Donorian Weddings

Donorian wedding traditions are the historical traditions surrounding courtship and marriage, while they are often still practiced modernly they are also prone to change with many more modern non-traditional practices being included along more traditional ones.

Choosing a Spouse

The finding and choosing of a spouse is considered a very personal thing, with arranged and forced marriages being very much frowned upon. This is due to Donorian empathic abilities and the resulting importance of feelings and harmony in Donorian culture. It would not do for a family to force their child into a loveless marriage that they will be miserable with if everyone around them would feel that misery.

When dating, couples will spend a lot of one-on-one time together, getting to know them and their feelings. It is typical for most couples to have a long getting to know each other period before they considered introducing them to family.  It is often seen as a sign of a serious relationship and a potential marriage if a significant other is introduced to the family, especially extended family.

Engagement and Marriage Ceremony

Donorian engagements often involve the proposal of marriage, often including an exchanging of gifts between the couple, with the ‘engagement period’ being the time it takes from proposal until the wedding is executed, with the in between mostly being planning and preparation for the wedding and married life. 

For the week or so before the wedding, the couple will go on a vacation together to spend time together and make sure they are sure about marrying this person. If one is not sure, this would be the time to call it off.

The Wedding celebrations themselves typically last around three days. The first day being the final day of preparation, with the partner typically being kept apart and celebrating with their individual families. The second day includes that actual ceremony, and the third day is a day of feasting and celebration with both families being involved in the partying. Modernly the third day is often combined with the second, becoming more of a wedding reception celebration.

The ceremony itself, which is held on the second day, starts with both families of the couple coming together at the wedding venue and the couple seeing each other for the first time. The ceremony itself involves the couple kneeling in front of each other pressing their foreheads together, an officiant will pour water or perfume over the couple's head, sealing their marriage with a traditional announcement. Alternatively the couples clasped hands will be anointed but this is less common.

Participants -especially the couple and their close family members- will wear formal, often traditional, Donorian clothing that is very colorful. The decorations and setup are also very colorful involving lots of banners and garlands for decoration.