A Look at Wedding Invitations Around the Globe

This is a guest post by Lorna Horne.

Weddings are a joyous occasion and the traditions surrounding most weddings greatly depend on the culture and country associated. Most wedding traditions involve sending elaborate wedding invitations, inviting their guests to share the marriage of two in love. A wedding invitation is one of the most important aspects of the wedding, as the tangible items provide a sneak peak of the wedding style and colors, as well as showcase the personalities and religion of the couple.

It’s no surprise, but in the United States wedding invitations are as personalized as they come. Some are elaborate and use hard stock paper and others are elegant and simple. Many Americans invite their quests using the phrase “request the honor of your presence.” A more popular trend is the do-it-yourself (DIY) trend where couples are crafty in the design and/or utilize online outlets for making their own designs and uploading photography for printable invitations. Most often included are direction cards, bridal registries, as well as the bride and grooms custom website URL.

When taking a closer look at wedding invitations around the globe, wedding invitations hold the same concept but are vastly different in both form and style from the U.S. Consider China, a country that thrives on the use of elaborate colors. The tradition held in China in regards to wedding invitations is the utilization of red and gold, expressing love, happiness and good fortune. Invitations are often delicately detailed with calligraphy and photographs. Most often displayed is the dragon and phoenix that represent both male and female power, for dual happiness. The beautiful invitation is usually delivered in a red envelope.

In India however, invitations take on a vastly different feel from the original flat and rectangular invitation of those in the U.S. The uniqueness is one-of-kind, inviting guests on a box scroll and being transported in a small rectangular box. The image of the Lord Ganesha is often shown since the Lord Ganesha is believed to bring prosperity and happiness to the marrying couple and their family.

Orthodox Jews in Israel often have a two-sided text wedding invitation where one side is written Hebrew and the other is written in English. The couple invites their guests to “dance at” or to “share in the joy of” verse the United States tradition of “requesting the honor of your presence”. The tradition of giving back to the unhealthy during times of joy, couples may include a personalized note in lieu of a gift for themselves that a donation to be made to charity. The wording is most often pulled from biblical statements.

About the author: A crafty hobby enthusiast, Lorna Horne is also a freelance writer who writes helpful blog posts for websites that provide free printable calendars and other great resources to make crafts and hobbies easier.

If you want to guest post on this blog, write us at contact[at]weddingcakesinspiration.com

Wedding Cake Toppers

The masterpiece of the cake industry is wedding cake. Every wedding cake is a unique piece of art. They must be amazingly decorated and really delicious. The attention of the wedding reception is always on the cake and especially on the wedding cake topper. Furthermore, wedding cake is not only a sweet dessert, but a impression of togetherness. Cutting the cake together, both the bride and the groom, symbolizes their first joint work in their lives. Moreover, the gesture of feeding one another stands for commitment that the young couple is making. Also, the color of the wedding cake is white because the white color represents purity. Nowadays, there are variations of colors, but the white remains as basic. Traditionally wedding cakes were round in shape, filled with fruit and frosting with vanilla, but today's wedding cakes appear in different shapes and flavors depending of the couple choice.

What catches the eye of everyone is the topper of the cake. The wedding cake topper should represent same characteristics of the bride and the groom. There are many kinds of toppers, and chefs today can make everything. From crystal monograms, initial letters to funny 'bride fishing the groom' topper or animals representing the couple. Also, there are different materials that the topper is made of. It could be plastic, crystal or even handmade of the chef himself of marzipan or some other eating ingredient. To conclude, the most important thing is that the young couple should be satisfied from the wedding cake which will increase the level of happiness.