Venue, setting and decoration

The setting of a wedding says as much as the ceremony. The mandap, the chuppah, the church aisle, the village courtyard, the yurt, the beach, the registry office and the banquet hall each shape who comes and what is done. Decoration, whether flowers, lights, cloth or painted walls, turns an ordinary space into a wedding.

Sacred and temporary spaces

A Hindu mandap is a small canopy with four pillars, built for the day around the fire. A Jewish chuppah is a cloth held over four poles, open on all sides like Abraham's tent. In Central Asia families may erect a yurt or a tent for the guests, and in the Gulf and North Africa a large tent or a hotel hall fits hundreds. In parts of West Africa the compound itself is decorated, and in rural Greece the village square hosts the dance.

Decoration

Marigolds, jasmine and mango leaves decorate Indian weddings. In Japan the shrine and a red umbrella shape the setting. Moroccan weddings use brass trays, lanterns and the amariya. In Scandinavia birch branches stand at the church door, and in Ireland and Britain flowers and ribbons mark the church path. Tuscany, Santorini and Bali have become destination wedding settings, and local families have built a business around them.

What is changing

Couples marry in gardens, barns, museums and on beaches, and some hold ceremonies online. Legal rules about where a wedding may be held vary: in England and Wales venues must be licensed, while in some US states a couple can marry almost anywhere. Heritage sites and religious buildings also set limits on decoration.