In my Mexican history class we studied the ritual sacrifices of female virgins to the native gods and goddesses as a display of repentance and dedication of the people to the powers of nature and spectacles of the natural world. And, I walked up and down the ales of the wedding accessory store I could not help but think that my best friend is willingly sacrificing her freedom to pay homage to an institution as old as human society: marriage. Now, before anyone gets all huffy and puffy about my metaphor, I can draw a clear comparison between these two sacrifices.
1. Both the native female and the bride (usually) felt honored by the proposal of being offered up on a platter and willingly sacrificed the remainder of their lives to please a cultural institution and accepted symbols that highlighted the status of the proposal (treat v. a ring). 
2. Months and months of planning are coordinated in hopes of flawless and romantical date. The perfect day must be set, invitations sent out, and a giant feast (or rehearsal dinner) must take place to ring in the importance of the ceremony.
3. After hours of preparation the sacrifice is fully attired in ceremony get up forced to perform a ritual dance.
In any sense the idea of a female offering herself up as a means of honor is somewhat an ancient concept. I am at the bridal shop waiting for invitations and wondering around a store in which no one else has seemed to have noticed this parallel, or maybe they have and have decided it is bad for business to call a wedding a "human sacrifice." Perhaps I am over reaching, but I do not think so. How many women have sacrificed their entire lives to conform to the institution of marriage...and do they regret it? I wonder if the ancients regret sacrifices themselves?
Perhaps rushing into the sacrifice is what makes it so in the first place.
--Nikki
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