Today, South Africa prefers to be known as the Rainbow Nation, a country with wide diversity, who is accepting of everyone. Anyone can marry whoever they’d like to. However, this was not always the case.

Under Apartheid, marriage between people of certain races was prohibited. After the National Party (NP) came into power in 1948, they promulgated various racist laws. One of these was the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No 55 of 1949. It was one of the first pieces of legislation they enacted after gaining power, according to Thought Co.

The act banned marriages between “Europeans and non-Europeans”. In plain English, this meant that white people could not marry anyone who was not considered to be white. In addition, the law made it a criminal offense for a marriage officer to perform a ceremony between a white person and a person of colour.

According to SA History, the new law also rendered interracial marriages that took place outside of South Africa to be null and void. Many were arrested for breaking the provisions set out by the new laws.

The law was justified as the government claimed to want to “protect the purity” of the white race and to ensure that people of colour do not “infiltrate” the “dominant” race. To really ensure that this didn’t happen, the Apartheid government also passed the Immorality Act No. 23 of 1957 (which repealed the 1927 act) to prohibit sexual intercourse or “immoral or indecent acts” between white people and people of colour.

To clarify, the law did not prevent mixed marriages between people of colour (for example if a black citizen wanted to marry a coloured citizen).

Thought Co reported that even without the law that had been put in place, mixed marriages between white people and people of colour were already rare. They averaged under 100 per year, between ’43 and ’46.

Many opposed the Prohibition of Marriage Act. However, in most cases it was not because whites wanted to have mixed marriages, but rather because they felt insulted at the thought that they would intend to. They thought the law was not necessary.

Years later, actual opposition to the laws built up. In 1976, approximately 260 people were convicted for violating the law, according to Thought Co. The next year, 1977, the opposition became so strong that it divided the cabinet.

On June 19 1985, the laws were repealed by the Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, according to SA History. This Act allowed interracial marriages and relationships.

According to the BBC, South Africa’s first interracial marriage (supposedly the first legal one, since there were cases of people being convicted for contravening the laws prior to the legalisation), was between a white woman named Suzanne Leclerc and a black man named Protas Madlala.

Today, of course, thousands of interracial marriages exist in the country. Mixed couples creating beautiful families are easily found and widely celebrated.

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As weddings continue to modernise and couples begin to care less about what their older relatives might think, new ideas for the wedding as a whole are being implemented. One of these,  the gender-neutral wedding party, aims to make weddings more inclusive of everyone.

For many, the idea that the wedding party should be gendered (i.e. males have only male friends in the wedding party and females have only female friends in the wedding party), is a bit old school.

Firstly, people have friends of all genders. It seems odd to only include those who identify as the same gender as you do. Secondly, the idea that wedding parties should be gendered is exclusionary for those who do not fall into the gender binary.

By going for a gender-neutral wedding party, you can include those who you have the closest relationships with, without being held back by the idea of gender categorisation.

Anything from terminology to logistics is also easy to work around. There is no need to worry about what you will call the members of the bridal party. Is that really important? However, if you’re set on labelling them, you can go for fun alternatives like “bridesmate”, “bridesman”, “groomsmaid”, or anything that you’d like.

Have you seen our gender-neutral MATE of honour cards?

Made in collaboration with @equalitywed, they’re the perfect way to ask your friends to join your wedding party – whoever they are.

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— Gettin’ Hitched Rocks (@HitchedTweets) May 13, 2019

Similarly, you might think that they still need to walk down the aisle in opposite-sex pairs. Why not have some same-sex pairs, or have them walk down the aisle individually?

Further, the gender-neutral wedding party could take some strain off of you when it comes to organising. For example, instead of finding the perfect outfit for each member of the party, you can assign them a colour and they can each go out and find something that they would be comfortable to wear.

The gender-neutral wedding party is perfect for inclusivity and makes all your loved ones feel welcome and comfortable. Who wouldn’t want that?

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Lebanese weddings are known to be fun and energetic, with great food, spectacular venues, and lots of partying. Some say that several Lebanese wedding traditions have faded away with the times, but many still celebrate the event with age-old cultural practices.

Events surrounding marriage begin way before the actual wedding day, with the reception being the grand finale of it all. Since there are many traditions that occur in the lead-up to the nuptials, some Lebanese people believe that the reception should bring it all together with a bang. For this reason, there are also various traditions that are practiced on the wedding day.

Here are some Lebanese wedding traditions you should know about:

– Zaffé 

The Zaffé stems from the Middle East and can be traced back to the 14th century. This tradition sees the bride and groom being escorted from each of their family homes to the location of the wedding. It calls for music, dance, and often has many onlookers joining in on the festivities.

When they reach the reception venue, the bride and groom walk in behind the Zaffé, showing themselves together as a married couple for the very first time.

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– Cutting the Cake

The details of this tradition vary from source to source. However, it is clear that cutting the cake is an important part of traditional wedding celebrations.

According to the 365 Days of Lebanon blog, the tradition began in ancient times and was initially practiced by breaking a cake made of wheat or barley over the head of the bride. Now, the tradition is practiced through the cutting of the cake instead. The couple place their hands together (symbolic of their unity) and cut the cake (the wheat used to make the cake is symbolic of fertility and the cake’s sweetness represents the sweetness of their new life together).

Other sources also report the same tradition, however, they add that the cake is to be cut using a sword.

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– Fireworks 

It is quite common for the Lebanese to have fireworks at their wedding reception. Usually, it takes place after or during the cutting of the cake.

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– Dancing

Dancing is a big part of weddings in Lebanon. Often, weddings incorporate belly dancers as entertainment and of course, the newly-weds and their guests join in on the fun too.

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– Staying at the reception 

In many cultures, it is common for guests at the wedding to see the newly-weds off as they leave for their honeymoon or to their new home. It is tradition, however, for Lebanese couples to stay at the reception until the very last guest has left. It is considered extremely impolite and disrespectful for them to leave any earlier.

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In many parts of the world, there are more celebrations than just the wedding day itself. In some Indian cultures, particularly Hinduism, one of these traditions is the Mehndi party.

At this pre-wedding celebration, all the women closest to the bride come together in celebration of the upcoming nuptials. The bride has Mendhi (or henna) applied to her palms, the back of her hands, and feet, and guests can opt to have some henna done too.

Mehndi is an ancient form of body art, which originated in India and across South Asia and The Middle East. It is often red, after being applied and having set, and the bride and guests can choose from a variety of designs.

The paste used to create the body art is made of a plant which has leaves that contain a dying agent called Tannis.

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The colour and patterns are significant. According to tradition, the deeper the colour of the bride’s mehndi, the more likely it is for her to have a happy marriage. Designs and patterns often symbolise luck, joy, love, and blessings and the bride commonly hides her groom-to-be’s name somewhere in the pattern.

In an interview with Byrdie, henna tattoo expert explains patterns and placements thereof in more detail. She said that henna applied to palms allows the person to receive good luck, adding that the application itself is what helps.

“Henna has a natural cooling effect when applied, which is said to have nerve-calming properties before the wedding day when placed on the hands and feet,” she explained, adding that “Commonly, the designs people get on their palms are the most intricate, and sometimes draw out a story using symbols and illustrations of the bride and groom”

Henna applied to the top of the hand specifically indications protection.

The exact history and origin of this tradition have been difficult to trace, due to migration and cultural integration. It is, however, commonly argued that the application of henna has happened for more than 5 000 years. Some suggest it comes from ancient India, while others say it was brought to India by Egyptians.

According to Aroha International, evidence shows that the civilisation of Babylonia made use of henna to decorate women on special occasions. They claim that the earliest text which speaks of henna, with regards to marriage and fertility, is from the Ugaritic legend of Baal and Anath.

Others, including the Huffington Post, have reported that its use was made popular by Cleopatra in Ancient Egypt, as she adorned her body with it. According to the publication, henna was used to paint the nails of mummies before they were buried.

Despite its unclear origins, henna is still very popular today. Have a look at some modern henna designs, to help you understand what it’s all about.

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