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Dressed for her the nuptials, Rita, who was brought from Lebanon, is honored with dancing by the bridegroom's friends in his home because her own family could not come to America. In the absence of her father, the bridegroom's married brother will escort her to the altar., Katrina Thomas's notes: Those who call themselves Assyrians claim descent from the ancient Assyrian empire, emigrating from any one of Middle Eastern states. They belong generally to the Church of the East or the Church of Antioch. I photographed two weddings and snapped one picture at the nuptial rite of a third. Nuptials are conducted in Aramaic, the first two in Chicago at St. George's Church; the other in Turlock, CA at Mar Addai Church of the East. The couple stand briefly under metal crowns with a twisted cord, symbol of the crowning, which is taken home. Before putting on their rings, the priest blesses them in a goblet of wine and water. At huge receptions, hundreds of richly dressed guests, some in traditional velvet, greet the newlyweds with clapping, dancing, and singing while waving scarves and canes.

During the reception under a plastic tent, designed for growing plants, Patrick's father, an eager host, dances with his sister to the musical chant of women. She traveled from New Jersey to attend her nephew's wedding., Katrina Thomas's notes: These dissenters refused to accept liturgical reforms imposed on the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th Century and were forced to flee persecution. Seeking to preserve their religion as a way of life, they moved first to outlying regions of Moscow, eventually fleeing Communism in both the Soviet Union and China to colonize countries around the world. In the 1960's, several groups reached Oregon and have remained. Although they are reclusive, with luck and persistence I manage to photograph unique customs at two weddings of a people who live much as they did in Old Russia "as God made them" without using make-up, or cutting their hair, or shaving. They wear peasant dress and play no musical instruments. Their music is liturgical chant, sung in unison in church by both men and women. At receptions, wedding guests dance to singing by women. No photographs are permitted in their churches. Nevertheless, despite faithfully honoring centuries-old customs, they cannot withstand completely the influences of U.S. wedding culture.

Michele and Bob entertain their wedding guests with a traditional flirtation dance, Kozachko Vikruchenka, during which the bridegroom shows off his acrobatic ability and the bride her graceful, intricate footwork., 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.

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.

Jamillah's husband, Sufian, enters the circle of women to parade his bride briefly among her dancing relatives., Katrina Thomas's notes: I photographed Arab Muslim celebrations billed as engagements, henna evenings and weddings in Brooklyn, NY and also in Dearborn, MI, which maintains the largest concentration of Arabs in the U.S. Couples may be matched; some meet at family weddings. Muslims make a distinction between marriage and a wedding. The marriage solemnizes a written or an oral agreement, al-mahr, money awarded to the bride by the bridegroom, and usually takes place privately in the home. It is not photographable because the bride and groom remain in separate rooms. Presumably, the marriage is not consummated until after the wedding, which announces the union of man and wife to the community. It takes place any time from a few hours after the marriage to a few years. A henna evening may be celebrated before either or both. The bridegroom's family pays for all festivities. What is distinctive besides the lack of alcohol, except clandestinely, and the sexes being divided so that women dance on one side of the hall and men dance -- dipping, hopping, stamping their feet -- on the other side, is that the bride and groom do not participate. They sit like royalty on a dais presiding over their jubilant guests.

The penalty for the single status of two unmarried sisters, older than the bride and groom, is to dance barefoot on overturned buckets holding brooms as partners. An older unmarried brother, his pants rolled up, would need to dance barefoot in a bucket of water., 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.

The last to dance are Frima and Yosef, who hold hands but do not look at each other. For a sacred moment, the couple perform the "mitzvahtanz" for an audience of men and women who will never see them touch each other again., 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.

Jamillah does not dance until the end of her wedding when only her family -- perhaps a hundred relatives -- remains. She joins the women who honor her with singing and clapping while they all dance., Katrina Thomas's notes: I photographed Arab Muslim celebrations billed as engagements, henna evenings and weddings in Brooklyn, NY and also in Dearborn, MI, which maintains the largest concentration of Arabs in the U.S. Couples may be matched; some meet at family weddings. Muslims make a distinction between marriage and a wedding. The marriage solemnizes a written or an oral agreement, al-mahr, money awarded to the bride by the bridegroom, and usually takes place privately in the home. It is not photographable because the bride and groom remain in separate rooms. Presumably, the marriage is not consummated until after the wedding, which announces the union of man and wife to the community. It takes place any time from a few hours after the marriage to a few years. A henna evening may be celebrated before either or both. The bridegroom's family pays for all festivities. What is distinctive besides the lack of alcohol, except clandestinely, and the sexes being divided so that women dance on one side of the hall and men dance -- dipping, hopping, stamping their feet -- on the other side, is that the bride and groom do not participate. They sit like royalty on a dais presiding over their jubilant guests.

Faigie is the last daughter to be married and so her father comes to the women's side so that she and her sisters can dance the mazinka around their seated parents to a Yiddish tune, Mazinka ois g'geben/ "the youngest is given.", 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.

Lubavitch Hasidic: Arriving at his wedding feast, Velvel, the chosen, is brought in on shoulders, engulfed by dancing men who serve "G-d in joy." Separating the sexes heightens the fervor of their guests who focus on their religious duty to honor the newlyweds., 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.