Search results

After the Orthodox nuptial rite, Nada and Joey emerge on the church steps above the plaza where their wedding guests are dancing. The best man, or "kum, who will be godfather to all their children, throws coins to the crowd., Katrina Thomas's notes: Serbian society centers around the Orthodox Church, as does the community in Milwaukee, where I photograph two weddings in a splendid cathedral, built in 1956-58, in which couples celebrate both the nuptial rite and the reception. One couple belongs to a folk dance group and elects to wear national dress, keeping many old-world customs at the home of the bride before the church ceremony as well as later during the reception in the church hall.

At the end of the nuptial rite, it is customary for French newlyweds to sign the marriage certificate on the altar with the priest and their two witnesses.

A dollar dance at their wedding reception nets ready cash for newlyweds. Men lined up to dance with Milagro from San Salvador, discreetly pinning dollar bills to her dress whereas women, more inventive and bolder when dancing with Hector from Honduras, crowned and adorned him with a mask of bills, several streamers, a tail, and even tucked dollars into his socks., Katrina Thomas's notes: The liturgy of Hispanic weddings is essentially Roman Catholic with a few additions: an exchange of tokens known as arras; the bride's veil put over the shoulders of the groom; a laso or garland, which may be a rope, a chain of flowers or a large rosary in a figure 8; and usually six pair of sponsors known as a padrinos and a madrina, each of whom have specific duties and carry emblematic items. The dollar dance illustrated is that of a bride from San Salvador and the groom from Honduras, who are celebrating in the church hall after their nuptials.

Instead of bearing crowns on their heads for the nuptial rite, Mari and Kirkor, who are Turkish Armenians, wear narods, which are red and white twisted cords with a small cross that dangles over their foreheads. The marriage service for the Armenian Church of America is traditionally sung with organ accompaniment., Katrina Thomas's notes: In 301 A.D. Armenians are the world's first nation to adopt Christianity. The Orthodox Armenian church considers marriage a sacrament, and at the beginning of the tenth century, the Rite of Crowning became the service for blessing the union of husband and wife. For Turkish Armenians, the crown may be a braided cord, known as a narod. During the nuptial rite, crowning is followed by the Blessing of the Common Cup, which is drinking of wine from a goblet in remembrance of the marriage at Cana of Galilee.

On the first day of a "Big Wedding, Maye Chow arrives at the bridegroom's house, hidden under a canopy of several kerchiefs, embroidered cloth and red fringe. Two young attendants hold her hands and carry an umbrella to protect her from evil influences., Katrina Thomas's notes: Also known as Iu Mien, a tribal people settled in farming communities in southeast Asia until disrupted by the Vietnam war, when they came here from Thai refugee camps in the early 1980's. Today perhaps 50,000 Mien live in the U.S., most of them in the states of Washington, Oregon and California. When they first arrived, I photograph several weddings, including Big Weddings, known as tom ching ta, celebrated for three days, catnapping in my car in front of the bridegroom's house so as not to miss any of the day and night ceremonies. The bride may already have birthed several children fathered by the bridegroom, and whether celebrated for one day or three, a Mien wedding is no more and no less than a transfer of the bride to her new home with rites to insure her acceptance by the bridegroom's household spirits. During the period of an overnight or three days, many meals are prepared, principally for the bride's extensive family, perhaps 60 or more, and also for friends. I photograph rites that welcome the bride, and for Big Weddings, an important all-night bowing ceremony, performed by the bridegroom to ancestral spirits, to living relatives and to all family members.

Bridesmaids hold streamers for Irene to cut as she passes through each stage of childhood to the responsibilities of marriage. The Plast den to which she belongs is known as "those who break dams." Her cuts signify a river flowing over dams as Irene crosses to each stage., Katrina Thomas's notes: Ukrainians number perhaps a million today in the U.S., and even more in Canada. When the Ukraine was under Soviet subjugation, those who settled abroad were determined to revive their culture in a new land, and pass on relevant customs to future generations. To this end they establish Plast, their scouts organization, to which both boys and girls belong, and which fosters relationships that may end in marriage. Although most embrace the Orthodox Christian faith, the weddings I am able to photograph are Eastern Rite Catholic. Before the nuptials, the parents bless their children, using bread or icons. A bridal procession follows, and at the feast, instead of sharing a white wedding cake, they have their own ritual breads, korovai, which are decorated with twigs, herbs, flowers, and symbols in dough. The celebration ends soon after the maiden bride accepts the Slavic headgear of a married woman. However, today this rite is often omitted. Ukrainians, seeking a better life, still come to the U.S.

A large masked being, known as nmawu or "masquerade" and considered to be reincarnated, dances with the wedding guests. Complying with myth, The has come because "the dead are still with us." Actually, The was hired by a bridesmaid., Katrina Thomas's notes: An Igbo couple in Nigeria are considered husband and wife when the bride's dowry is paid. Odera, a seven-year resident of the United States, now known as Ben, returned to Africa to find the high school student he had fallen in love with there and paid $200, her bride price. A year later he brought her to the States to be legally married in City Hall. Another year passes until the couple can afford a Presbyterian church wedding with bridesmaids wearing rose color satin and ushers in black tuxedos. It is followed immediately by a feast for friends, which includes pouring libations to their ancestors and a ritual of breaking kola nuts. Pieces of kola nut are passed to guests who eat them with hot peanut sauce.

After the nuptials, the newlyweds are driven to the reception in a car, decorated with a "just married" emblem., 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.

In addition to belonging to 18 different clans, Hmong are divided into various groups from different regions, known as White, Blue/Green or Striped, which are identified by the dress of women., Katrina Thomas's notes: Originally inhabiting the mountainous regions of southern China and northern areas of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, a few Hmong began to emigrate from Laos starting in 1975. Due to devastation and loss during the Vietnam War, an estimated 145, 000 came to the U.S. The first wedding I photograph is Hmong Christian in Minneapolis in1986. Later weddings, photographed in Fresno, CA, retain their animist traditions, heeding the spirits and demons of nature, and honoring ancestors. The couple meet when playing a courtship game of pom pov during a festival held in late December and if a boy and girl like each other, he kidnaps her and sends a message to her family that he wants to marry. In preparing for every wedding four "messengers, two from each family, negotiate her bride price, which is preceded by a tie hand" rite, designed to facilitate a favorable outcome. The wedding itself is feasting and ritual drinking by men, according to many rules, while the bridegroom and best man genuflect constantly to honor living and dead members of both families. As the Hmong have become integrated into mainstream society, many of their marriage customs have disappeared.

Wanting a simple wedding, Chris and Eddie sign the register before their civil marriage, conducted by the City Clerk in NYC's Municipal Building. After a short ceremony, they will receive the marriage certificate, being signed by her father who is their witness., 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.