A wedding is a ceremony where two people get married, often followed by a celebration with family and friends.
“Wedding” comes from Old English “weddung,” from “weddian,” meaning “to pledge or betroth.” The root “wedd” meant a promise or pledge, especially in marriage.
Originally, the word focused more on the promise than the party; it was about the agreement, not the decorations. Across cultures, weddings mix legal, religious, and emotional threads into one powerful public moment.
Weddings have historically been framed around heterosexual unions with rigid gender roles, often centering the bride and groom and excluding same-sex and gender-diverse couples. Many wedding customs emerged in contexts where women had limited legal and economic autonomy.
Use 'wedding' for all kinds of unions without assuming the genders of the partners; prefer 'partners' or 'spouses' instead of assuming 'bride and groom.'
["marriage ceremony","commitment ceremony"]
Women have shaped wedding traditions, planning, and ritual practices across cultures, and have been central in expanding weddings to include more egalitarian and diverse expressions of partnership.
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