Talk:Weddings in the United States and Canada/GA1

GA Review
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Hey everyone. I'll be reviewing this article for possible GA status. Cheers, Nikkimaria (talk) 17:31, 26 July 2009 (UTC)
 * I am placing this article on hold to allow contributors time to address my concerns. Cheers, Nikkimaria (talk) 19:30, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

Writing and formatting

 * The lead could be expanded to more adequately overview the topic
 * The article title should be bolded in the lead
 * The first sentence of the lead is redundant and vague - please revise
 * Section headings should have only the first word capitalized (unless using proper nouns)
 * For the "Religious" subsections, consider changing the names to omit the word "Weddings" (i.e. Jewish Weddings -> Judaism)
 * "weddings were based out of commodity" - grammar/clarity
 * "wedding ceremonies similar to what is common today" - redundant wording
 * Citations should be after punctuation, not before
 * "industrial revolution" - should be capitalized
 * The "Cultural traditions" section needs to be made into prose and properly introduced and outlined. It's not a viable section as written
 * "Sixpence" is misspelled
 * "wealth in money" - redundant
 * "good luck to the woman who catches is" - grammar
 * "Some wedding traditions though are very popular in the United States." - elaborate. Which traditions?
 * The article needs a lot more internal links
 * "both of there parents" -> "both of their parents"
 * "tent like" -> "tent-like"
 * "Like most married couples have documents to show they are married." - incomplete sentence
 * "The rabbi reads it under the chupah after the ring ceremony...Traditionally, the ketubah was written in Aramaic, but today many Jews use Hebrew instead...The rabbi reads this contract under the chupah after the ring exchange. In the past this document was written in Aramaic, now many Jews use Hebrew instead" - repetition
 * "Societal influences" is an empty section - fill or delete
 * "Many couples opt to marry in the church of their faith, as it is common for couples to share the same religion. Whether the couple is Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, or any other religion, it is common practice to get married in the church of that faith" - redundant, repetitious
 * "guests should dress appropriately" - not encyclopedic tone
 * "However, only active duty servicemen participate, as they can only carry their sword or saber if they are active duty" - redundant wording
 * This page is a WP:Orphan, as no other pages link to it

Accuracy and verifiability

 * Section reference tag needs to be addressed
 * Citations are not usually required in the lead, but as the media issue is not addressed later in the article, it needs to be cited in the lead
 * Additionally, citations needed for:
 * The ceremonies were intimate and not elaborate
 * Weddings in the United States are the most varied and flexible in the world
 * Most of these customs stem from Europe
 * It is customary to give newlyweds gifts for their new home together at the wedding reception
 * This includes the white wedding dress, which represents joy, not purity
 * Traditional, formal, religious weddings are the most common type of wedding in the United States. Many couples opt to marry in the church of their faith, as it is common for couples to share the same religion
 * Religious officials have become increasingly cooperative with marrying couples that are not of the same faith.
 * Destination weddings are becoming increasingly popular in the United States
 * However, only active duty servicemen participate, as they can only carry their sword or saber if they are active duty


 * The websites of wedding planners do not qualify as WP:Reliable sources
 * Citation 8 is not displaying properly

Broad

 * Even though the influence of the media is mentioned in the lead, it is not discussed in the article
 * "Societal influences" is a blank section
 * There are large gaps in the "History" section
 * There are more than three religions in the United States. What are the traditions for Muslim weddings? Buddhist weddings? Other religions?
 * You say that the white gown "represents joy, not purity", but you don't say why that distinction is important. I think what you mean to suggest is that that is a common misconception - should explain that.
 * Under "History", you might want to discuss traditional African-American weddings during slavery
 * The article makes no mention of the "wedding as industry" common in the US
 * A "See also" or "External links" section would be helpful

Neutrality

 * You discuss benefits of destination weddings, but a) do not discuss drawbacks, and b) do not discuss benefits for other types of marriages

Stable
No issues noted

Images
This article has no images. While images are not a requirement for GA, the article would benefit from the addition of images to illustrate the topics being discussed and to break up the text. Consider adding an image from here

Opinion from another editor
Outright there's no way this article can be GA. Major sections have no sources and a poor "list" format of traditions. The discussion of religious traditions is dubious in and of itself due to the numerous religions practiced in the US, further highlighted by the fact that only three religions appear--Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity. There is a formatting issue with "Societal Influences" and "Types of Weddings". The article also seems biased with a sense of "normalcy" that does not seem supported by its very limited sources, violating NPOV and NOR/SPEC. Here is a list of suggested fixes:
 * Expand the history section.
 * Incorporate the list into the section, preferably in paragraph form, making sure that all claims are properly sourced.
 * Review the style guide to properly describe the content and adhere to the encyclopedic standards of Wikipedia. At present, the "Cultural traditions" section is stylistically improper, jumping into a adage that a reader may not understand with no context or explanation.
 * Tonal issues with the article include casual sentences and POV terms (ex. "It's even considered an American tradition to...").
 * There are more religions and marriages based on faith in the US than those. Add them, though the section itself doesn't seem to describe any characteristics inherently unique to faith-based weddings in America.  If no source can describe unique religious traditions in Amercan weddings, then the section may need to be disposed of entirely or collapsed into a section discussing varied religious and secular weddings.
 * Surely legal weddings and legality of marriage (especially given the history of interracial or same-sex marriages and the ceremonies therein) are of importance to this article, despite being unmentioned at present. An addition would probably benefit this article.
 * The various "types" of weddings seem arbitrary at best, along with several other sections and orderings in the article. While the source may describe the "four most popular" there is no description of other kinds of weddings, making this article rather lacking in comprehensiveness.

This article needs a massive overhaul and editors are welcome to work on this. This a clear fail for GA, as it never reached beyond start-level.Luminum (talk) 18:06, 26 July 2009 (UTC)