American Woman sparks transatlantic debate as she unravels the cultural differences between British and American weddings
An American singer who is about to marry her British lover has shed light on the intriguing differences between British and American weddings.
Marielle Loveland went to social media to discuss her thoughts on the culture clash between a supposedly quintessentially British wedding and a wedding in the United States of America.
The singer, who lives in London but grew up in New Jersey, admitted there had been “a few fights” over aspects of the wedding between the couple.
She told viewers about the differences with guest lists, food, and even the aspect of who pays for drinks.
Her video begins with Mariel sitting in front of the camera, wearing an orange strappy top, and saying, “So I’m getting married in a month and I’m marrying a British man, and oh my god I had no idea how different British weddings are from American weddings.”
The singer, who lives in London but grew up in New Jersey, admitted there had been “a few arguments” over aspects of the wedding between the couple
She went on to explain the biggest differences she’s noticed:
‘One – a British wedding is like two separate celebrations. You invite your close friends and family to something like a wedding breakfast, an early dinner.’
You just sit and have your fancy dinner, then you have a second guest list, which includes people you are less close to, like your distant cousin, your co-worker, your parents’ friends – they come to the evening reception.
‘Then the DJ starts playing hits, everyone starts drinking the hard stuff and things go wrong.’
For us Brits this concept is very familiar, but Americans have a very different idea of how the guest list should work.
The singer continued, “Now, in an American wedding you couldn’t invite someone to only half the wedding, I don’t know what would happen if you tried.
“But we serve dinner at the same time as the party, so you can enjoy club music while you try to eat your overcooked chicken — I’m not really a fan.”
Mariel went on to explain that the next big thing was ‘cash bars’ or ‘open bars’ in the UK.
Mariel went on to explain that the next big thing was ‘cash bars’ or ‘open bars’ in the UK
She adds, “People would riot (in America) if they showed up and had to pay for their drinks.”
She said: ‘In the UK a cash bar is normal. Our caterers didn’t even offer an open bar package, that just didn’t exist.
Now, I know that’s common in the mid-state, but where I’m from, the New York City area, cash bars are almost unheard of and I’m so aware that alcohol is often the biggest expense for a wedding.’
She adds, “Here it’s more common to get around it by not hiring a bar or bartenders, buying bulk alcohol like Bottle King, and people mixing their drinks like you would at a normal party.”
“People would riot (in America) if they showed up and had to pay for their drinks.”
She jokes, “I guess I’m just jealous British people get to do that and their friends and family don’t talk about it.”
Further on, she elaborates on the cocktail hour and the food served alongside it.
The video has racked up an impressive 360,000 views, 14,000 likes and over 2,000 comments
Mariel says, “I think this is specific to the New York City area. The cocktail hour at the weddings I’ve been to had an absurd amount of food. It’s actually like dinner number one.
‘At the same time, people drink alcoholic beverages en masse. At a British wedding you have welcome drinks and a normal amount of food.’
Mariel took to social media on Thursday (Aug. 10) to share the video with the caption, “I had no idea how different UK weddings are compared to the US until I decided to marry a British man.”
It has racked up an impressive 360,000 views, 14,000 likes and over 2,000 comments.
Commentators were baffled by the cultural differences and could not decide which options they preferred.
One person wrote ‘if we had a prepaid bar in the UK it would be a competition’.
While another said ‘the concept of a rehearsal the day before baffles me, like what do you need to rehearse? now you’ve walked down the aisle twice, that makes it less exciting.’
Someone said, ‘The concept of a rehearsal the day before baffles me, like what do you need to rehearse? now that you’ve walked down the aisle twice, it makes it less exciting”
One viewer praised American weddings, adding, “Wait a minute, so in America your guests get a free meal, they also get FREE DRINKS???? That’s crazy!! Also forgot the buffet one night.’
People were also quick to add the nuances of Scottish weddings to the equation.
Someone wrote: ‘At a Scottish wedding you must bring a ceilidh from the reception. Nice, mentally somewhat dangerous dance, fueled by booze.’
Another added: ‘An open bar here in Scotland would literally bankrupt you! We gave people 5 drinks before and during dinner, then it’s up to them.’
Mariel even made two more videos due to demand from people asking questions in the comments, talking more about cash bars and then dress code – explaining that women in America can wear long dresses to weddings.
Whereas in the UK you would get some funny looks if you showed up as a wedding guest in a floor length ball gown.