In America, last to arrive at the alter is the bride. In England she is first. But whatever the timing of the arrival, a wedding march has been part of the wedding ceremony ritual since the beginning of time.

Since the wedding party must arrive at the place where the wedding is to take place, the processional was inevitable, only its form has changed through the years. And while the progressive bride might think shes doing something rather unique by arriving in a horse-drawn carriage, progressive brides of the past have been known to arrive at church on horseback, veil and hair streaming behind her.

The less affluent, or perhaps more conservative, tended to walk to the church surrounded by friends, family, and a few special people who would give a touch of class to the whole proceeding. These touches would come in the form of children dressed in silks and satins, and conveying a practical symbol of fertility. The symbol of fertility would be further underscored by the older guests who might carry garlands of wheat or even a cake. While informal in its aspect, it had all the meaning of the current, well-rehearsed, wedding march.

Above all, the processional meant a lot of noise as talented guests beat their drums, squeezed out piercing melodies out of their bagpipes, and fiddled away to their hearts content.

Unlike today, the wedding march procession tended to collect more and more participants as it progressed. Like vampires drawn to warm blood, farmers, tradesmen, shopkeepers, their hands still full of their occupation, would join the noisy crowd. Many of the lucky symbols thrown at the unsuspecting couples included corn or wheat or, indeed, any sort of seeds being planted. Caught up in the moment, there would also be the odd horse shoe or even nails, by the blacksmith interrupted amidst his labours.

While it was a lot of fun for the bride and groom to make their event known far and wide by the noise that accompanied them from home to church, it was actually as practical a gesture, as it was a decorative one. If somewhere in the future one of the spouses were to suggest that perhaps the marriage had no legitimate status, the other spouse could call upon dozens of people who could swear on a stack of bibles that they had seen the wedding, heard the wedding, and had even been part of the wedding.

Vlady Peters

Vlady Peters is an Australian Civil Marriage Celebrant performing weddings, naming, renenewal of vows and commitment ceremonies both for Australian citizens and for overseas couples visiting friends and relatives in Australia.

She is the author of two traditionally published books, "The Complete Book of Australian Weddings" and "The Small Organisation Handbbook" and is in the process of releasing two ebooks dealing with weddings and honeymoons.

Her major interest is research into customs and traditions of weddings.

By going back to the roots of customs, she believes couples can more clearly differentiate between what is essential in a wedding ceremony, and what is merely a personal preference.

This allows them to choose a ceremony reflecting their own situation within the framework of legal requirements.

Vlady has a bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Government, and has studied the writing of novels and romances. She has written children picture books as well as novels.

She is a member of Queesland Civil Marriage Celebrants - the largest Civil Marriage Celebrants Association in Australia - as well as member of Celebrants' Training Association.

She is also a member of Australian Authors, as well as Romance Writers Association where for a number of years she was the Convenor of the prestigious Emma Darcy Award - Australia's leading Lady of Romance.