Have Fun or Aisle be Upset Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jewish

A traditional Jewish wedding sees the couple being married under a canopy of some kind to symbolise their new home together as husband and wife, but before that begins, they both sign a marriage contract to formally state the husband's obligations to his wife, and the process to follow should a divorce occur. That of course originated long ago in the times where the wife was a home maker, and the husband brought home the income. Following a variety of blessings and vows, the couple then sip from a glass of wine together, after which the groom crushes the glass with his right foot.

This symbolises the destruction and loss of Jerusalem's second Holy Temple which was destroyed by the Romans, circa 70 CE.

Answer: Islam

A Muslim couple must always marry publicly and never in secret. The actual ceremony itself varies from culture to culture throughout the Muslim world. Apart from the romantic side of acting as each other's comforter and protector and the belief that they are meant for each other, a Muslim wedding is also viewed as a legal contract between the couple. Neither couple can be forced or tricked into marriage, and although polygyny is allowed under the practice of Islam - with definite restrictions in place - the vast majority of Muslims in our modern world do not practice this. One wife is enough for any man to handle it would seem, a thought that is just a tiny bit amusing.

Answer: Chinese

In a traditional Chinese marriage ceremony, the bride is escorted to her wedding by a "Good Luck Woman" who carries a red umbrella over the bride's head. This woman is chosen on the grounds that her own marriage was a fruitful and happy one, and this is seen as a good omen for the young couple entering into married life.

The family and friends of the bride also scatter seeds and beans in front of the bride as she makes her way to the ceremony. If these attract a gold chicken along the way, this is considered to be an extra good omen for the marriage.

Answer: England

An English handfasting was not actually a wedding ceremony at all as many believe, but was looked on more as a type of engagement period before the union of a couple became permanent in a follow up church wedding. In pagan ceremonies this period lasted for a year and a day and was also called a handfasting, but in normal English society the handfasting only lasted for a month before the wedding.

This ceremony existed from the 12th to the 17th century in England, and it was considered legally binding, only to be dissolved on the death of either partner.

It was also known as a troth-plight. Part of the ritual of such a ceremony consisted of wrapping a red ribbon around the joined hands of the couple and tying it with a knot. This is where we get the expression "to tie the knot" today when referring to a wedding.

Answer: Pregnancy preceded the marriage

The English spelling for this Korean expression is "Sokdowebaan". It translates to "speeding over the limit" and refers to a bride's pregnancy preceding her marriage. Korea's nearby neighbour, China, refers to conception preceding a wedding as "Married by order of the child" ("Fengzichengun").

This suggests that the marriage was approved by imperial edict. Because the increasing percentage of pre-wedding pregnancies is on the rise in that nation - and is somewhat frowned upon - the hint of official approval gives it an acceptable quality instead.

Answer: Oops we did it marriage

The Japanese term "Dekichatta kekkon" (in English), which arose in the early 1990s, translate to "Oops we did it marriage" and refers to a wedding in which the bride is visibly pregnant. According to the Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare ministry, almost one quarter of Japanese brides are pregnant on their wedding day. All things considered, what with the condition of the bride and all, "Labor" is a most appropriate term for this ministry.

Answer: Yes

Most prevalent in the United Kingdom during the early years of the 18th century, a knobstick wedding was one in which a single pregnant girl, and the father of her child, were forced to the marriage altar by the authorities of the time. The term derives from the staves of office carried by the church wardens who were always present at these weddings to ensure they were carried out. One of the reasons behind these forced marriages was that, until a Parliamentary Act was passed in 1733 that stated the father of a child had to pay for that child's maintenance, a single mother and her child became the responsibility of her local parish.

Other countries sometimes use the term "a shotgun wedding" to refer to a forced marriage between a pregnant girl and the child's father, but "knobstick wedding" referred specifically to a wedding enforced by a local parish.

Answer: To confuse kidnappers

Going back to older times in England, the purpose of the maid of honour and bridesmaids were to assist a queen at her wedding, with the maid of honour given the top position. This evolved over time into the western marriage ceremonies of today. In feudal China however, bridesmaids served a darker purpose than simply assisting a blushing bride at her wedding.

They were there to protect the bride from being kidnapped by rival clans, or, to be more precise, to protect the blushing bride's womb because of its value in producing an heir.

The bridesmaids were therefore dressed up in identical clothing to the bride herself in order to confuse any attempts at kidnapping, or to prevent the bride from being singled out and robbed.

Answer: Anglican

The Marriage Act of 1753 in England and Wales was also known as "An Act for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage" and was the first government legislation in these two countries that required a formally approved marriage - with several preconditions to the marriage written into the Act. Prior to this a simple exchange of consent was considered enough proof that a couple were bound to one another, to be later married by an Anglican minister.

The act was instigated by an argument over whether a Scottish marriage was considered legal or not, and to prevent clandestine weddings taking place.

This Act decreed, among other things, that the marriage had to be announced publicly in a church beforehand, or a licence obtained, and that parental consent was required for any member of the couple under the age of twenty-one.

There were ways and means of circumventing these laws, but it was difficult to achieve this.

Answer: Civil marriages

Prior to the Marriage Act of 1836, the only legally recognised form of marriage in England and Wales was one carried out by a Church of England (Anglican) minister. This meant that marriages between Jews, Quakers, Hindus, Roman Catholics, atheists, Muslims or those from any other faith had to be carried out in an Anglican setting to be legally recognised, even if the relevant couple had been previously married in their own institutions.

Otherwise, there were no recognised legal rights between a couple should the marriage fail.

The Marriage Act of 1836 allowed civil marriages to be carried out in buildings belonging to all these other establishments if a registrar and two other witnesses to the wedding were in attendance.