A wedding is a grand event that requires good organization. Brides and grooms are looking for the necessary information related to this event, but we must admit, it is equally important to take a little breath and relax. Therefore, we offer to explore interesting wedding traditions of different countries around the world.

The most fascinating wedding traditions in the world

Due to geography, culture, religion, and political structure, wedding customs vary in different countries and cultures. It's hard to believe how incredibly unusual many traditions are. They range from chiding the groom to smearing the bride's dress.

Regardless of the geographical location, country, or culture, behind all these traditions lies the desire for marriage to be established on a stable basis. Let's look at interesting wedding traditions in different countries.

Italy

Wedding traditions in Italy

In Italy, it is believed that a wedding on Sunday will bring double success. It is also an interesting tradition that when the bride and groom arrive in the chapel, a ribbon is tied across the main entrance, letting others know that the wedding is taking place at that time.

Also, during the wedding ceremony, guests are invited to perform a dance called The Tarantelle, a traditional Southern Italian dance. In this way, fertility and abundance are believed to enter the newlyweds' homes.

And after the celebration, the couple goes to their wedding apartments, where a wedding bed has been prepared, which is traditionally made by two women who are not yet married.

India

The most interesting wedding traditions in India

Due to the caste and the colonial system, and the religious traditions of the past, wedding customs vary in India. Usually, a wedding in India consists of 3 parts. The first part is the preparation for the wedding and the celebrations before the wedding. One of the celebrations is a henna evening. The henna called "mehndi" is heated, and the bride’s skin and wrists are decorated with the warm henna. The event is accompanied by traditional Indian music.

The second part is the wedding day. On the wedding day, the groom’s mother with family greet the groom. After washing the groom's feet, he is offered honey and milk. Instead of a white wedding dress, the bride wears a sari, a luxuriously embroidered piece of fabric wrapped around her body.

The third part of the wedding is a fire dance performed by the bride and groom. The bride and groom go for times around the holy fire and then run to their table. The one who sits down at the table first is the head of the new family's home.

England

Wedding traditions in England

In England, when a couple enters and leaves the church where the wedding ceremony takes place, church bells are ringed to protect their marriage from evil spirits. In addition, guests attending a wedding shed petals on top of the bride and groom, thus believing that the couple will create a happy home.

France

French wedding traditions

In France, wedding guests bring flowers as a gift. One of the most important traditions for the couple is drinking wine from a special cup, which is ancestral from generation to generation.

Germany

The most interesting wedding traditions in Germany

In Germany, wedding guests sprinkle rice on top of the bride and groom, symbolizing fertility. It is believed that the more rice grain remains in the bride's hair, the more children the couple will have. At the end of the ceremony, the bride and groom saw a wooden log together. This means they will overcome the difficulties they will face during their marriage.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina's most interesting wedding traditions

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a groom wishing to marry is invited to the bride's home for dinner, where senior family members discuss his suitability for marriage. After the bride's grandparents have decided about the future groom, coffee is served. Sugared coffee means that the future groom is considered suitable for marriage but with sugarless coffee – the potential groom is rejected.

Pakistan

Pakistan wedding traditions

In Pakistan, the groom is given a difficult test by the bride's older family members. In this test, the bride's family insults and curses the groom, but the groom must be strong enough to withstand all these scolds. A young person who passes the exam receives permission to marry.

Scotland

Wedding traditions in Scotland

Scotland is one of the places in the world with interesting wedding traditions. Before the wedding, the bride's relatives mix products such as eggs and tomato paste and pour this mixture onto the future bride. The bride, covered with this mixture from head to toe, is led through the city for all to see.

The purpose of this tradition is to prepare her for all the difficulties she may face in marriage. In Scotland, the bride and groom wash each other's feet at a wedding. This tradition finds its place in modern weddings as well.

Turkey

The most interesting wedding traditions in different regions of Turkey

Turkey is large, and different regions have unusual wedding traditions. In Aydin, for example, shortly before the ceremony, the groom greets the bride by sprinkling money, wheat, sugar, and rice in front of her.

Diyarbakir has a tradition of breaking dishes. A pot filled with water is torn in front of the bride and groom's house so that their marriage will flow as smoothly as water throughout their lives.

In Sanlivra, as in all regions of Turkey, each guest donates gold or money at the end of the wedding by attaching to special ribbons placed on the newlyweds, or jewellery given to the bride or groom. And in Sanlivra, those guests who do not go to the wedding for various reasons are confidently invited to visit the bride every Friday for three weeks after the wedding to give a gift, which is an important tradition. This day is named "Bride’s Friday".

In Adana groom is stopped on his way to a henna party and is asked to hit or shoot eggs placed on a tall tree branch. If he can't hit them, the bride's guests will punish him. Also, when the presents are delivered to the newlywed's home by the groom, he commits a symbolic theft – grabs a pillow. When the pillow is stolen, the bridesmaids catch the groom to regain the pillow, and the one who does it gets the prize.

China

The most essential and unusual wedding traditions in China

Chinese wedding traditions are related to astrology. The groom's family asks an astrological expert for his opinion about the couple and prepares a professional astrological map for them. If the groom's family accepts the horoscope, they send it to the future bride's family and ask them to do the same.

Some gifts are sent to the bride's family before the wedding. Among other things, it is a tea that takes a very important place. As the symbol of happiness and success in China is red colour, the bride wears a red dress, red shoes, and a red veil. Tears are an important part of the tradition. When the bride leaves her family home, she cries with tears, which symbolizes the breaking of family ties and moving into a new family.

Africa

The most interesting wedding traditions in Africa

There are also interesting and unusual marriage traditions in African countries. In some parts of Africa, the groom gives money and peanuts to all the daughters of the family after the family has accepted the marriage. The peanuts are then given to the friends or family members who have supported and helped the couple to unite and, finally, the other relatives, friends, and neighbours.

At the same time, this peanut symbolizes an invitation to a wedding for everyone to whom it is given. On the wedding day, the bride and groom follow the tradition of jumping over the broomstick. This tradition symbolizes that the married couple wipes out all the evils of the past and leaves them behind.

Korea

The most interesting Korean wedding traditions

In Korea, duck and goose play an important role in wedding traditions. The groom goes to the bride with a white horse, carrying a goose. Nowadays, a goose figurine carved from wood is symbolically used.

According to another tradition, a pair of wooden ducks are placed in the newlyweds' house after the wedding. It is believed that if the ducks are placed facing each other, the couple will live well; if they are facing away from each other, the couple will argue.

Belgium

The most interesting wedding traditions in Belgium

In Belgium, one of the most important wedding traditions is to give a name to the scarf, which means the bride embroiders her name on it. The bride's family takes the wedding scarf with her daughter's name to the reception and shows it to the wedding guests.

The bride wears this scarf throughout the wedding. The scarf, which is brought back to the bride's family home after the wedding, is returned to the bride's sister so that her name on the scarf is next. Otherwise, the scarf remains for the bride's daughter.

Finland

The most unusual Finnish wedding traditions

A Finnish bride wears a handmade gold crown at a wedding. After the ceremony, the bride gives her crown to one of the grandmothers, or unmarried young girls, who gather around her. It is believed that the chosen girl will get married very shortly after this wedding.

One of the oldest Finnish wedding traditions is the bridal auction. The groom and the bride's father bargained for its value. The final amount of money agreed between the two was used for the dowry.

Israel

The most unusual wedding traditions in Israel

According to the Jewish religion in Israel, weddings have a tradition of embroidering cloth filled with broken glass pieces, symbolizing the destruction of the holy temple in Jerusalem. Dish breaking is also traditional, it symbolizes the happiness and sadness of life.

Russia

Interesting Russian wedding traditions

In Russia, at a wedding ceremony, the bride and groom wear wedding rings on the ringer of her right hand. If a person wears a wedding ring on their left arm, it indicates that they have been married or lost a spouse.

An interesting and traditional Russian ritual is the wedding bread. This specially made bread is baked by a woman who is in a happy marriage and with many children in the family. On the wedding day, the groom and the bride eat wedding bread. It is assumed that the one who takes the biggest bite will be the head of the family.

At weddings, for the Russian groom, various fun tests are made. It is expected that in these tests, the groom performs for all the guests, for example, declaring love for the bride, dancing, or singing.

Bulgaria

Unusual Bulgarian wedding traditions

In Bulgaria, the groom goes to the bride's family to ask for her hand with friends and takes a special homemade whiskey called “Rakia”, which stands for happiness, health, and wealth, and a small bouquet of green flowers called “Zdravet”.

If the girl's father confirms the marriage, he asks the daughter three times if she is ready for marriage. If the daughter says yes, her family sends gifts to the groom's family.

On the Thursday before the wedding, special bread is prepared, which symbolizes the formation of a new family.

Philippines

The most interesting wedding traditions in the Philippines

In the Philippines, eighty percent of people are Catholic, and marriage ceremonies are held in splendid churches. One of the most interesting rituals is the veil ceremony. At the ceremony, one end of the veil is attached to the bride's head and the other to the groom's shoulder. This ritual also reflects the bride's and groom's desire to protect each other and be healthy for life.

Note that the Philippines is the only country outside the Vatican where divorce is prohibited.