Abstract：
Marriage plays a very important role in the transitional period of human life. Not only Chinese but also foreigners attach importance to its etiquette in the long river of history. In the traditional Chinese marriage customs, there are many procedures. The matchmaker almost does everything and the youths have no rights to choose their spouse. By contrast, in Western marriage customs, the priest works and the youths have legal right to choose whom they want to marry. With increasingly frequent exchanges between people from different countries, marriage customs, as an important part of culture, are spread across the world. As a result, western wedding customs become more and more popular in China. At the same time, Chinese wedding customs are also practiced by some westerners. There exist differences between Chinese and Western marriage customs in many aspects due to their own traditional culture, religion and geography. Different marriage customs make our life so diverse and colorful. The wedding is not just a ceremony, but a start of two people's new life. A new start can encourage the new couple to make a better life together. So marriage customs are considered important in both ancient and modern times; they have a great impact upon people's life. They also can increase exchange between different countries.

Key words：marriage; culture; difference; marriage customs

摘  要：
婚姻，在人类生活的过渡期起着非常重要的作用，所以每个人，不仅中国，而且外国人，都非常重视这历史长河的礼仪。在旧中国的婚姻习俗中，有很多程序。媒人几乎起了决定性作用而青年却没有选择权。相反，在西方婚姻习俗中，牧师在婚姻中起作用并且青年男女有合法权利选择他们所想结婚的对象。众所周知，现在我们的世界日益成为一个整体。不同国家之间的关系变得越加密切。因此，跨文化的交流也就变得非常重要。作为其中一部分的婚礼习俗也有着其重要意义。在中国，西方婚礼习俗越来越受欢迎。与此同时，我们的中华文化也深受世界各地人们的追捧。在婚礼上，他们也时常模仿中国式婚礼。在中西方的婚礼习俗上有着许多方面的差异：不同的法律、不同的权利、不同的形式、不同的幸运颜色。因为他们有着自己的传统文化、宗教、地理，婚礼习俗各不相同也就不足为其了，正是这样的差异使我们的生活如此丰富多彩。虽然婚礼只是一个形式，但它也是两个人新生活的开始。一个美好的开始可以鼓励他们以后更好的生活在一起。所以，婚姻习俗是在古代和现代都非常的重要，它可以影响我们的生活，它可以增进国与国之间的交流。

关键词：婚礼；文化；差异；婚礼习俗

1 Introduction
Marriage customs are formed in a long historical evolution of the marriage in a nation. They are the regular activities that restrain people's awareness of marriage. Marriage customs  do not depend on the law, or rely on science tests either, but on the force of habit, traditional culture and national psychology. During the development of human history, the institution of marriage and family system has experienced different processes of development. Human beings have experienced group marriage, the dual system of marriage and individual marriage system.