Vampiric Wedding Tradition

History

Much of the traditional aspects of vampiric weddings and the rituals surrounding it are similar to those that existed in North American and European Humans during the late human era, likely due to vampires and humans sharing much of the same culture and having been so extremely integrated in one another's societies. Most of these traditions are ancient, being some of the oldest wedding tradition in the world, only surpassed by that of the Dragons in terms of age.

Execution

Vampires typically only marry one another after an incredibly long courting period of their relationship with one another, which often involves a ritualistic game of one-upping their partner's gifts, and any time they have been given a 'better' gift by their partner, increasing the intensity, value, and significance of their own. Generally, in vampiric culture, it is considered the right time to propose when there are no further gifts that could be reasonably given to continue the game, other than a marriage proposal. Proposals are often done using Blood Drop Crystals fashioned into jewelry, often using the blood of the partner proposing or theirs mixed with that of their family, and the jewelry piece being a ring, earrings, brooch, or necklace. Usually, the other partner will return the gesture, fashioning a piece of their own to match the one given by their partner some weeks later, gifting it to them as an acceptance of their proposal. Prior to the advent of blood drop crystals, typically diamonds, emeralds, opals, garnets, or ambers were used, and are still quite common today as accent stones, though blood drops have become the centerpiece stone.
Once a couple have become engaged, unlike the years spent courting one another, typically things move quite fast in vampiric relationships with a wedding happening soon after the proposal has been accepted. In more traditional groups, it's considered bad luck for a vampiric couple to wait longer than 6 months after the proposal to get married, and most couples typically hold their ceremony no later than 3 months after the proposal. Families of the couple are expected to give their wedding gifts prior to the ceremony itself, often as preparation for the wedding. Oftentimes these are jewelry pieces, often blood drops, meant to accent but not distract from the pieces used in the proposal, which traditionally must be the most lavish piece of jewelry worn in the ceremony. Most vampire couples will purchase a set of clothing specially made for their wedding that will only be worn once or tailor clothing given to them by their parents. Some wedding garments have been tailored dozens of times, passing through many generations of vampires. All genders are expected to wear some form of headwear fitted with a thin veil fitted to the front, often being a sheer silk, lace, or decorated twill.
The ceremony itself is often chosen from religious venues, such as the temple or shrine of local gods, even if neither of the couple are a follower of that god in particular. The couple's family and friends will be present for the ceremony, separated on each side of the venue, with key figures from each side being present to assist the couple during the ceremony. Typically, the member of the couple that proposed first will wait with the wedding party and one officiating the wedding, often a grandparent, close mutual friend of the couple, or religious figure. Their partner will be walked to them through the venue typically by one of their parents or grandparents if they are still alive- if not, generally an aunt, uncle, or cousin is chosen. Vows are recited and the jewelry used to propose will be passed from the one officiating the wedding to the couple, to ceremoniously give to one another once again, and are wiped with a pinprick of blood from the couple to cement they are joined into one bloodline. The couple will generally be directed to kiss, and traditionally, it is considered good luck for one or both of them to have their hat or headwear knocked off by the other during the kiss, resulting in that during the modern day, wedding hats are often quite large. It is however, considered bad luck for the hat to fall before or after the kiss.