The Money Dance
Ahhhh the money dance. I have always know it to be a dance that the male guests dance with the bride and the female guests dance with the groom. Traditionally a dollar was pinned to the bride by every partner, but in more recent times, I have seen the best man collect the dollars…so no pins. I come from an area of strong Italian decent and these are the weddings where I would see the dollar dance. Also, New York weddings seem to strongly favor the dance.
After witnessing more weddings as I go along; I don’t think the money dance is reserved for Italian descent, the Spanish, Greek and Polish seem to use this tradition as well! The dance does offer the bride and groom a chance to have a personal visit with all of their guests. So, instead of roaming around visiting your guests whilst they are eating, you can turn to the money dance. The best man and maid of honor will limit the time of the individual dances to a couple spins around the floor so that you, the bridal couple, have and opportunity to dance and visit with everyone. If the money dance feels awkward or tacky to you, how about the money collected goes to your favorite charity? Win, win, you get to visit all the guests and the money goes to a good cause. Or, if you are on a strict budget, then embrace the dance and keep the money for your honeymoon! …it is just a buck after all!
It turns out that the money dance seems to have originated in Poland in the early 1900′s. So, as customs and traditions go, it is a relatively new tradition. Many cultures employ the dance as it turns out and in the United States, there are areas where the dance is very popular, as well as areas that it is unheard of. Basically, in all the cultures, it is just a way to give and extra dollar to the bride and groom which represents a wish of good luck and prosperity, and, of course offers an opportunity for a personal visit.
I am going to go ahead and show you what is on wikepedia since there is such variety, and I would not want you to miss out on all of the potential origins! Here it is:
Poland
The money dance may have originated in Poland around the beginning of the 20th century. The dance takes place some time after the First dance, often once guests have had a chance to have a few drinks. The best man or MC or the disc jockey announces the event. Customarily, the best man begins dancing with the bride, pinning money onto her wedding gown or putting it into a purse, which she carries especially for the purpose, or into the pockets of an apron she dons over her gown especially for this dance. In a more contemporary version of this custom, the dance includes bridesmaids and other ladies who dance .
Ukraine
At Ukrainian weddings, the father of the bride usually begins pinning money on her dress. He is followed by the best man and groomsmen, and, finally, by the remainder of the male guests. Another variation is where the bride’s veil is removed and given to the maid of honor and an apron is placed on the bride. Money is then placed into her apron during the dance.
Yugoslavia
At Yugoslavian weddings, instead of pinning the money on the bride’s gown, the male guests give the money to the best man for safe keeping.
Hungary
At Hungarian and Portuguese weddings[citation needed], the bride takes off her shoes and puts them in the middle of the dance floor. Then the shoes are passed around from guests to guest and each deposits a contribution.
North America
Mexico
Relatives take turns dancing up to the bride and groom and pinning money on their clothes, which allows the couple to spend a few moments with each of their guests. After the money dance, the groom is ridiculed by his friends, tossed in the air while being covered with the veil, and given an apron and broom.
United States
In America, practice of a money dance varies by geographic region and ethnic background of the families involved. It typically involves guests giving small sums of cash to the bride or pinning cash to her gown or veil. Even cultures that accept this may balk at paying the groom for his time and attention, so alternatives have developed, such as “paying” the groom with play money or a stick ofchewing gum. Some consider this a way for the bride and groom to have face time with their guests. Many, including traditional North American etiquette experts, consider the practice incorrect.[1]
This has led to some couples calling it the honeymoon dance instead of a dollar dance or money dance. Some couples have even called it the dime dance and have put dimes under each person’s plate or in a small bowl on each table so that guests won’t feel obligated to ‘pay’ for a short dance with the bride or groom, while still giving them the opportunity to spend 30–60 seconds chatting and dancing with them.
The Philippines
At some Filipino weddings, the money dance is usually announced; males line up in front of the bride, pinning money on her dress or veil, then dance with her. Same with the male, only females line up instead. Money is pinned or taped onto the new married couple’s garments, representing the wish that good fortune is “rained” upon them, while also helping the couple financially as they begin their life together.
Tradition of the Veil
Are you planning on wearing a veil to your wedding ceremony? I often like the soft romantic look that it gives to a bride.
Just as we are discovering with some other wedding traditions, the tradition of wearing a veil has a less than romantic birth. It is believed that the origin of the tradition dates back to Roman days when the bride would wear a full-length veil that was also used as her burial shroud. I read that veils had color once, Roman veils were red and in Greek, yellow. Also, Roman beliefs were that wearing a veil would throw off the evil spirits that were potentially stalking the bride. It seems that these spirits were envious of the couples happiness and the veil/disguise tricked them. So easily fooled! So, for Roman’s the veil was certainly dual purpose. We can also look to the days when capturing a bride was all the rage…the veil is a reminder of the act of the groom, or should I say abductor throwing a sack over the prospective bride’s noggin and then carrying her off to her wedding. I think these theories seem to conflict, back in Roman days, the spirits were jealous of the bridal couple’s happiness, and then what, marriage evolved to kidnappings and then business arrangements, and then back to the modern days of marrying for love? More research may be required on this subject.
Other traditions hold that a woman wore a veil because the groom in the arranged marriage wasn’t to see the bride until the marriage was official; this was done so that the groom wouldn’t back out based on her appearance. A nice invention after all, it lets the couple focus on the business deal at hand!
Modern day veils. According to OurMarriage.com ”Veils came into vogue in the United States when Nelly Curtis wore a veil at her wedding to George Washington’s aid, Major Lawrence Lewis. Major Lewis saw his bride to be standing behind a filmy curtain and commented to her how beautiful she appeared. She then decided to veil herself for their ceremony.” She was a trend setter here in the U.S.
There are themes of the bride’s veil demonstrating the male dominance over the woman, a willingness for the wife to obey her husband. Huh? My guess is that historically (but more recent history, not ancient), society looked at the history of kidnappings, arranged marriages etc., and when wearing a veil you were acknowledging the man as the dominant one in the situation’. But wait, didn’t I wear a veil because I liked the finishing touch that it offered to my ensemble? Maybe I liked the romantic, soft look that it gave to my face! But, I digress. Again OurMarriage.com states that; “The lifting of the veil (by the groom) at the end of the ceremony symbolizes male dominance. If the bride takes the initiative in lifting it, thereby presenting herself to him, she is showing more independence. ” So, with this bold act of the bride lifting her own veil, are we are seeing the birth of ending misogamy? …the birth of the women’s right act?
Are we women throwing aside the symbolic submission in a marriage, i.e., the veil, by not wearing a veil to our weddings? Are we wearing a veil to say “hey, I think this makes me look pretty and romantic; and, I may do your laundry from time to time, but don’t ask me to obey you! Honestly, when I got married, I did not know the history behind this tradition, I just thought the veil looked cool.
Quick review of the Mola Demi Beauty Dish
I just tried out my new Mola Demi Beauty Dish on an engagement shoot yesterday. I am completely impressed with the light it puts out! I love the light fall off, and the harsher (than softbox or umbrella) shadows, giving a more defined shape to faces, while still remaining soft on the light side of the subject. I will be using this for weddings for sure!
Tech stuff:
- Light: Paul C Buff Einstien, fired with Cyber Sync, power by Vagabond Mini
- Light at Camera Left just out of frame, at about 2′ above subjects
- The sock was on the Dish
- Shot on a sunny, late afternoon
Here are a couple images shot with it:
Colorado Wedding Photographer – Denver Engagement Session – “Take One”
This weekend was a busy one, with two Denver Engagement sessions, for some of our awesome 2012 Wedding clients. For this session I met Michelle & Jimmy at the Denver Beer Co for a beer and chat about their wedding. If you haven’t checked out the Brewery yet, what are you waiting for? Amazing beer! The plan for the day was to follow the actual path of an elaborate Engagement that Jimmy planned, that included bar hoping across town, and finishing at the Oxford Hotel. Saturday’s session was the first of two sessions that we will be doing to fully cover replication of the Engagement day! Look out for Part Two in the Spring of 2012!
“To be continued”!!!
Colorado Wedding Photographers – Engagement shoot at St Mary’s Glacier
A couple weekends ago we did two distinctly different Engagement shoots. The one below this post at the Clock Tower, with an urban feel, and this one at St Mary’s Glacier (and then into Idaho Springs) for Matt and Allison. I love mixing up the looks to match the personalities of our clients. Let us know what you think, by posting your comments at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!
Colorado Photographers shoot an Engagement shoot at the Denver Clock Tower (maybe the first?)
When we booked Tia and Justin’s wedding, and after seeing some of the Clock Tower wedding images on our website, they wanted to know if we could shoot their engagement session in the Clock Tower. Once I got permission, I started planning the shoot. Since Justin is the Midwest Director for GQ Magazine, they wanted a “GQ look” to some of their pics. Hopefully we achieved it! With the great fashion sense of Tia and Justin, and the ‘WOW’ factor of the Clock Tower, it was easy to make their images look great!
To date we have shot two weddings at the Denver Clock Tower, and we just booked two more weddings, for 2012. If you are interested in having your wedding at the Clocktower (and us shooting it, of course!), please don’t hesitate to contact us!
As always, comments (leave comments at the bottom of the blog post) are not only welcome, but encouraged.
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Evergreen, CO Engagement Shoot
With a slight lull in our Wedding season, and wrapping up our X Games work, we shot Max and Nicole’s Engagement session here in Evergreen. We met at the Little Bear Saloon for a beer, and then headed over to Elk Meadow, then off to a secret location. We had a ton fun, and had the rare perfect light for Colorado.
Check out the pics. We would love to hear your comments! Please leave them at the bottom of the post.
Colorado Wedding Photographer Shoots an Engagement shoot at 14,240′ on Mt Evans, CO
I spoke with Ben days before the shoot, and he and Kelly wanted a quintessential Colorado look to their Engagement photos. After a couple f minutes of thinking about where to do the shoot, I came up with Mt Evans. It boasts the highest paved rd in the North America at 14,240′, and it’s right in our backyard near Evergreen, CO. We had such a great time, on such a beautiful day! Check out their pics, and feel free to leave comments at the bottom of the blog post:
Denver Wedding Photographer Shoots another Wedding at the Denver Clocktower
Ted and Lynlee’s wedding was our second wedding at the Denver Clocktower. The Clocktower is by far one of the most unique venues that we have worked in! To top it off (no pun intended. ha ha) we were allowed up into the belfry to get some shots at sunset.
Their wedding was so heartfelt, that we couldn’t help but tear up a few times, especially when Lynlee’s son and daughter read their speeches. I must say… unbelievable! Not a dry eye in the house (including Peggy and I, and the caterers). It was so nice spending the day with such amazing people!
This has turned out to be the season of details at our weddings. Ted and Lynlee hired Lux Dezign to do all of their coordinating. Lux killed it! The attention to detail, and the overall flow of the night was second to none!
Check out some of the images from the day, and I’m sure you will agree that it was a pretty unique wedding. As always, please feel free to leave comments….
Thank you!
Dave & Peggy
If you like our work, our biggest compliment is a referral of a friend! Ask us about our referral incentives.
Lynnlee’s day started out at the swanky Scarlet Salon.
Dad before the ceremony.
Colorado Wedding Photographer – Mara & Will’s Engagement Shoot
Yesterday I met up with Mara & Will to shoot their Engagement session. To get to know our wedding clients more I always like to meet up at a bar or coffee shop, before a camera is introduced to the scene. In our case, we met at the Goosetown Taven, near their house, and then walked around the neighborhood. One of the stops was The Bluebird Theater, and got some shots inside, then it was on to City Park (where their wedding will be held)… The shoot was so much fun!!! Below are some pics, and as always comments are not only welcome, but encouraged! Enjoy.
Colorado Wedding Photographer shoots a Newport RI wedding
This past fall, I shot Jessica and Michael’s wedding in Newport, RI. I had so much fun with J & M, and their families and friends. Their ceremony was held at St. Baranabas church in Portsmouth, and their reception was at the Atlantic Beach Club, in Newport. After the ceremony they packed the rock star, party bus with wedding party, and family, and we headed to Second beach to have some fun with some pics. Jessica had some really cool ideas, so all I had to do was pull the trigger (OK, I did some other things too. ha ha). It was so much fun to shoot on the beach!!! Then it was on to the party. You’ll see from the pics, that it was quite a party. Check ‘em out!
As a side note, I am from RI, and all of my family is still live their. This allows us to stay really competitive with other local New England wedding photographers. So although we’re located in CO, if you know anyone getting married in NE, we’d love to chat with them about their wedding!
OK… this pic and the next two need explanations… We’re on the way to the church, and Jessica’s zipper broke! We had to stop at CVS to get a sewing kit. It’s a good thing everyone had a great sense of humor about the situation!!!
Evergreen Wedding Photographer shoots The Holly Berry
Today I met up with Pam Gilbert at her shop, The Holly Berry, in downtown Evergreen to photograph some of the arrangements they had put together for a local bridal show. They do awesome work, so please check them out next time your in Evergreen, or if you need a florist for your wedding.
I am really happy with how the shots came out! Let us know what you think!
Wedding Photographers love these!
Today I opened the mail, and in it was the ‘Thank You’ card below. I shot Jessica and Michael’s ridiculously fun wedding in Newport, RI a few months ago.
After being sick with the nastiest cold I’ve had in years, it was really nice to read. Nothing makes us happier than when clients are this satisfied with our work!
Thanks Jessica & Michael!
Evergreen Wedding Photographer breaking the rules?
I made this image tonight near our house in Evergreen…. It has made me think about doing a “trash the dress” session, or wedding formals like this… I would love to know your thoughts.
Let me know if you have any questions.
