7 Ways British and American Weddings Are Very Different

so for any non hinged American gals out there instead of saying things like always the bridesmaid never the bride just move to Britain you'll get a much better deal hello I'm Laurence and I'm on a quest to uncover all of the memos that Britain and America lost in the pond and one of those memos pertains to weddings under ordinary circumstances we would now be right at the start of wedding season for everything you're about to hear just insert they had a beautiful zum wedding even if the bright earn delayed due to connectivity issues but assuming that everything blows over as in the pandemic not the gazebo some of you probably know of a couple with plans to tie the knot and in case they happen to be British and American here are some things they should know our wedding traditions are not quite the same to gain further insight I myself married an American that's that's not the reason I married her I mean there was genuine affection and my wife was one of the lucky ones who married a majestic accent could the same happen to you thank you to date British guys calm for sponsoring this video this year they are celebrating 10 years of transatlantic matchmaking is there a British fellow in your future follow the link in my description for more details in the meantime dust off your hats and have your speeches at the ready as we raise a glass and magnifying glass to seven ways British and American weddings are very different on either side of the pond is traditional for brides and/or grooms to indulge into Portrush shenanigans in an effort to drunkenly conclude bachelor life except there are some crucial differences in Britain the bride attends what is known as her hen night and the groom his stag night another example of human zoo morphism that will be hard for aliens to understand as Mike this the hen night often consists of the bride and female friends getting wasted and laughing at naked Butler's apparently this tradition has gained some traction in the US where male strippers are occasionally hired in the absence of husbands to be for the lads it's all about the destination weekend in Britain stag nights have become stag weekend's the groom and his mates head off to Amsterdam but definitely not because of the inhalable plant life and legalized brothels in the u.s. such gatherings are called bachelor parties the groom and his buddies head off to Nevada but definitely not because see previous comment Americans love hats to this day people in Texas still cite you cemetery Sam as their style icon and the baseball cap continues to graze the heads of baseball players normal Americans and vanilla ice but there's one occasion when Americans leave the hats at home weddings coming from Britain I thought this was notable back home there's a significant amount of crossover between how women dress for weddings and how they dress for Ascot except instead of betting on horses they're betting on how long the marriage will last and ever so occasionally British men usually the groomsmen will Don top hats this is less of a tradition in America where wedding hats aren't a big part of the cultural landscape to be fair to Americans though top hats went out of fashion stateside before the war whereas in Britain is still illegal for babies to be born without them when leaving the maternity ward we even get a complimentary monocle and Brawley here's a scenario a friend of a friend is getting married you weight nervously to see whether or not you're invited months go by nothing finally you hear from your friend your worst fears have come true you made it onto the guest list but in Britain there is a compromise it's possible that you might be invited to the wedding ceremony and meal but not the after party admittedly the best bit you see we bridge sometimes operate on a two-tiered guest list those in Tier one receive invites for the whole shebang those in Tier two get to go home in time for Doctor Who so if you can't get out of the actual wedding tier two is the next best thing for newlyweds the reason for the tier system is twofold one it helps couples cut costs and two it's a handy way of keeping out the weird uncles and reducing police complaints in the u.s. the general practice is to allow all of the same people to attend the entire event mom dad occasionally Tom Hanks but think about all of the weird uncle's actually no scratcher think about all of the bridesmaids somebody please think of the bridesmaids in fact let's do that very thing on either side of the pond if your wedding has bridesmaids there will probably be between four and six hundred of them they are normally chosen from sister's high school friends and that cousin who wouldn't stop asking have you picked your maid of honor yet but Brits and Americans have different customs in this department too first of all in America bridesmaids are almost always expected to pay for their own dresses making bridal parties the fifth largest pyramid scheme in America in Britain the cost of dresses will often be covered by whoever is paying for the wedding and the maid of honor might not be called the maid of honor but the chief bridesmaid and what Americans call groomsmen the British call OSHA's and to be clear that's not several clones of R&B recording artists oh sure those are reserved for the DJ's playlist but before we get to the after-party there's the small matter of the wedding ceremony itself here comes the bride signing into Skype but three months ago when weddings happen in person the bride would be the last person to enter the room at least in America where she is normally preceded by the bridal party think of it as the main event after the supporting act it's the stones opening for Prince the monkeys opening for Hendrix or good mythical morning opening for lost in the pond lost in the pond let's take a look at what Lawrence has to say in Britain this is traditionally flipped not only do bridesmaids get a free dress they also get to end to last so for any non hinged American gals out there instead of saying things like always the bridesmaid never the bride just move to Britain you'll get a much better deal ultimately of course all eyes will be on the bride well almost all things that both countries consider bad luck and black hats walking under ladders and seeing the bride before the wedding day but on that last one Brits and Americans adopt slightly different rules proving once more that superstitions are grounded in rock solid science in America is traditional for the groom to see the bride once Daydream Believer is over or once the bridesmaids have sat down that's when the bride walks down the aisle she's ravishing so the groom adopts an expression indicating as much even as the half-remembered words last night and Monica's massage parlour into his head in Britain the groom traditionally faces away from the bride and she's standing beside him this is useful because it helps him to stiffen his upper lip while no one's watching finally as they stand face to face and say their vows all of that good work comes undone in a momentary undignified wobble time for a stiff drink for me this is the real main event the stones and prints have left the building if not the DJ's playlist and it's time to hit the dance floor and if you're anything like me this cannot be done before you've quaffed at least three pints of Carlsberg this is where the nighttime bar comes in in Britain and this might cause a few American gasps this is normally a cash bar that means guests are expected to pay for their own drinks making Weddington is the fifth largest pyramid scheme in Britain I suppose you've got to pay for those dresses somehow in America since those dresses aren't included in the budget the remaining money goes to funding an open bar this accounts for why I have absolutely no memory of my sister-in-law's wedding that's it for this episode let me know in the comments below if you know any British American couples and don't forget to share this video with them for more of my words be sure to follow me on Twitter I'm lost in the pond u.s. and don't forget to subscribe to my channel so that my videos don't get lost in the pond and a big thank you once more to date British guys comm for sponsoring this video again you can click on the link in my description and of course thank you to my patrons for making this video possible become a patron today patreon.com slash lost in the pond and there you will receive access to my secret life streams and we're live you think it looks pretty dapper do you think I look pretty dapper I don't I don't right now do I that's kind thank you [Music] [Music]

Channel: Lost in the Pond

Views: 386,519

Keywords: Finding America, Laurence Brown, America, Britain, Weddings, Differences

Id: e-xEQGl3ahs

Length: 8min 33sec (513 seconds)

Published: Thu May 14 2020