Social Environment: A Union of Two
Robyn Robison
Kaplan University
Introduction to Sociology SS144
Picture if you will, a rustic wedding theme with all the trimmings of twine, burlap, boots, and most importantly, love. This was my first encounter with a wedding theme such as this and while I went in with the preconceived notion of it being a bit “hillbilly” if you will, to my surprise it was actually one of the most comfortable, down-home wedding events I’ve encountered thus far. Of course, the purpose of a wedding is to gather friends and family to witness the joining of two people into matrimony. Family and friends of all ages come from near and far to share in and witness this joyous, holy union. I notice that most seem to average between the ages of 20 to 70 and while there are mostly whites present, there are a few that are not. The prominent ethnicity is Irish, but there a few Hispanic as well. To me, a beautiful melting pot of faces all wrapped up in attire to match the wedding…dressed up, but in a more casual, relaxed nature.
Of course material culture is obvious in that there is a white wedding dress, a black tuxedo, a church setting, and wedding rings. All things that come to mind when thinking of wedding norms and the way many cultures express their ceremonies for this occasion. With symbolic interactionism being symbols, or things we attach meaning to, they are the key to understanding how we see the world as well as how we communicate with one another (Henslin, 2013).
The women are a bit fancier than the men when it comes to their dresses, hats and hair styles. While I reiterate the fact that this is a rustic wedding with a more laid back atmosphere, most are dressed up a bit more due to the standards one thinks about when going to a wedding. The non-material culture is present as well and shows in the reciting of the traditional marriage vows being used. There is also something about how most of the men...