Protestant and Anglican wedding traditions
Protestant and Anglican weddings are a wide family.
Protestant and Anglican weddings are a wide family. Most do not count marriage as a sacrament but as a holy estate, and the services are usually in the local language, built around vows, readings and a blessing. Many Western wedding customs, such as the white dress and the aisle, are shaped by this tradition.
Anglican and Lutheran forms
The Church of England wedding follows the Book of Common Prayer or Common Worship. It includes the declaration, the vows and the giving of the ring with the words, with this ring I thee wed. In Lutheran churches in Germany and Scandinavia the service includes a blessing and an address, and in Sweden the couple may enter together. Banns are read in Church of England parishes on three Sundays before.
Free and Reformed churches
Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and Pentecostal weddings vary, from formal to joyful. In the African American church the jumping of the broom is often added as a heritage custom with roots in slavery. African churches may include long worship, offerings and cultural rites such as lobola alongside the service. Quakers, Mennonites and the Amish have their own forms, from silence to plain dress.
Change
Many Protestant churches bless civil unions and some marry same-sex couples, including the Church of Sweden, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Canada, while others do not. This is a live debate within the family of churches, and the pages say so.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on Protestant and Anglican (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇰🇷 South Korea and 5 moreBlessing ceremony of the Unification ChurchHoly Marriage Blessing Ceremony (축복결혼식)
A large-scale marriage rededication or new union ceremony that engrafts couples into a sinless lineage.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
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A formal Tongan group dance where performers stand in rows and move their arms to express respect.Performance · The ceremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreCare cloth
A linen or silk cloth held over the heads of a bride and groom during a Christian wedding blessing.Attire · The ceremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreQuaker wedding
A silent ceremony where Friends witness each other's vows without clergy or rigid rituals.Rite · The weeks before
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreInterfaith marriage
A union between spouses of different faiths, navigating legal and religious boundaries across the world.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSealing (Mormonism)
A temple ritual that binds couples and families together for eternity.Rite · The ceremony
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sealing (Mormonism): NewNameNoah, CC BY 4.0, source
- Interfaith marriage in Christianity: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Care cloth: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Blessing ceremony of the Unification Church: Unknown author, Public domain, source