Wedding rituals are different in different cultures. There is a lot of preparation before, during and after the wedding ceremony. Even though wedding rituals have similarities, they also contrast with each other. Hispanic Catholic weddings have their own rituals, just like Muslims (Islam) have their own way of celebrating the ritual. On the Hispanic Catholic wedding day, various things happen. The ceremony must take place in a Catholic church since the church is God's house and he must be present at the ceremony. The time of the wedding ceremony must be negotiated with the priest and the final wedding ceremony takes place two hours before the start of the mass and usually lasts around an hour and a half. The wedding can take place in any season the person wishes to get married and on any available date. Marriage only takes place once, unless the spouses wish to renew their marriage vows at a later date. There may be a conflict for people to attend the wedding ceremony because guests are working during the ceremony, even if several guests request a day off in advance. Wedding preparation usually begins from the time the woman gets engaged and sends out the engagement announcements. Wedding preparation generally lasts from a few months to a year and takes place at a steady pace. For a person to be married in a Catholic church, they must have their baptism, confirmation, and holy communion for the marriage to be a sacramental marriage. Hispanic Catholic weddings have specific items needed during the ceremony, a lasso (cord), arras (coins), two flower shops, wedding rings and vows. The reason these are needed is at a specific time...... middle of paper ...... marriages have similarities and differences. Even though they are celebrated by different cultures, it ultimately means that two people end up getting married. The ceremonies may be different, but they are similar in that both end up with a newly married couple. Learning this opened my eyes to how people celebrate their weddings and how beautiful it must be to see how every culture celebrates a wedding. Works Cited Layth, Abul. “What is the ruling on the Walimah (banquet) marriage and the response to it in the Shafi'i school?” Shafii Fiqh. Shafii, November 9, 2009. Web. April 199, 2014.Maqsood, Ruqaiyyah Waris. “Weddings”. BBC. BBC, September 8, 2009. Web. April 17, 2014. “Muslim wedding ritual before marriage. » Muslim marriages. The Node, ND Web. April 18, 2014. “Order of a Catholic Wedding Mass.” Catholic marriage assistance. Our Sunday visitor, January 2012. Web. April 17. 2014.