Those Bizarre Wedding Rituals Explained

Unless you are an anthropologist or an historian, you may not be aware of all the strange origins of many wedding rituals we commonly take part in today. In Bizarre Origins of Wedding Traditions found on CNN.com, Jenn Thompson takes a look at some of these traditions. Love it or hate it, the garter toss and grab seems to be done at nearly every wedding. If you find it to be at least just a little bit creepy, the origins of this tradition may strike you as even creepier. For higher echelons of society (royalty for example) the marriage ceremony would be immediately followed with the consummation that used to require witnesses (to secure lineages). Often before the act, guests would grab at the bride’s garments for pieces as souvenirs (and perhaps to speed things along). The best part is that you are free to keep, delete or add rituals to your own ceremony should you desire. Keep any traditions that have meaning for you and don’t feel an ounce of guilt for letting others fall by the wayside. Realize you also have the power and freedom to create new ones if you wish! To read the original story, go to www.cnn.com.

The Trailing Spouse

I ran across this article by Sarah Jio on CNN.com on what is dubbed the “Trailing Spouse.” When a couple relocates for the benefit of one’s career… you guessed it, the one who sacrifices his or her situation for the benefit of other is the Trailing Spouse. According to the article, the one who does the trailing is usually the female. I find it unfortunate and disappointing that this occurrence is still heavily tipped gender-wise. In my small world, a recent example of a trailing spouse was a male co-worker of mine who left to follow his wife who earned a promotion that could only take place in another part of the country; so the family moved—quickly! The article does offer tips on handling conflicts over the subject should they arise. One tip is to engage in honest and heartfelt conversations with each other that can help gain balance in the situation. Other tips include listing your priorities while guessing your spouse’s priorities –- said to serve as an eye-opener in many cases; also the idea of switching off with each other when it comes to furthering one’s career. For more tips as well as stories on other couples weathering this type of storm, check it out at www.cnn.com.

If you would like to read more on the subject of couples adapting or meshing their careers with each other’s, you might like to read Would You Hire Your Husband? an article about the trend of more women starting their own businesses which in turn, hire their husbands, found on the New York Times’ website at www.nytimes.com.

Top Ten Reasons People Fall Out of Love

On Relationship Dilemmas blog, two therapists who are also married to each other posted the Top Ten Reasons People Fall Out of Love. For the whole list, goto relationshipdilemmas.blogspot.com.