Saturday, September 25, 2010

Mayacama wedding video by Peter Bruce Photo & Video




Mayacama wedding by Peter Bruce Photo & Video
Please enjoy the photos and let us know what you think. And you can see more photos at

www.peterbruceweddingphotography.com/blog

Best Regards to all Peter Bruce Photo

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Jumping the broom by Peter Bruce photo


Lots of cultures have wedding traditions that symbolize the end of one’s life with her parents and immediate family, and the beginning of her life with her husband. Jumping the broom is one such tradition, however this tradition is made more interesting by its role in the marriage of slaves. There are many opinions on the origin of the jumping the broom ceremony, and some will be shown here. You may make your own decision about the symbolism of the tradition, just as you will decide whether or not to incorporate this ritual into your own wedding ceremony.

In most African-themed wedding ceremonies, jumping the broom is considered to have originated in the west during the times of slavery. This theory is that because slaves were prohibited from marriage, they formed their own ceremony, wherein they jumped over the broom. The broom itself was used by the bride and her groom’s family to sweep the courtyard, and using it within the ceremony demonstrated her willingness to become part of a new family. Modern ceremonies that include jumping the broom usually do so as a way for new couples to honor their ancestors and pay tribute to the difficulties their ancestors faced. Jumping the broom still symbolizes the bride’s transition into a new family.

Another view of this tradition is that it began in West Africa. However, there is no documentation of this ceremony in Africa, but there are records that attest to the spiritual symbolism of the broom in Africa. In Ghana, brooms were often passed above the heads of the bride and groom and their parents.

Alan Dunde, a scholar, believes that the ceremony can be traced back to the gypsies, who then forced the practice on their slaves. It is a well known fact that many slaves were forced to adopt religious and cultural behaviors of their owners, and that they often adapted them to suit their own purpose and needs

It is very important to note that while slaves did have a jumping the broom ceremony, they were not the only ones. Many different cultures practiced this custom, although it represented different things to each groups like

  • Southern Africans
  • The wife’s agreement to help the new family and to clean the courtyard
  • England
  • Symbolized secular or irregular weddings
  • American South

The person who jumped the highest (usually the man) became the head of the household Other cultures that had or have jumping the broom ceremonies include Wiccans, Roma, the Welsh, and gypsies. When you decide whether to include this ceremony in your wedding, you may also choose what the custom symbolizes, and you may explain it to your guests.

Because jumping the broom is most commonly believed to have been done by slaves as the only permissible way of demonstrating their marriage, this ceremony has received a stigma and is becoming much less common. However, understanding the different roots of the tradition, and different ways in which it can be used, couples may begin to incorporate it more often. Couples can even invent their own reasons for jumping the broom.

If you do decide to use this tradition, you and your husband can jump either together or separately. The broom should be decorated to go with your wedding style or theme. It can be elaborate, or simple. You can use a regular broom, or special order one. Most couples choose to keep the broom and hang it on a wall in their home after their wedding ceremony. The general purpose of this custom is to represent the blending of the two families, to provide a way to honor one’s ancestors, and to provide a reminder to the couple of the love and commitment that will be a part of their new life.


Hope you enjoyed this,let me know
Peter Bruce Photo



Monday, September 6, 2010

Shakespeare Garden wedding in Golden Gate Park by Peter Bruce Photo




Garden of Shakespeare's Flowers in the Golden gate park
The garden was designed in 1928 by the California Spring Blossom and Wildflower Association to honor plants and flowers mentioned in the Bard's poems and plays. Obsessed fans can play "name the work" as they pass each of the 150-odd specimens. The secluded location gives it a "secret garden" feel and makes it a popular wedding venue that is why Jamie and Brian feel in love with it. Please enjoy the photos and let me know what you think
Peter Bruce Photo

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Funny Wedding Stories by Peter Bruce Photo


If you've ever given a speech or made a presentation at work, school or a club, you might already know the wisdom of opening with a joke…or a quote. Something to catch the listen'r's attention and something with a theme to build your speech around. The same theory works with wedding toasts. You only have a few seconds at the start of your speech to grab your listeners and pull them in, get them interested in what y'u're saying and eager to hear more. A good start can often lead to a great finish.

Here you'll find a collection of quotes that you can use to springboard your own toast. Open with them, close with them, use them in the middle of your toast to emphasize your point. Take them and twist them to suit the honored guests. Follow them up with a well-planned punchline to get a laugh. The options are endless, so explore the following sayings:

"Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth." — Apache Wedding Blessing

"If a man really loves a woman, of course he wouldn't marry her for the world if he were not quite sure that he was the best person she could possibly marry." — Geoffrey Chaucer

"Love is the flower you've got to let grow." — John Lennon

"Think not because you are wed that all your courtship is at an end." — Antonio Hurtado de Mendoza

"If I choose to bless another person, I will always end up feeling more blessed." — Marianne Williamson

"Man gets nothing brighter than a kind wife." — Semonides

"A successful marriage is an edifice that must be rebuilt every day." — Andre Maurois

"If there is such a thing as a good marriage, it is because it resembles friendship rather than love." — Michel de Montaigne

"We attract hearts by the qualities we display. We retain them by the qualities we possess." — Jean Suard

"To love anyone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage" — Lao Tzu

"If you would love, love and be lovable." — Benjamin Franklin

"Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments." — Rose Kennedy

"Blessed are the man and woman who have grown beyond themselves." — Psalm 1

"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me." — Henry Ford

"Love …has the greatest power, and is the source of all our happiness and harmony, and makes us friends with the gods who are above us, and with each othe".—— Plato

"If you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you haven't really learned anything." — Muhammad Ali

"When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out." — Elizabeth Barrett

"Everything comes to us from others. To be is to belong to someone." — Jean-Paul Sartre

"All that I am, my mother made me." — John Quincy Adams

"Noble fathers have noble children." — Euripides

"A true friend is someone who can make us do what we can." — Ralph Waldo Emerson


Hope this was helpful

Cheers Peter Bruce Photo