC where the bride's family is mostly absent because her father is dying; another, a mixed marriage in Massachusetts; and the last one in two locations, California and New York City because the couple fell in love while attending architectural school in NYC. Her family lives there; his family lives in St. Louis, MO. They fly to California for their banquet celebration so that her 84 year-old grandmother can be present.

Jennie, a bride of Norwegian descent, keeps no traditions except for the wedding cake, a towering kransekake or "crown cake, which is made of almonds, sugar and egg whites baked in rings. The best man who is British stands on a chair to make a toast., Katrina Thomas's notes: Although Norwegians are the most numerous of the Scandinavian immigrant groups, many starting in the 1800's to settle the upper Midwest, weddings that keep customs are difficult to find. However, at a strictly Wasp reception, I photograph a bride of Norwegian descent, who shares kransekake, the traditional wedding cake. Eventually, in 1999, a Norwegian museum in Iowa informs me that a bride in California will borrow its copy of a 19th century wedding crown. She is of Norwegian ancestry whereas the bridegroom is of Scottish mix. I fly west to photograph the nuptial rite, performed in a Lutheran church, and after it, a potluck reception. In combining the two ethnic traditions, Norwegian musical instruments lead the procession to the nuptials, and a bagpipe leads the newlyweds to the reception.

Sahera and Faiz feed each other a piece of one of sixteen wedding cakes, while guests crowd around, gaily waving batons and spangled handkerchiefs. Little boys ride on shoulders so that they too can watch this American ritual of sharing a piece of cake., Katrina Thomas's notes: Chaldeans are Eastern Rite Catholics, who emigrated from Telkaif in Iraq to the Detroit area, and built their church in Southfield in1948. In 1990 and 1992, I photographed two weddings, keeping customs that are now obsolete. In one such event, women put a boy child on a bed made up for the newlyweds in the hope that the first born will be a son. The other custom is a henna evening for the bride in her home, attended only by women. Today the henna evening is a grand affair attended by both sexes and celebrated in a public place. Wedding receptions have become Americanized. Those traditional elements that remain are the welcoming zeffa, Middle Eastern line dances, and the sound of women expressing joy by ululating, in Arabic known as haullhula.

The bridegroom Mark, whose only role at his family's reception has been to escort Julie to the bridal table, arrives several hours later to pose for a photograph with her before they cut a western wedding cake. After cutting it, without feeding each other, he departs, leaving his friends and family to celebrate his marriage, while Julie returns to her place at the table, standing beside his aunt., Katrina Thomas's notes: An Albanian wedding in the Bronx, NY in 1986 retains unique customs based on tribal culture which signal that a bride is joining another clan. Marriages are arranged but a matched pair may refuse the partner. On the morning of the wedding, while the bride dresses, her family entertains guests at a large celebration. When she is ready to go to church, they say farewell to their daughter because they will not attend either her nuptials or the bridegroom's reception in the evening. In fact, after the wedding she is not permitted to see her family or return to her childhood home for a specified number of days. When she does visit, she is no longer treated like a daughter but as a guest. For a year after marriage, she is considered to be a bride and when her own sisters enter a room she stands in respect. As Albanians have become Americanized many of these customs have been dropped.

Lars holds a piece of "kransekake" while Kerstin breaks off a piece for herself. On the table are American cakes and cookies, dessert for the wedding feast., Katrina Thomas's notes: Most Swedish-Americans are Lutherans or Methodists, emigrating between 1840 and 1910, passing through New York City, to settle the upper Midwest. However, I photograph two Swedish weddings in NYC, one, being a Swedish bride who marries a Norwegian. She wears a white wedding dress. The other couple chooses to wear traditional dress of a particular region. Both brides wear the crown of the Vasa Order, originally a fraternal society for Swedes but now open to all of Scandinavian descent.

Winkie and Bill share wedding cake at a reception in the bride's family home. Cutting the cake is the wedding event which most delights children anticipating their piece of it., Katrina Thomas's notes: Whether newly arrived in the U.S. or American citizens, resident for generations, the greatest number of marriages adheres to the Anglo-American model, promoted by a powerful wedding industry. Wedding coordinators and bride guides are consulted. With nothing left to chance, planning often takes months. The wedding can be officiated by anyone licensed to marry -- a member of the clergy, an interfaith minister, a civil marriage celebrant. The bride usually wears the most extravagant white dress she or her father can afford. Wedding party attire is color coordinated with the floral decorations -- bridesmaids in matching dresses, groomsmen in ties of the same color, even the two mothers often agreeing to something similar. The marriage may demand a fairy tale wedding, which seeks to be memorable and unusual in a climate of sameness, often incurring considerable wedding debt. In contrast, the procedure of an upper class Anglo-American wedding, held most often at the bride's home, recognizes family traditions. Most of my pictures depict the varied customs kept by this group, the sons and daughters of my WASP or Jewish friends and other couples to whom I have been recommended.