Monogamy Monday- UK vs USA Part II

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I LOVED the response on UK vs USA Part I,
so I am excited to see what you all have to say about the following differences.

leading up the wedding and ceremony differences:

Bridal shower:

It is a USA thing.
There is no such thing as a bridal shower in the UK.
You just have a bachelorrette night/weekend (aka Hen Do)

There are no baby showers either.

I know. shocking.

Wedding cars:

In the UK, The bride and father of the bride arrive in their own car to the church.

The Bridal party and mother of the bride arrive in another car at the church.

(these cars are usually hired/rented...like an old bentley or limo etc)
When I mentioned in my last post about going to view our wedding cars,
this is what I meant.

Bridesmaids:

In the UK Bridesmaid traditionally walk BEHIND the bride,
but I have seen a couple weddings where the bridesmaids go in first.
I, personally, prefer the bridesmaids to go in first,
 because then I feel like when the bride enters, all eyes are on her.

Chief Bridesmaids (UK) /Maid of Honor (USA):

In the UK the MOH goes first instead of last when walking down the aisle.

Time:
*This may only be applicable to the weddings I have attended and in Stephens town, and a church wedding*
The wedding ceremony almost always starts in the afternoon...
typically between 12:00-2:00pm
Stephen has never ever heard of a wedding ceremony starting in the evening (like a sunset wedding).

We seem to be stepping outside of the box by having a 1:00pm ceremony instead of 12:30.
(we are so wild)

Church Wedding/Civil Ceremony/Blessing:

Let me break it down for you.
Getting married in the church in the UK is very difficult/different if you want a church wedding.
I would compare it to getting married in the Catholic Church in the USA,
except these rules apply to all christian denominations in the UK (that I know of).
Most of the time it is required that you and your spouse to-be are members of the church and have regularly attended that church.
If you are not members, it helps if one of your families are members, or you grew up in the town where the church is located and at SOME point in your life went to that church.
You have to meet with the Minister to get approved to be married in the church and then have regular meetings with him.
A Minister cannot marry you outside of the church walls
 (so no garden/beach weddings are done by an actual minister).
If you don't want to get married in the church, or can't,
you have a civil ceremony performed by a registrar.
A Registrar cannot marry you inside the church.
If you want, you can opt for a civil ceremony and then have a church blessing,
where you go to the church after you civil ceremony and the minister will bless you.
For us, having a civil ceremony was not an option and we are getting married in Stephens hometown church.

phew. that was a lot of information.


"You May Kiss The Bride:"

In a church wedding in the UK, the "you may kiss the bride" portion does not come at the end of the ceremony like it does in the USA.
It is done somewhere in the middle.
This totally confused me the first time I saw this happen.
I personally am still not a fan, but that is probably because I am so used to that being the climactic ending.

Signing of the Marriage License:
This is considered the most important part of the ceremony in a church wedding.
Towards the end of the ceremony,
the bride, groom, their parents, and bridal party are taken to either a private room,
or to a table in the church,
where they sign their marriage papers.
During this time, music is played by a string quartet, or someone sings a couple of songs.
Then the couple comes out, a little something is said, I think a hymn is then sang and then another little something is said, and then the bride and groom exit.
The order of things is a little fuzzy to me, and I think is different depending on the church?
But that is roughly how it goes.


Uninvited Guests:

*This might be only applicable to very small towns in the UK*

Uninvited guests often show up outside of the church to watch people enter the church and exit the church.
Some of these people even take pictures.
In Stephen's hometown this is a very big thing.
If they wanted, they could even sit in the church and watch the ceremony.
Some people may know the bride and groom through distant aquaintences,
or some may not know either of them at all.
I think this is sort of awesome/hilarious.
We spoke to a bridesmaid at the wedding were at this weekend,
and she said the more people that show up to watch, the more important the wedding,
and if there arn't any towns people that come to watch, it's not a good sign.

Hats:
People wear them.
I LOVE it.
The mother of the bride and groom are expected to go all out with a big hat.
As an American, I of course think this tradition is so cool,
and I hope my american guests embrace it.
I should make it a requirement or something ;)


Thoughts??
Likes/dislikes??