Customs add flavor to nuptials
BY ANGIE SCHAFFER
Not every wedding looks like
“Father of the Bride.”
Swans, white dresses and a
showering of bird seed may char
acterize many of the weddings
that take place.
But some weddings go
beyond the traditional white
dress and Saturday afternoon
ceremony to stay in line with cul
tural traditions.
JamborVishwanatha and his
wife, Lavanya, of Omaha, decid
ed 16 years ago to marry after
being introduced by their fami
lies.
“We went out for a week, and
then we decided to get married,”
JamborVishwanatha said.
“We had a choice.”
Theirs was one of many
arranged marriages performed in
Southern India, die couple’s orig
inal home. Arranged marriages
are the norm there.
A Hindu wedding ceremony
in Southern India typically lasts
three days.
On the first day, the bride’s
family goes to the home of the
groom’s family to invite and
accompany them to the site of
the wedding.
That night, gifts are
exchanged, and the bride's family
prepares a dinner to make the
groom’s family feel comfortable.
The second day is the actual
wedding ceremony where the
bride, dressed in a silk sari, and
the groom, wearing traditional
Indian clothing, walk seven times
around a fire and vow to be
together for the rest of their lives.
On the third day, the groom’s
family holds a banquet for the
bride’s family as a sign of grati
tude for the union.
A wedding held in the Baha’i
Faith has two requirements: that
all living parents approve of the
marriage and that the couple
obtain a marriageiicense if the
state’s law requires one.
After that, the actual ceremo
ny is mostly the choice of the cou
ple.
“The couple needs to say a
vow to each other that verily we
will abide by the will of God,” said
Ruth Hansen, member of
Lincoln’s Baha’i Faith.
Two witnesses approved by
the local spiritual assembly must
hear the vows in order for them to
be valid, as the Baha’i Faith does
not have clergy, Hansen said.
In Mengjun Bai’s native
China, wedding ceremonies last
several hours and celebrations go
on for three days.
The wedding ceremony
begins with the couple washing
themselves for God. After that,
they are greeted by both sets of
parents, Bai said.
A priest marries the couple,
then the bride addresses the
audience, telling how the couple
met and plans for the future.
Weddings in the Morman
church follow a more simplistic
approach.
“There is no pomp and cir
cumstance. ... It is a very solemn,
spiritual ceremony,” said Mick
Smith, president of the Lincoln
Institute of Religion.
“We went out for a
week, and then we
decided to get
married. We had a
choice."
Jambor Vishwanatha
Omaha resident
Although some weddings
may take place in the church, the
church body encourages temple
weddings, which are ceremonies
held in the "house of the Lord
here upon the earth,” Smith said.
Only “worthy” members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints may enter the
temple, so guests attending such
a wedding are restricted, he said.
“You shouldn’t be marrying
until death, you should be marry
ing for eternity,” Smith said. “The
couple is sealed together for time
and all eternity.”
Consultants help advise busy brides
BYUSABEHRNS
Planning a perfect wedding
can be stressful.
In planning her wedding,
Carla Keller of Omaha said she was
trying to do it all at once.
Keller said she began wedding
preparations while working full
time and taking a full load of class
es.
“My plans weren’t working,
and I began hating my wedding,”
she said.
But help is available for busy
couples in the form of wedding
consultants.
Teresa Furnas, owner of A
fir
Bridal Trousseau, works with
other professionals to give brides
advice and guidance.
The advantage of having a
consultant is to save money, avoid
trouble and maintain peace of
mind, Furnas said.
A Bridal Trousseau is staffed
with full-time professionals who
are able to help the bride and her
wedding party with everything
from selecting the perfect dress to
questions with invitations.
“It’s like an all-day spa for the
bride,” said Furnas, who encour
ages brides to bring along their
girlfriends.
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bride, she said.
Jennifer Schutz, owner of the
Bridal Gown Outlet, runs a retail
and consulting store and also
teaches a class at Southeast
Community College.
The two-hour class is
designed to explain what ques
tions brides should ask and
includes information on signing
contracts.
Many brides like to plan their
own weddings and are trying to
educate themselves, Schutz said.
“The more you know, the less
stress you have,” Schutz said.
A Bridal Trousseau and the
Bridal Gown Outlet provide free
consulting to clients, but most
wedding consultants charge
around $25 an hour for their serv
ices, Schutz said.
“The more you know,
the less stress you
have."
Jennifer Schutz
Bridal Gown Outlet owner
Some theme weddings are
easier to pull off with the help of a
consultant, she said.
One outdoor wedding she
helped with was a breakfast cere
mony that included the family dog
and cat as ring bearers. Then, it
started raining.
Schutz was able to hand out
umbrellas to the guests and the
ceremony continued.
Furnas advises new brides to
“do things as soon as possible, go
with things you like and don’t look
back."
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registry
helpful tool
REGISTRY from pageS
gun to record their choices.
Target, at 333 N 48th St. and
5330 S. 56th St., offers a similar
registration process.
Computer terminals marked
Club Wedd provide access for the
couple as well as for friends and
family searching for gifts, said
Karen Thompson, Target Guest
Service Team
Leader.
"The sys- Tools,
tem is incredi
bly user
friendly,”
Thompson
said. “Hus, our
information is
online and at
every store
nationwide.”
Both
Target and
Bed Bath &
Beyond pro
vide the cou
ple with an
information
pack to help
prepare for its
wedding and
registry cards
to include in
gnus,
movies and
gag gifts
are often
popular as
well. Some
people like
to give
more fun
gifts/’
Karen
Thompson
Target Guest
Service Team
leader
invitations.
Each registry is different.
Some couple’s list is two or three
pages in length, while others may
reach 16 or 17, Knuth said.
Housewares, domestics and
kitchen items are usually the
most popular areas, but some
lists have a little of everything,
Thompson said.
“Tools, grills, movies and gag
gifts are often popular as well,”
Thompson said. “Some people
like to give more fun gifts.”
Online sites, such as
www.weddingnetwork.com and
www.modernbride.com, offer
alternatives to the traditional
kitchenware gifts.
While providing couples a
place to register with more than
100 retailers, many gifts are avail
able for the couple who have
everything.
For adventurous couples, an
option is to register for a hot air
balloon flight, which ranges in
price from $50 to $450; a white
water expedition, which costs
between $100 and $400 or a
weekend diving package in
Miami Beach, which goes for
$549.
Other gifts include theater
tickets and golf packages.
For Witt, cooking classes