Weddings in Canada - Know the Terms As autumn rolls in, wedding season is coming to an end in Canada. Because Canada has two warm and two cold seasons, spring and summer is usually full of weddings. I had to attend four weddings this season alone! Exhausting! So for this post, I want to celebrate the wedding festivities by explaining some common Canadian wedding terms typically seen in Canadian weddings. Non-Traditional Wedding Because Canada is a multicultural society, you will find a mixture of weddings of all kinds. It is not too uncommon to see some ceremonies from other countries mixed with what is described as the English style wedding. This is part of the fun of going to a wedding in Canada, you never know what to expect, depending on who your friends are. Younger couples may also like to incorporate different modern and traditional elements in their ceremonies. When encountering this kind of wedding, just follow what everyone else is doing. For example, in some Chinese or Cambodian receptions, sometimes the guests will bang their chopsticks on their glasses. This is to make lots of noise to convince the bride and groom to kiss. Wedding Registry A registry is a list of items that has been selected by the couple; so you may choose to give the anything on their wish list of wedding gifts. It is important to remember that as a guest, gift giving can mean different things depending on the custom of the cultures involved. Money is usually accepted by all. Shotgun Wedding The term “shotgun wedding” is an expression that means, fast wedding which is typically less than 9 months. The tradition comes from the groom being forced to marry the bride at gun point, usually because he has impregnated her. Theme Wedding This term means the wedding has some sort of main topic. For example, an “Into the Sea” theme wedding could mean that all the decoration is related to the ocean and all the food is seafood. Theme weddings are typically fun. Elope When the bride and groom choose to elope, they decide to skip the ceremony and go straight to city hall to legally be married. This is favoured by some couples because it’s fast, inexpensive and fits their personal taste. R.S.V.P orRépondez s'il vous plait When you see this on an invitation it means "Reply if it pleases you." Open Bar v.s. Cash Bar “Open bar” at weddings mean that the alcohol is completely open and available. You can walk up to the bar and order anything available. Whereas, “cash bar” means that guests need to pay for