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The officiating priest kindles the fire which always witnesses a Hindu wedding. It dispels darkness and ignorance and is called upon as a god, Agni. Alpa and Prakash, married in a restaurant, make offerings during the nuptial rite by feeding the fire various grains -- rice, puffed rice or popcorn, other grains, and clarified butter, known as ghee., Katrina Thomas's notes: A wedding is a major rite in the Hindu life cycle, its format and sequence varying greatly in the regions within India as well as abroad. The earliest weddings I photographed were performed by Ram Patwardhan, the first Hindu priest in New York City, who in 1956 designed a modern Vedic ceremony, preserving its essence while streamlining a three- or four-day event to little more than thirty minutes. There being no Hindu temples here at the time, weddings took place in the home or in restaurants serving Asian Indian food. Later, I photograph weddings in newly built Hindu temples, all of which accommodate differing priests and the various traditions which marry a couple. If the couple has not the same homeland, they agree to choose a region of North or South India.

Women sitting and men standing opposite each other, watch the start of the "mitzvahtanz." Frima and her father dance for a long time while the bridegroom Yosef stands apart, clapping., Katrina Thomas's notes: More than populate Israel, there are an estimated 5.7 million Jews in the U.S. In addition to two nationality backgrounds, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, they belong to four movements, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Hasidic. Jewish weddings today combine elements, dating back to biblical times when two separate rites were performed, perhaps months or years apart, known in Jewish law, as kiddushin and nissu'in. The first is betrothal, during which the ring is given, and the second, the actual marriage. Over a period of twenty-five years, I photographed a variety of weddings, some with hundreds of guests and some small, all of them essentially the same but different in regard to details. All couples are united under a chuppah, both rites performed at one time. In general, traditions are kept more reverently by Jews than are customs retained more casually by other religions and ethnic groups.

Edith and Philippe's wedding cake, devised in France, is a tall cone of caramel-coated cream puffs. It is a croquembouche, translated as "crunch in the mouth."

After their wedding, Margarete and William from East Harlem are posed by their hired photographer in an allee of apple trees, bordering Conservatory Garden in Central Park, adjacent to Fifth Avenue at 104th Street., Katrina Thomas's notes: A great many Puerto Ricans emigrated from the Commonwealth in the 1940's and 1950's to New York City where their culture is convenient to me because they live in East Harlem, known as El Barrio, close to my own apartment in Manhattan. Most of them are Catholics and keep no special customs. If bridal portraits are not taken in a picture studio, the newlyweds like to pose in the country setting of Central Park, which is not only handy but available at no cost, if the weather obliges.

A sight which stops automobile traffic in a city street, Margie and Jerko on the sidewalk, lead the wedding party in a procession from the church the nuptials to a reception in the church hall. They follow the red, white and blue Croatian flag, everyone singing a national song, Maraiani. A little girl carries a basket in which there is an apple that Margie will throw over the church fence for good luck., Katrina Thomas's notes: Croats are Slavs, who emigrated from the nation state of Croatia, once part of the former Yugoslavia. They are predominately Catholic. Their folk music is played by plucking a tambura, a Balkan string instrument made in five different sizes. I photographed two marriages, one in NYC and the other in Pennsylvania farm country. The country wedding keeps many traditions because the bride is descended from immigrant families, who came to mine coal when it was a company town, known as Shaft Four. The village population of 890 swells to 1200 to celebrate the nuptials of the mayor's daughter, who is an accomplished folk dancer and musician. Seven tambura groups play constantly from morning until after midnight, several starting before breakfast, one leading the procession to church, another accompanying Schubert's Ave Maria during the nuptial rite, various providing music for dancing, and finally after the newlyweds depart tamburas continue to set the beat for rock 'n roll.

Stanley and Andrea leave their wedding reception in a shower of paper hearts, preferred by social clubs in the city as easier to clean up than rice., 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.

When the bridal couple Anna and Jimmy, enter the banquet, their guests are already seated at tables. American guests, accustomed to punctuality, arrived at the time designated, and so have waited for several hours. Chinese guests more familiar with the custom, come later., 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.

A friend, wearing an "abesha kemis, shelters Tsigge with a hat while the bride circles the room so that friends can lick dollar bills to stick on her face or tuck them into the neckline of her wedding gown. Native dress for women is white gauzy cotton with an embroidered hem., Katrina Thomas's notes: A coastal province on the Red Sea, Eritrea, with a mixed population of Christians and Muslims, annexed by Ethiopia has had an ongoing struggle for independence, which has induced many to migrate to the U.S. since the 1960's. Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia following a 30-year war, lasting from 1961 to 1991. I photograph weddings for two newly arrived Christian couples, who are educated but poor. Brides dress in western wedding gowns while women guests wear native dress with a shawl of white hand woven cotton, known as abesha kemis. Men in western suits often grab a woman's shawl, a netela, to wrap around their waists or hips when dancing. The music at these weddings is provided by handmade native instruments. The food is distinctive, eaten in the hand from a common plate and fed to one another. Drink is barley beer and mes, fermented honey. Most photographable is the custom of dancing around the newlyweds, honoring them by tucking money into their clothing or plastering it on their faces.

Rather than go to a photo studio, African American newlyweds in New York City prefer to go to nearby Central Park in good weather to have their photographs taken in a country setting., Katrina Thomas's notes: African American celebrations keep assorted traditions, dating from the days of slavery, or improvised from tribal Africa. These include jumping a broom, wearing African cloth or dress, executing various ritual dances, eating special foods, and doing whatever else a couple thinks can be added to a western wedding that is important to their culture.

La pequena novia, the little bride, popular in many Hispanic cultures, is the bride's niece and at the age of three is a member of the bridal party. She is dressed exactly like the bride with a train that other children hold when she dances., Katrina Thomas's notes: Dominicans, emigrating to New York City from the Caribbean since the early 1960's, are now one of the largest Hispanic groups in the U.S. Most are Roman Catholic. During the nuptial rite the bridegroom gives his bride la monneta, or coins of love. Distinctive music is played at their receptions which, like those of other Hispanics, begin with formal pageantry, treating the bride and groom as royalty and the wedding party as a Court of Honor. I photographed two weddings and note that at one reception, each usher on entering, kisses the gloved hand of a bridesmaid.