References

1. 2People1Life. (2012). The Whole Journey. Retrieved from http://2people1life.com/blog/category/the-whole-

2. ABC/Cinemedia. (2005). Siapo-The Samoan Cloth Made From Bark. ABC Radio Australia.

Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacific/people/tapa.htm

3. Advameg. (2007). Albania. Countries and Their Cultures. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/A-        Bo/Albania.html

4. African Wedding Traditions. (2010). African Wedding Rituals. Retrieved from http://www.africanmarriage.info/

   

5. Bob. (2014). Some of The Most Unorthodox Weddings That Ever Took Place. The Chive. Retrieved from http://thechive.com/2014/08/14/some-of-the-most-unorthodox-weddings-that-ever-took-place-        38-photos/ 

6. Chesterton, G.K. (n.d). Traditional Village Wedding. Retrieved from http://www.discover-interesting-          places.com/traditional-balinese-village-wedding.html

7.Craven, S.M. (2006). Why is marriage important? Marriage & The Natural Family. Retrived from http://www.battlefortruth.org/ArticlesDetail.asp?id=165 http://www.battlefortruth.org/ArticlesDetail.asp?id=165

8. Elevale67. (2008). Ethiopia Surma. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XUPzUXhVxU

9.Encyclopedia of the Nations. (2014). Albania. Retrieved from http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Europe/Albania.html

10.Encyclopedia Britannica. (2013). Trobriand Islands. Retrieved from http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/319179/Trobriand-Islands

11.Fabulous Wedding Rituals and Customs of People of The World. (2014). Dating Friend. Retrieved from http://www.datingfriend.net/articles/fabulous_wedding_rituals_and_customs_of_people_of_the_world.htm .  

12.IALC. (n.d). Albanian Wedding Ceremonies for Dummies. Albanian Languange and Literature. Retrieved from http://albanianlanguage.blogspot.com/2013/03/albanian-wedding-ceremonies-for-dummies.html .

13.Kuipers, L. (2009). Trobrian Islands Dance (1). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPPFs86Wp9c

14.Kwekudee. (2013). Suri People : Africa's Most Skillful Stick-fighting Warrior Tribe. Trip Down Memory Lane. Retrieved from http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/search?q=Africa%27s+Most+Skillful+Stickfighting+Warrior+Tribehttp://kwekudeetripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/searchq=Africa%27s+Most+Skillful+Stick-fighting+Warrior+Tribe

15.LeVasa Resort. (2014). Traditional Samoa Wedding, LeVasa Resort. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XiUstAlR5U 

16.Moore, O.J. (2014). Wedding Cake Wednesday : Traditional Wedding Sweets From Around the World. Cake Decorating Online Class. Retrieved from http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2014/01/traditional-wedding-cakes-from-around-the-world/

17.New Atlantis WILD. (2013). Red Skinned Women (Himba tribe-Namibia). Retrived from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59o-aXRp9Q0

18.Odd Stuff. (2012). 10 Strange Wedding Traditions Around The World. Odd Stuff Magazine. Retrieved from http://oddstuffmagazine.com/10-strange-wedding-traditions-around-the-world.htmlhttp://oddstuffmagazine.com/10-strange-wedding-traditions-around-the-world.html

19.Olga P. (2012). Traditonal Albanian Wedding Dance. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OstWbRLiO_w .

20.Roberson, R. (2012). 29th : Samoan. Around The World in 80 dresses. Retrieved from http://inblissweddings.com/ideas/wedding_fashion/wedding_dresses/around_the_world_in_80_dresses.

21.Rodgers, G. (n.d). Where is Bali? About Travel. Retrieved from http://goasia.about.com/od/islandsandbeaches/a/Where-is-Bali.htm.  

22.Scandinavian Kitchen. (2014). 18 Ways to Be more Norwegian. Retrieved from http://scandikitchen.typepad.com/scandikitchen/norway/. 

23.The Huffing Post. (2013). 11 Unusual Wedding Photos That Will Take Your Breath Away. Huff Post Weddings. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/unusual-weddings_n_4236320.html.

24.Vivilo, S. (2010). "SIAPO" A Cultural Treasure We Cannot Afford To Lose. Le Malae, Where Samoans Gather. Retrieved from http://www.lemalae.com/culture.html. 

25.VIWA. (2012). Bizarre Wedding Traditions. Voice of Indian Women in America. Retrieved from http://www.iamviwa.com/2012/03/17/bizarre-wedding-traditions/.

                       

26.Winslade, H. (2014). Wedding Caked from Around The World. Insure and Go. Retrieved from https://blog.insureandgo.com/food-and-drink/2014/08/wedding-cakes-from-around-the-world .

27.Winter, K. (2014). We've tied the knot 52 times ! Globe-trotting couple has traditional marriage ceremony in each place they visit. Mail Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2539806/Weve-tied-knot-52-times-Globe-trotting-couple-experience-traditional-marriage-ceremonies-place-visit.html.

28.WN Network. (2013). World New RSS. Retrieved from http://wn.com/rss.

29.WorldNews.tv. (2014). World Record British Couple Alex & Lisa Got Married 66th Time in Karachi. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ntYejV1IX8.

30. Hnabas. (2009). Kransekake Norwegian Cake, Wedding cake, Scandinavian cake. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiVlqNlVwqQ 

#15 American skier Jannette Burr and her husband, artist Hans Sachs, kiss while water skiing their wedding attire on the Worthersee in Austria in 1951.

1951? Do you see the title? It is 1951 !

I thought the unique wedding is just for current years, you know 20's something. So this wedding is so vintage I guess hahaha. I bet no one at 1951 could do this style, or maybe just a little number of them. So here it is. American skier Jannette Burr and her husband, artist Hans Sachs, kiss while waterskiing in their wedding attire on the Worthersee in Austria in 1951.

This waterskiing-wedding was at 1951. Oh god.

#14 Rick Harker, 64, and 55-years-old Marlene Hoar kiss as they repel down a skyscraper as part of their 2009 Vancouver wedding ceremony.

Yeahhh, another older couple who wants a memorable wedding. Bob, (2014) wrote in The Chive, "Rick Harker, 64, and Marlene Hoar, 55, repel down the side of a skyscraper as part of their wedding ceremony on September 15, 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The couple was married by a pastor as they repelled down the side of the building as part of a B.C. Lions Society charity event with proceeds going towards helping children with disabilities".

The Harkers 

#13 Gall Mathis, 54, skydives following her 2011 wedding to Phil Muthins in Middletown Ohio.

Most of couples who do weird, but amazing wedding are young. I mean, average 25+ to 30+. But could you imagine if the couples are a little bit older? No offense okay. Im just worried about their health, hahaha still it is up to them right? Therefore, Gail Mathis, did a skydive-wedding , following her 2011 wedding to Phil Mathis in Middletown Ohio. Maybe the didnt have opportunity to do it back then, so they made in a little bit late. As long as they are happy, that is enough. :)

Before on the air

 

Enjoying their moment on the air, together 

#12 Timothy Ful Cher and Nony Tedjakasume bungee jump together in Atlantic City, N.J.

I must say, crazy things are their way. Such a "sporting" couple, indeed. There is another unique, unusual, and unbelievable wedding style. After tying knot in 1992, Timothy Ful Cher and Nony Tedjakasume bungee jump together in Atlantic City, N.J.

Haa, do you still wanna try to do that for your wedding one day? Duhh. *faint*

Bungee jumping-wedding-style

#11 Newly married couple Scott and Crystal Morrell make their way down the slopes after trying the knot atop Lift 2 at the Loveland Ski Area resort in Colorado in 2012.

Unline Alex and Lisa who love travelling around the world, and have their wedding ceremonies there, Scott and Crystal have another interest. In 2012, both of them make their own way down the slopes after trying the knot atop Lift 2 at the Loveland Ski Area resort in Colorado. (Huffington Post, 2013)

I bet they might first met there, and then become dating port for them to reflect their memories back then. What say you? Muehehhee

Get married in cold is not an easy thing you know?

#10 Got married for 52 times !

If cultures take part in celebrating the wedding, same goes to the individual ! Marriage is one of "once in a whole life", therefore everyone makes unique, so it will be last forever.Therefore, Alex Pelling, and his wife, Lisa Gan planned their wedding as their best to get married in the all around the world ! Sounds crazy huh, but so far they managed to get married 52 times over 50 countries within 2 years ! Fuhh amazing huh?

Alex Peliing, and Lisa Gan

Both of them are from Manchester, and decided to left their life in the UK in 2011 to start afresh in Australia, identifying the very best places in the world to get married along the way. Now their blog hits million views, and their Facebook page has more than 37,000 followers, as they experienced the wonderful variety of cultures and traditions around the world. The couple had been friends for eight years when they began dating in 2008. In 2011, after four years living together, Alex and Lisa made the brave decision to uproot their lives and follow their dream to relocate in Australia. The couple rented out their house and sold Alex's motor repair business as well as their possessions to get funding for their trip. (Katy Winter, 2014)

They said, to not want "White wedding" around the world, therefore they decided so hard to embrace the culture and local traditions of each place they visit. They would like to experience the difference in every ceremony and find out what it is that makes the bringing of two people together, such a worldwide tradition, and of course let the the world know about it.

Their experiences have been supported by local experts including shamans, Zulu chiefs, pastors, vicars, rabbis, and even a Voodoo priestess, not to mention an army of wedding photographers and dedicated wedding professionals who have donated their time and skills to Alex and Lisa's quest.

So sweet, is'nt? So let us watch their 66th wedding in Karachi 2 months ago.

Their 66th wedding in Karachi

Their journey

 

 

 

To conclude, do visit Alex and Lisa's official blog for more inspiring love stories  at http://2people1life.com/blog/. See ya ! :D

#9 Traditional Norwegian wedding cakes are made with bread and cheese

Every culture have their own way in celebrating the wedding. In Norway, the first thing differ the most is their wedding cake. Most of countries prefer cream cake, fondant cake, but Norwegian has their unique, and traditional cake. It is called "brudlaupskling" or "kransekake" or, kransekage which means "ring cake", is a traditional Norwegian and Danish fancy bread topped with cream cheese and fruit syrup, folded, and cut into squares. (Jeesie Oleson Moore, 2014). A real "this tower bread" is made from pure almond paste, which is quite costy, compared to cheap stuff used form normal cake decorating. It is difficult to make, taking many hours of shaping, baking and decorating.

Traditional Brudlaupskling

Made of bread, topped with cheese and chocolate syrup

The recipe used to make this legacy cake has been used for years, and became a popular wedding extra when Norwegians found it hard to source white flour due to financial issues in the country. Anything containing wheat during these times was seen as a delicacy, so it became popular at celebratory events like weddings. It is a Norwegian tradition that is carried on, even though Norway's economy has improved dramatically. The tower of bread is served with cheese, cream and syrup, making it rather sweet.

 (Helen Winslade, 2014).

*Psst, sounds delicious and mouth watering is it?* :D

Tower of bread

Brudlaupskling or Kransekake

#8 Wedding tradition in Bali

BALI HERE WE COME OH YEAHH ! :D

When we talk about Bali, automatically we will imagine about the watt temples, the relaxing beach, spa, romantic place and so on. 

The famous and historical watt temples

The terrace paddy -view

Kids in Bali

Gred Rodgers (2014), an Asia Travel expert wrote Bali as the most famous of Indonesia's 17,000 islands and has been a tourist favourite for decades. Bali is considered on of the most romantic islands in the world and is a top honeymoon destination in Asia. Unlike the rest of Indonesia which is predominantly Islamic, Bali is Hindu; beautiful temples are spread throughout the island, lending a feeling of spirituality.

How Bali people celebrate their wedding

Perfect Bali's couple in front of their temple

Therefore, since Bali is a part of Hindu-spread place, Bali is practising the culture that is influenced by the religion. One of the culture is the wedding. During the wedding feast in Bali, you will see all women at the wedding table, no men. It is because they are resting as the have prepared all the dishes, and luckily with joy women will eat that.

The uncle was cooking rice.

Uncle and gravy.

Hardworking men.

While the men are preparing the, the women were busy placing the appropriate offerings around the sea to achieve a happy outcome. Chesterton wrote in his blog, "The wedding itself eventually began-and the man who had been busy helping in the preparation of food, and whom I thought to look very aristocratic, was the celebrant-apparently the priest or village leader".

They still believe in gods.

Put good food to their gods, in order to bless the wedding

Is it unique enough? Weird huh? No wonder there are so many famous and global male chefs in the world, is it?

 

#7 Wedding tradition in Trobriand Island

Hellooooo people. Come, join me to the Trobriand Island ! XD

Trobriand Island, or now is officially known as Kiriwina Islands, coral formations in the Solomon Sea of the southwestern Pacific, Papua New Guinea, 90 miles (145 km) north of the southeastern most extension of the island if New Guinea. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013).

The map of  Trobriand Island 

The man of Trobriand Island, in a dance

 Alright, so let us move on to the main topic. In Trobriand Island, or Kiriwina Island, the future couples need to sing together, in front of the other members of the tribe. Then, they get married after the singing-together ceremony.

The youth

Let us have a glance on their culture in terms of their traditional dance. Wiwiwiwiiwi XD

Youtube : Trobriand Island Dance (1) 

So, that is a wrap for wedding tradition in Trobriand Island, I never know their existence before. Howboutchuuu?

  

#6 Wedding tradition in Albania

Welcome to Albania in Europe  oh yeahhhh XD

Albania is located in southwestern part of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by the Yugoslav republics of Montenegro, Serbia, and Macedonia, and by Greece and the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Albania has an area of 18,748 square kilometres (11,100 square miles), making it slightly smaller than Maryland. The capital, Tiranë, is situated in the west-central part of the country near the Adriatic Sea. (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2014).

Albania.

 In Albania, the marriage there are socially and legally restricted to heterosexual couples. They usually are arranged at an early age in the countryside, traditionally by the parents of the groom with the help of a matchmaker rather than by the couple. *Sounds like Muslim huh?* Remaining unmarried is looked on as a great misfortune. In some mountain regions. the bride was stolen from her family, that is, spirited away by an armed bridegroom or by his male relatives and companions. This often symbolic though occasionally real theft of a bride was also a common custom among the Italo-Albanians of Calabria. In other regions, it was customary to purchase a wife. In zones such as Mirdite and the northern mountains, the father, brother, or another male relative of the bride still presents the groom with a bullet wrapped in straw. The new husband is thus free to kill his wife with the approval of her family, if she proves to be disobedient.

During the wedding, it was very important to fool evil spirits which, according to local beliefs, always seek to prevent newlyweds from good fortune. Within the first there nights after the marriage a young wife was obliged to resist having intimacy with her husband. That was done in order to prove the evil spirits that newly married were chaste and virtuous.

Enough for today, let us enjoy this "Traditional Albanian Wedding Dance" ! XD

Youtube : Traditional Albanian Wedding Dance

#5 Wedding traditions in Java

Welcome to Javaaaa, everyone ! We have explored a few wedding traditions in Samoa, Namibia, Kenya, and Surma. Now it is turn to the Asia. In one the of Java islands, the people there practice a wedding custom, but very weird and unique to the other eyes. In Malaysia to be exact, the couples pay the fee of marriage registration or course by using money of course. But in Java, whether you believe or not, the couples need to submit 25 rat tails to the local administration as a wedding fee, instead of money.Also,it costs 40 rat tails if the couple would like to have a divorce. (Odd Stuff Magazine, 2012). Sounds disgusting? Yes? Euuuuu. *Oh sorry, this is just a normal perception, still I do respect the culture ok? Do not misunderstanding.*

In Java, wedding is a means of fighting with the rats.

The rat tails. Can you imagine the bride and groom need to find 25 of them? Oh god.

#4 Wedding traditions in Surma

We have been exploring a few places in Africa. So let us move to Asia, which Surma in Ethiopia, Afghanistan.

Every tribes have their own culture, same goes with Surma people in Ethiopia. The young men and women spend a lot of time painting and adorning their bodies in a bid to attract members of opposite sex during their marriage and courtship celebrations.

In African Wedding Traditions. com, (2010), it stated that the Surma have two options when it comes to their own wedding rituals. Either a man selects a bride and pays her father a bride price, or a woman gets to choose the man she wants to be her husband. the men however have to prove their worth by engaging in a competition with each other known as a Donga stick fight. This is a somewhat violent stick fight where the only rule is not to kill your opponent, doing so will result in banishment if his entire family from the village. The winner becomes the prime choice for the "belle of the ball". It does not end there though, the winner will still need to pay the girl's family a bride price for her.

So let us watch their creepy video muehhehehee.

Youtube : Ethiopoa Surma

So, in order the youth to get married, the men should have at least 60 cows, (it is like show their wealth) and win in the stick fighting.

Surma men and their 60 cows

Donga stick fighting

The Suri girl is putting the plate in her bottom lip

The plate and the hole-lip.

No one knows why lip plates were first used. One theory goes that it was meant to discourage slavers from taking the women. It is undoubtedly painful. Suri women wear giant lip plates as a sign of beauty, like in mursi tribe, and also as an attraction for tourists, maintaining their image of an untouched people, living in one of the last wildernesses of Africa.

When they are ready to marry, teenagers start to make a hole in the lower lip with a wooden stick ; it is to be removed the day after to put a bigger one ; and then by a lip plate ; few months after, it reaches its final size, and girls are seen as beautiful ; the lip plate is made of wood or terracotta ; the pressure of the plates breaks the lip, the girl will be considered as ugly and won't be able to marry anyone apart from old men or sick people.

#3 Wedding traditions in Kenya

Hellooooo all good people. xD

We know Samoans' brides wear Siapo in their wedding ceremony, so let us explore about Kenya's groom !

This is Kenya. It is in Africa waka waka eh eh !

 IS IT TRUE THAT, THE GROOM WILL WEAR WOMEN'S CLOTH AFTER THE FIRST MONTH OF THEIR WEDDING TO FULLY ENJOY AND UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IS BEING A WOMAN ?

Notice the grooms wear women's cloth. It is a norm there where the grooms can feel the hardship of being a woman.

Yeahh, look at them. It is unusual for our men in Malaysia especially to wear women's cloth, just to indicate their feeling among women. I mean yeahh the grooms wear women's cloth after their first month (honeymoon) of wedding. Wife's hands and nails are painted with a special ceremonial red and black pattern as a sign of her new status. This pattern keeps the whole year. It is to know and to share the feeling of hardship being a woman. Because in Africa as the whole, the brides cannot back home to her family after she gets married, and that is one of her huge sacrifications. Thank you Kenyans, at least there is a piece of humanity in your pure heart. :')

#2 Wedding traditions in Namibia

Hi guys ! Still we are exploring in African culture, now in Namibia xD

Let us explore about their wedding culture by watching this video. I might say, this is quite sensitive one. Err. 

Youtube : Red skinned women (Himba tribe-Namibia)

If you're focusing watch this movie, the narrator said that the Namibians only get bathed once in their life, which is the day before marriage. You know what, every brides in the world will fully prepared about their wedding celebrations. They will be as pretty as they can. One of their culture there is, the bride wears a veil instead of a special hat, called a "ECORA" and which is made by goat skin, rubbed with tar, grease and red ocher. (Odd Stuff, 2012). Yeah yeah, it might look weird for us, but it is the best for them, indeed, no doubt.

#1 Wedding traditions in Samoa

Assalamualaikum and hi readers ! :D

So I will briefly explain about wedding traditions in Samoa for my first entry. Haaa have you ever heard about Samoa? Yes? No? Me either no hahaa *hi five*. So let us check it out what and where is Samoa?

The map of Samoa

The national flag of Samoa

*pssst. If you are google-ing, you might find Samoa and American Samoa. But they are two different countries, and I am writing about "SAMOA" okayy?*

Samoa, formerly Western Samoa, is in the South Pacific Ocean about 2,200 mi (3,540 km) south of Hawaii. The larger islands in the Samoan chain, Upolu and Savai'i, are mountains and of volcanic origin. There is little level land except in the coastal areas, where most cultivation takes place.

Enough for this. Let us see their wedding culture ! 

From Youtube : Traditional Samoa Wedding, Le Vasa Resort

What's unique about them?

The bride dress made from the bark of mulberry tree.

.

What capture me the most instead how they celebrate the ceremony is, their unique dress, and called as Siapo. Siapo is the Samoan word for a fine cloth made from the bark of the paper Mulberry tree. It is regarded as one of the region's finest and most distinctive art forms. This fabric is important especially during wedding ceremonies where the culture demands that the bride should put on a wedding dress made of this fabric.

The Samoan cloth or Siapo is beginning to disappear from our Cultural experience because creating it is very labor intensive, Is it so "Important" though to our traditional fabric that we as Polynesians including other Islands in the South Pacific like Tonga & Fiji Islands, should hang on to it?

Siapo, is one of the oldest Samoan cultural art forms. For centuries Siapo designs were passed down from generation to generation. Unfortunately, it is becoming a lost art. Siapo is not only a decorative art, it is a symbol of Samoan culture. It is used for clothing, burial shrouds, bed covers, ceremonial garments, and much more. Siapo is very important for cultural ceremony, especially weddings and funerals where it is used to wrap the dead body before being put in the grave. That's a very special dignity for one who dies in the islands and was what was used before coffins became more popular.

That is a wrap up from Samoa. Thanks ! :)

Introduction

Assalamualaikum, have a good day . :)

Hi, I am Nor Ezzaty Syarafina bt Noryamal from Kolej Profesional MARA Indera Mahkota, Kuantan and currently in Diploma in English Communication, Semester 5. I am doing this blog as my required assignment for subject Digital and Mobile Communiction (ITE 3563), which is taught by Madam Hawinda bt Karmon. For this semester, my lecturer choose "Unique" as a theme for blog development, therefore I choose "The Unique Wedding Styles in The World". Hence, this blog is used for internal circulation only.

The purpose why I choose this topic because :

•      To expose to the readers the uniqueness  of marriage styles around the world that are rare to be heard.
• To enhance the master of knowledge regarding these interesting cultures among the readers.
•     To be an open minded person, because experiences and knowledge make one thinks globally.

Every countries, states, or any tribes in the world have their unique culture that differ them from the other cultures. It shows the uniqueness of who they are. They might have the weirdest custom that never cross in our mind! Same goes with their wedding culture, (Craven, 2006) stated that marriage is far more profound than our contemporary culture would lead us to believe. It is a life-long commitment that restrains self-centeredness, self-indulgence and self-gratification. It is the one relationship that effectively prepares and conditions us for community.

Therefore, as for my blog assignment, I will briefly introduce 15 unique wedding cultures around the world that seems interesting to our eyes. They are :

·         Wedding traditions in Samoa

·         Wedding traditions in Namibia

·         Wedding traditions in Kenya

·         Wedding traditions in Surma

·         Wedding traditions in Java

·         Wedding traditions in Albania

·         Wedding traditions in Trombrian Island

·         Wedding traditions in Bali

·         Traditional Norwegian wedding cakes are made with bread and cheese
+     (New addition) Got Married for 52 times !

·         Newly married couple Scott and Crystal Morrell make their way down the slopes after trying the knot atop Lift 2 at the Loveland Ski Area resort in Colorado in 2012.

·         Timothy Ful Cher and Nony Tedjakasume bungee jump together in Atlantic City, N.J.

·         Gall Mathis, 54, skydives following her 2011 wedding to Phil Muthins in Middletown Ohio.

·       Rick Harker, 64, and 55-years-old Marlene Hoar kiss as they repel down a skyscraper as part of their 2009 Vancouver wedding ceremony.

·    American skier Jannette Burr and her husband, artist Hans Sachs, kiss while water skiing their wedding attire on the Worthersee in Austria in 1951.

 

Happy reading ! XD

.