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No, 'giving away' is not a very old part of all marriage ceremonies; and theoretically it doesn't make sense when a couple already got married... It makes it easier to appreciate and understand the differences if it is acknowledged that what might be an 'old tradition' in one culture is not an 'old tradition' in other cultures.Thank you for this information. I am a 75 year old American and a Baptist and I had never seen the bride and groom walk down the aisle together in any religious ceremony. Since I began life well before we had a TV, I don't see how brides could have been influenced by it. As I had mentioned before, I've been watching a lot of weddings while in lockdown on YouTube, including the weddings of the Queen Mother and Princess Marina back in the 20s and 30s, Grace Kelly to Rainier in the 50s and Felipe and Letitia, along with both sisters. I had never seen a Dutch wedding before Saturday. It was interesting, very, very long but interesting. Also, didn't the King of Sweden walk Victoria down the aisle, as well as the other daughter.
I appreciate the differences from one culture to the other so, again, thanks for the information. I just thought it looked "strange" to see a bride and groom walking DOWN the aisle without the father being involved. And the "giving away" is a very old part of the marriage ceremony. It didn't just happen because of television.
I'm going to search for some more royal weddings that are not British and just enjoy them. And you're right, that Dutch wedding was very long. I was amazed that everyone still looked happy at the end. And they still had photos to be taken!!
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In this case, it is indeed an old part of the Roman Catholic and Anglican/Episcopalian marriage ceremonies (and others in countries that are heavily influenced by them). In other countries/traditions, it was never part of the marriage ceremony. In those cases (including the Netherlands and Sweden), it was due to the American influence that this 'foreign idea' of walking a bride down the aisle become more common. Which is also, why Victoria was criticized for it in Sweden and they opted for a compromise (her father didn't walk her down all the way); see video (compared to the wedding in the 70's of her parents where they walked down the aisle together: see video
Of course, the same cannot be said for American weddings; American television showed American practice - so that wasn't influenced by television. However, we were discussing the Dutch situation in which this American tradition was recently introduced (partly because it was presented as the 'standard' in American television/movies) in protestant weddings - just like for example, nowadays Halloween is celebrated instead of Sint Maarten
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Máxima's father was banned from her wedding because of his involvement in de Videla regime in Argentina. Had they not been able to manage this (they send special envoys to Argentina to convince Máxima's father that it was in her best interest that he 'voluntary' decided not to attend his daughter's wedding), Willem-Alexander would have given up the throne to marry her; and we might have had king Constantijn instead (or maybe the Friso and Mabel story would have played out differently in that case). So, especially in these circumstances it was very beneficial that the Dutch tradition is that bride and groom walk into the church together. So, nobody batted an eye.
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