Weddings are happy occasions anticipated and hoped for especially by the human female gender. Customs and traditions influence the way marriages are conducted. There are certain pre-nuptial conditions and stages that have to be observed before the actual marriage vows can take place. Wedding Bands and Wedding Music only come in after certain preconditions are satisfied.
Traditionally, marrying a girl is like going through initiation rituals that a man must hurdle before he can actually be considered part and worthy of the girl's family.
Let's take traditional Northern and Central Philippines as an example. If a man bravely proposes to a girl's family his intention to marry her, he must render domestic services (termed paninilbihan in the local language) for the girl and her family for a period of time that only the girl and her family can determine. There is no fixed or standard duration of the domestic service but the would-be groom has to do the girl's bidding without complaint as if he were a slave the whole time. The family only declares his "graduation" from the initiation rituals if they find his services satisfactory. The domestic service emphasises on his behavioural response to the initiation process. He should have been most cheerfully willing in his servitude as it was supposed to be a measure of his love for the girl and her family. Whether he becomes the direct opposite of his ritual behaviour after the wedding is no longer an issue. This is probably the reason why, along with the influences of the West that the tradition had been lost and is no longer practiced even in remote rural areas.
The traditional pre-nuptial practices of Southern Philippines more closely resembles that of Islam cultures as most of its inhabitants are Muslims. These were mostly pre-arranged marriages to cement relationships between families and clans to preserve economic and/or political stability or superiority. The groom's family should prepare a dowry that the girl's family determines. As it was with Northern and Central Philippines, the tradition has evolved and was partially Westernised except for the wealthy families of Datus and Rajahs which maintained it. The ordinary Muslim family has mainstreamed into being a little more considerate of feelings and respected affection or love felt by a daughter to the "man of her dreams". The dowry, however, is still a firm requirement before marriage can take place.
Modern day weddings may still differ in many ways from culture to culture but its importance as an individual milestone for couples has not diminished. A lot of fuss is still associated with marriages as it is a momentous once-in-a-lifetime event of joy and merriment.
Wedding Bands are therefore an indispensable element of any wedding. Matrimonial unions without Wedding Bands are just like there have been no weddings at all.
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