Politicians love to pontificate on €traditional’ family values, especially on the topic of marriage and weddings. But what exactly is a traditional marriage? You don’t have to go far back in history to realise that weddings are a reflection of the times, and as an institution, both weddings and marriages have evolved, and continue to do so.
Polygamy was the norm in most societies, until the church got involved in the middle Ages and even then, most traditional marriages were more concerned with property and wealth, rather than love. It wasn’t until the 17th centuries, when the Enlightenment thinkers pioneered the idea that life was about the pursuit of happiness and they advocated marrying for love rather than wealth or status.
With the growth of the middle class in the 19th century, men began to select a wife for love and pay for a wedding, regardless of what the family thought. Moving into the 20th century, as the women’s movement gained strength, women insisted they were equals, in a marriage (but usually the director of the wedding ceremony).
While the number of weddings is on the increase, the number of church ceremonies is drastically down, with less than 30% of couples choosing to walk down the aisle. Couples are moving from the big family wedding in a church with the often-complicated family dynamics to choosing to celebrate their big day – their way.
For an increasing number of couples, the idea of a private civil ceremony has gone from the last resort, to the first choice. After all, the whole idea of a wedding is to launch your new life as a couple in a casual, fun and carefree manner as possible.
The number one choice for most couples is to tie the knot on a tropical beach surrounded by their close friends and family, in a style that suits them as a couple. This trend is something that Thala Beach Lodge’s busy wedding coordinator Angie Schesser confirms, €We have more requests for signature style weddings on our beach than ever before,€ says Angie.
€For instance, we have had a pirate themed wedding, a Men in Black themed wedding with the groomsmen dressed in tuxedos arriving in a helicopter on to our private beach. We have also had a bride arrive on horseback for her private beach ceremony and we have had a fantastic traditional Aboriginal ceremony with our local Kuku Yalanji people.
Home to a number of celebrity weddings, Thala Beach Lodge has also hosted same-sex ceremonies. Whether or not same-sex marriages become legal in Australia in the future, most same-sex couples are also choosing to celebrate their relationship with a ceremony involving family and friends on the private beach and Thala Beach Lodge is proud to host their celebration.
However couples wish to mark their wedding day, if they can dream it up, Thala Beach Lodge can accommodate it. With a tropical setting and a picture perfect, private tropical beach, an award-winning restaurant and deluxe accommodation, anything else is icing on the (wedding) cake.
