Timeless Traditions : A couple's guide to wedding customs around the world [Paperback]

Lisl M. Spangenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2001

Timeless Traditions places the world at your feet--or at least within your grasp, which is as it should be for everyone in love.

For engaged couples around the world, this volume is an indispensable, comprehensive guide to the wedding traditions of the major faiths and more than one hundred countries and peoples, spanning the cultures and regions of past and present.
Written by Elegant Bride feature contributor Lisl M. Spangenberg and illustrated with sumptuous two-color illustrations, Timeless Traditions focuses on each step along the path to marriage, from pre-wedding to ceremonial rituals and from celebratory to post-wedding traditions. Within each section, specific customs are described in an A-to-Z format. Traditional dress, food, music, dance, and gifts are all featured, along with vows, readings, and toasts, from Asia to Zimbabwe.
Rediscover time-honored customs and read about practices which, though thousands of years old, may be new to you. Learn why the bride stands to the groom's left, what the Asian tea ceremony involves, how the African custom of loading the bride parallels the bridal shower, and why the brides of so many cultures wear veils. Withins these pages, discover the courtship and wedding rituals that speak to you and help you map out a meaning-filled celebration for your personal romance.
The perfect guide for couples who want to lend the richness and resonance of tradition to their wedding day, Timeless Traditions is also an ideal resource for wedding planners and others involved in the wedding industry.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Whether you are in the process of planning a wedding or are simply satisfying your curiosity about the custom of marriage, you are about to begin a fascinating journey. As you travel through the pages of this wonderful book, you will discover exotic rituals, familiar observances, and even lighthearted folk customs. . . . This is indeed the most comprehensive collection of customs I have seen."--Linda K. Stansbury, Editor-in-Chief, Elegant Bride

"Not content to merely expand on those traditions with which we are all somewhat familiar, Lisl Spangenberg has delved deeply into the treasure chest of world cultures and come up with a dazzling array of riches. . . . Now you have only to feast your eyes and choose those customs that seem most meaningful to you, that speak to your heart as well as your heritage."--from the foreword, by Beverly Clark
-- Review

About the Author

Before landing in Los Angeles to work as a freelance writer/producer, Lisl M. Spangenberg traveled the world for a decade, first as a student, then as a travel writer. A long-time contributor to Elegant Bride magazine, Ms. Spangenberg also writes for a variety of national publications, Web sites, and corporate media.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Universe (May 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789305194
• ISBN-13: 978-0789305190
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 0.7 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,058,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Traditions, May 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Timeless Traditions : A couple's guide to wedding customs around the world (Paperback)

Among the hundreds of wedding books on the real and virtual shelves of America's booksellers, I think this one really is unique. The author has unearthed from cultures around the world (countries and religions) hundreds of great traditions you can actually use, whatever your ethnic background--African American, Asian, European, Latin, Catholic, Buddhist, Amish, etc. It's easy to use, arranged in alphabetical order within chapters that follow the wedding timeline, engagement to the first year of marriage. There are even--and this is great--vows, readings, and toasts arranged by country and religion, so you can find a South American poem or the Quaker vows or a Yoruban rite. Shakespeare and the Apache Wedding Song coexist comfortably here. If you want to find some special, personal touches that'll still keep the ceremony and reception traditional, this is it. My grandfather was from Finland, and we broke the plate at our wedding and did the Dance of Crowns(page 157). AND we borrowed some from other cultures: I carried a tiny horseshoe and put some English lavender in my bouquet, like the Irish, so we'll be lucky enough to have our love last forever. Lots, lots more!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars non-timeless wedding traditions., July 21, 2008

By 

L. Huisman (Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Timeless Traditions : A couple's guide to wedding customs around the world (Paperback)

This would be a fantastic book, if only the traditions were true. Or if the author wrote "In this country they SOMETIMES do this and this at a wedding", but no.

The book is written in a way that makes the reader believe that these are traditions that are commonly used, which is wrong. I come from Norway and have never heard about these so-called "Norwegian wedding traditions", nor has anyone I know, old or young and spread all over the country. They say in the book "Green is a favorite dress color, and even if the brides wear different colors, the bridesmaids stick to green". And that the bride wear a crown to fend of demons. To tell the truth, green has NEVER been a common color for a wedding dress, ever. Not even in the Viking-era. There is, on the other hand, a small area in Norway where the bride used to wear a crown to the traditional national outfit, but that was like 150 years ago.
I have also no idea what this "traditional Norwegian wedding cake" is suppose to be. A cake made of bread with syrup and cheese? Huh?

This makes me think, if these "facts" are wrong, what other traditions are wrong or something they did 200 years ago?

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Traditions, April 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Timeless Traditions : A couple's guide to wedding customs around the world (Paperback)

No other book covers the world or makes the customs as easy to find as this book does.

It's worth it just to add a few really special touches to the pre-wedding parties, ceremony, and reception. It explains the origin of customs around the world and includes a variety of religious as well as Native American, Chinese, Japanese,African, Phillipine, Hispanic, and Slavic cultures among the incredible variety.

But it also includes vows AND ceremonies for an incredible variety of religions, great quotes from literary masters, and lots of toasts.

AND it's easy to find what you want because it's divided up into chapters that cover courting, engagement, ceremony, reception, clothes, and post-wedding stuff.

It's wonderful. I added some of the traditions to my wedding and it was so much more romantic.