The coupling of two willing participants into the marriage is similar in other parts of the world.

As a part of the International Week, the marriage customs of a few different cultures were displayed by students Wednesday night. The International Student Council sponsored the event.

The first wedding custom presented was from Pakistan. Usman Aurakzai, senior in electrical engineering, said that weddings in Pakistan go through three phases, spanning from when the groom goes to the bride-to-be’s house and when the bride and groom go to their new home, with a ceremony in between. The three phases of the marriage custom are called Mehndi, the Barat and the Walima. The Walima is the actual ceremony, Aurakzai said.

“At the Walima, there’s lots of music and fun going on,” he said.

Aurakzai said things such as the bride and groom cutting the cake are a part of the “westernization” of the marriage custom.

Nidhi Shah, freshman in biochemistry, presented Indian marriage customs, which didn’t differ too much from the Pakistani form. Shah said that, like in Pakistan, the practice of arranged marriages is still heavily prevalent. The wedding ceremony is a three-day event and starts with women dressing the bride; the second day is when the bride and groom see each other after a veil is dropped.

“That is where the marriage ceremony begins,” she said.

In Africa, weddings can take “from one to two years,” said Setche Kwamu-Nana, senior in chemical engineering. Kwamu-Nana presented about wedding customs in Cameroon, and said customs usually go through three stages. The first stage is establishing a “bride price,” which is “pretty common.” Before the groom proposes to the bride-to-be, he must fulfill a wish list of family wants; usually these are “pots, clothing and jewels,” said Kwamu-Nana.

In the second stage, the groom must pick out his bride from a line of “fake” brides, and the real bride is dressed very modestly. Next is the “court” part of the wedding, where legal matters are settled, and then there is a huge ceremony. Kwamu-Nana said arranged marriages still exist, but marrying for love “is commonly accepted.”

The last presentation was from China. Yong Huang, graduate student in journalism and mass communication, said that Western influence is heavily prevalent. Huang said that customs such as the groom running a gamut of “tests,” like doing 100 push-ups, to paying for the bride are common. The bride must walk out of her house beside her groom with an umbrella, “never looking back.”