Malaysian Wedding Traditions

A traditional groom, getting married in Malaysia, might send children bearing wedding presents to his future bride. These wedding gifts include elaborately displayed trays of food with origami flowers and cranes, which are made with bills of currency.

At the wedding reception, it is a Korean marriage custom, for each guest to receive an artistically decorated hard-boiled egg, which represents fertility.

Mexican Wedding Traditions

  Sponsors of an Engaged Couple in Mexico

In Mexico, a traditional couple getting married are sponsored, financially, by their Godparents, to act as padrinos, sponsors of the wedding. They are mentors to the bride and groom throughout their engagement, and even after they are married. Needless to say, the bride and groom honor them with a place in the wedding program. The padrinos may present the couple with a rosary and a Bible during their wedding ceremony.

  Mexican Wedding Ceremony Traditions

During the marriage vows, a white ribbon or rosary, called a "lasso", is symbolically wrapped around the necks of the couple, which represents their joining.

It is customary for a Mexican groom to give his wife a wedding present of thirteen gold coins, which are then blessed by the priest during the marriage ceremony. This gesture represents the groom's commitment to support his new wife.

As the newlyweds leave the church, red beads may be tossed at them, to bring good luck. At the wedding reception, all the guests will join hands and form a heart shape around the newly married couple as they have their first dance.

   Wedding Receptions in Mexico

At a traditional Mexican reception, it is customary for the guests to form a heart around the newlyweds, as they begin their first dance as husband and wife.

A paper maché container known as a pinata is suspended from the ceiling at Mexican wedding receptions. It will be shaped like a heart or an animal. Filled with candy, it is hung by a string and swatted at by children. When it breaks, the candy falls out and is shared among the guests.

The Mexican wedding cake is, usually, a fruit cake that has been soaked in rum.

Wedding Traditions in Morocco

 

As in other Muslim countries, a traditional Moroccan wedding ceremony lasts from four to seven days.

On her wedding day, it is a Moroccan wedding custom for the bride to have a ceremonial purification milk bath before a ritual henna painting (Beberiska) of her hands and feet. Originally, this purification and painting was the wedding ceremony in Arab lands some 200 years ago. Modern Morrocan brides continue this tradition by annointing the palm of guests with a unique smear, called the henna. Before she is dressed in her wedding dress, another woman arranges her hair, applies her make-up and puts on her jewelry. The bride also wears an elaborate headpiece with a veil.

Once the couples wedding vows have been exchanged, and before the newlywed Moroccan bride becomes the mistress of her new home, she walks around the outside of her house three times.

Wedding Traditions in New Zealand

 

Church weddings are the most traditional marriage celebrations in New Zealand. The bride wears a white wedding gown and is attended by bridesmaids. The groom wears a gray or black suit with a white shirt and tie, and he is supported by a best man and groomsmen. According to custom, the groom should not see the bride before she joins him at the front of the church on their wedding day.

Weddings in New Zealand may also reflect the traditional culture of the island. Maori weddings will include a ceremonial welcome to the bride and groom, known as a Powhiri, and a traditional warrior challenge. The wedding ceremony will be conducted by a tribal elder and the couple will be blessed in the Maori language.

Wedding rings made of carved bone or greenstone are also popular amongst those wishing to include the ancient culture of the Maori people in their wedding. Traditional Maori 'infinity loops' have a spiritual meaning of never-ending love.
 

Wedding Traditions in Pakistan

 

  Four Day Wedding Ritual of Pakistan

Traditional Pakistani marriage celebrations lasts for four days.

  First Day of the Celebration

On the first day, the bride and groom's families each dress in yellow, and celebrate the upcoming nuptials separately. The betrothed couple will not see each other from this day until the ceremony.

  Second Day of the Celebration

The second day is reserved for a big celebration called Mendi that includes dancing and singing ancient songs. On this day, the groom's family delivers the wedding dress to the bride's family, and then her family takes the groom's wedding attire to his family.

The bride's family string hundreds of colored lights over and around their home, creating an ostentatious announcement of their daughter's forthcoming marriage. Here, the bride-to-be receives a traditional henna staining of her hands and feet. This traditional Muslim art form invokes intricately designs to create beautiful symbolic patterns. The bride-to-be is waited on by her family while the henna stain dries overnight.

  Third Day is the Marriage Ceremony

The wedding rites and ceremony in Pakistan take places on the third day. The Pakistani bride and groom who continue their traditions wear garments of red. The bride's gown is very elaborate, as are her veil and jewelry. Men wear a distinctive traditional turban. After wedding vows are exchanged, the Holy Koran is held over the new bride's head as she joins her husband's family. The official paperwork is signed in the presence of an Islamic priest and the guests.

   Fourth and Final Day of Wedding Program in Pakistan

On the fourth day, the couple hosts their first dinner as husband and wife. The groom's family invites all of the guests to their home for a feast.

Puerto Rican Wedding Traditions

 

  At the Church on the Wedding Day

While a Priest is performing a traditional Puerto Rican wedding ceremony, he blesses a plate of coins and gives them to the groom. After the wedding vows have been exchanged, the groom gives the plate of coins to his bride, which she keeps as a wedding present from her husband. The gift of coins represent good luck and prosperity for the newlyweds.

   Wedding Reception in Puerto Rico

At the traditional Puerto Rican reception it is customary for a doll, dressed similar to the bride, to be placed at the head of the main table.

This "bride doll" is covered with little charms, and are given to the guests as gifts. "Copias" are also passed out as presents to guests. These reception favors are ornately decorated cards with the newlyweds names and the date of the marriage.

Romanian Wedding Traditions

 

   Before the Wedding Vows

Young women in Romania begin planning for their wedding day long before they know who they will marry. Hopeful, young girls begin making and collecting accessories for their trousseau, or hope chest, as early as six years old.

In the mountains of Romania there is an annual festival, on June 29th, where families gather to display their daughter's trousseau.  

  After the Wedding Ceremony

Instead of rice, Romanian newlyweds may have candy or nuts thrown at them by wedding guests.

Russian Wedding Traditions

  Russian Civil Ceremony

Russian church weddings are not considered official, and so couples wanting to get married must exchange their wedding vows at a Russian marriage civil ceremony. Here, the bride and groom receive bread and salt, symbolizing health, prosperity and long life.

The Russian civil ceremony is often considered unimportant to friends and relatives of the bride and groom. The main affair is the wedding reception, a great two day celebration with music, dancing, feasting and drinking.

  Traditions at a Russian Wedding Reception

Once the reception celebration has begun, a relative or close friend will make a wedding toast to the bride and groom. In keeping with Russian custom, everyone throws their champagne glasses on the floor. It is considered good luck if the glasses break when they hit the ground.

  Russian Orthodox Marriage Ceremony

When a traditional Orthodox couple get married in Russia, they are crowned as royalty for the day. The bride and groom must stand on a special carpet as they recite their marriage vows, but first they race each other to it. Whoever reaches the carpet first will, presumably, be the head of the household.

Wedding Traditions in Samoa

Wedding gowns of Samoan brides are made of tapa cloth, obtained from mulberry bark. Fresh wedding flowers and a mother-of-pearl crown adorn her wedding dress.
 

Scottish Wedding Traditions

Scottish Wedding Rings

Traditional Scottish gold wedding bands date back to the 1500's, and are still popular wedding rings today, as are Celtic knotwork engagement rings.

  Traditions in Scotland Before the Wedding Ceremony

Often, before a Scottish bride is married, her mother holds an open house for a traditional "show of presents." Similar to a bridal shower, invitations are sent to the women among those who gave wedding gifts to the couple. The wedding gifts are unwrapped and set out with the card of the gift giver. The occasion is an opportunity for the bride to get acquainted with the wedding party members and guests before the wedding. After the show of presents, bride-to-be is dressed in long trains made of old curtains or other household materials. She is given a baby doll, a plastic potty with salt in the bottom, and other small items to carry. Her friends and guests escort her through her town, singing and banging pots and pans, heralding the bride's upcoming nuptials. To gather luck, the bride-to-be exchanges kisses for money, which is dropped into the potty.

The groom, meanwhile, is taken out for a stag night. The groom is likewise dressed up and taken around town by male companions, sometimes looking like a pregnant woman. His companions often indulge in a great deal of harmless practical joking, of which the poor groom is the main target. When the wild night winds down, the groom is usually left in the street in front of his home stripped of his clothes and sometimes even tied up.

In the Scottish Highlands, an old custom known as creeling the bridgegroom was popular. A large basket (creel) is filled with stones and is tied to the groom's back. The groom was required to carry the weight throughout the town searching for his bride. If his bride would come out and kiss him, he would be relieved of his burden.

Is is old Scottish custom to begin a marriage celebration on the eve of the ceremony. Festive singing, dancing and drinking precedes a ceremonial foot washing of the bride-to-be. A wedding ring from a married woman is placed in the tub of water, and whichever lucky maiden snatched it during the foot washing it would be the next to marry.

  Getting Married in Scotland

A Scottish bride's wedding gown is typically Victorian. She might wear a horseshoe on her arm for good luck, or a pageboy might deliver one to her as she arrives at the chapel. The Scottish groom wears a kilt in the colors of his clan's plaid, and he wraps a sash of this same plaid over his bride's shoulders, symbolizing that she is now part of his family. It is also customery for the groom to present his bride with an engraved 'wedding spune'.

On the wedding day, the entire wedding party starts out for the church. The first person to be met by the bride on her way to the wedding site is given a coin and a drink of whisky. That person, called the first foot, joins the procession and walks for about a mile before continuing on his or her business.

Just outside the church doors, the couple is joined in marriage by a priest. After the joining, the priest leads the bride and groom and all the witnesses into the church for a lengthy nuptial mass conducted in Latin. The mass ends with the blessing of the food and drink brought by the guests. Wedding flowers, petals, or pretty paper confetti are thrown at the departing bride.

  Just Married is Merry in Scotland

Traditional wedding reception festivities can easily last all night. The newly-wedded couple leads off the dancing with a traditional reel, and the bride's second dance is reserved for the person of the highest rank among the guests. The Sword Dance is usually performed at a traditional wedding in Scotland, which is similar to an Irish jig or a Highland fling. Guests gather in a circle before leaving the reception site and sing "Auld Lang Syne".

The entire entourage escorts the young couple to their new home. Before the bride enters her new home, an oatcake or bannock (biscuit made of barley and oat flour) is broken above her head and a piece of the cake is passed around to everyone. Then the bride is carried over the threshold. The priest's blessing over the newlyweds, their home, and their marriage bed culminates the ceremony.

Wedding Traditions in South Africa

After the bridal procession into the church, a prayer of dedication will precede the wedding ceremony. After the exchange of vows, a unity candle will be lit. The couple will then be pronounced man and wife, and blessed by the priest.

The twelve symbols of life important in African culture may be administered as part of the wedding ceremony. These are wine, wheat, pepper, salt, bitter herbs, water, a pot and spoon, a broom, honey, a spear, a shield, and a copy of the Bible or the Koran. Each one represents a different aspect of the love and strength which unites two families.

The wedding feast which follows the ceremony is traditionally known as the Karamu.

In South Africa, to mark the start of the newlyweds life together, the bride's and groom's parents would traditionally carry a fire from their hearths in their homes to the home of the new couple, where a new fire would be lit.
 

Spanish Wedding Traditions

  Wedding Decorations and Traditions in Spain

Orange blossoms have long been the flower of choice for a girl getting married in Spain. Since the orange tree bears fruit and blossoms at the same time it's flowers represent happiness and fulfillment.

Before a couple getting married in Spain exchange their vows in church, the groom gives his bride a wedding present of thirteen coins. This gift is a symbol of his commitment to support her. The bride-to-be then carries these coins, in a little bag, to her wedding ceremony.

  Traditional Spanish Wedding Clothes

According to Spanish custom, a Spanish bride wore, and still might wear, a black silk wedding dress with an intricately designed black lace veil. Her groom usually wears an embroidered shirt, hand made by his future wife.

  Dancing at a Wedding Reception in Spain

During a Spanish marriage celebration reception guests traditionally dance a "sequidillas manchegas" and present the newlyweds with a gift.

Wedding Traditions in Sudan

A bridegroom ceremony is a common wedding practice in the Sudan. The bridegroom is welcomed to the wedding site with an auspicious decoration called the umbul-umbul, a type of 'wedding announcement'. The mother of the bride gives the bridegroom a garland of flowers, welcoming him into her family. She also gives him a 'keris', a hidden message encouraging him not to be disheartened while toiling for his family.

The bridegroom welcome is followed by a procession of ladies with candles, who pray for the ceremony. The bride and groom sit next to each other under an umbrella in front of the entrance to their future home with a veil covering both of their heads. The umbrella is held over the couple's head, serving not only a very practical purpose by also symbolizing esteem and respect.

The bride and groom bend forward and kiss the knees of their parents, a ceremony called sungkem, asking for forgiveness and blessing and promising to continue to serve their parents. This wedding ritual is held in front of a gargoyle fountain. Water flowing from the gargoyle suggests the continuous flow of priceless parental love for their children. A chosen man and woman, sing a special song called kidung on behalf of the parents, advising the couple to treat each other well and to live in harmony. Kidung also invokes blessing upon the couple.

An egg breaking ceremony, called nincak endog, requires the couple to stand facing each other in front of their house. The bridegroom stands outside the entrance and the bride stands inside. The ceremony is conducted by the Sudanese equivalent of an American 'maid of honor', who remains an advisor throughout the marriage. In this ceremony, seven broomsticks are burnt and thrown away, dramatizing the discarding of bad habits which endanger married life.

The groom is pronounced master of his house when the egg is broken. His bride cleans the his foot with water from a kendi, an earthen water jug which represents peace. Then she breaks the kendi and crosses over a log into the house, demonstrating willing obedience to her future husband. She is fed a dish of turmeric sticky rice with yellow spiced chicken to symbolize the last time the parents of the bride will feed their daughter.

The groom remains outside for another ceremony, which is enacted before him by a couple who sing. During this ceremony, the groom, via the vocalists, requests to enter his bride's house, and she consents when he agrees to confirm his Moslem faith. Having done so, the couple is given a barbecued spiced chicken to pull apart on a signal from the 'maid of honor'. According to tradition, the one who gets the larger piece will bring in the larger share of the family fortune. The ceremony also portrays the importance of working together to acquire fortune.

Following the wedding ceremony, dancers shower the bride and groom with wedding flowers to insure a fragrant future for the couple. A sawer, made of turmeric rice, coins, and candy, is thrown at the couple. Rice is a symbol of prosperity, and yellow is for everlasting love. The coins remind the couple to share their wealth with the less fortunate, and the candy bestows sweetness and fragrance upon their marriage. Seven candles are lit representing the direction the couple should follow to bring about a happy married life. A betel nut set near the couple is a reminder that different customs should not spoil a harmonious marriage.

Swedish Wedding Traditions

In Sweden, the parent's of the bride- to- be practice an old traditional wedding custom. Before their daughter leaves for the church to be married, her mother gives her a gold coin to go in her right shoe, and her father hands her a silver coin to be placed in her left shoe. This way they know she will never go without.

After a Swedish couple exchange their marriage vows on their wedding day, the new bride will wear three bands on her wedding finger. One is an engagement ring, another is her wedding ring and the third is a ring for motherhood.

Wedding Traditions in Thailand

Before wedding bells can be heard in Thailand, the couple getting married prepares food for the monks. In return, the monks will give the bride and groom a blessing.

Wedding ceremonies in Thailand usually include only relatives and close friends of the couple.

It is a Thai marriage ritual for the bride and groom to sit together on the floor, each with their hands pressed together, fingers pointing up under their chins. The couple's hands are also linked by a chain of flowers. The oldest relative leads the wedding ceremony and to wish the couple luck, he dips their hands in a conch shell containing water. Their parents and other guests will then do the same.

In rural areas, an elderly couple may arrange the bridal bed for the newlyweds and leave good luck tokens such as; rice, sesame seeds and coins. This Thai wedding custom symbolizes good luck and fertility.

Wedding Traditions in Tibet

Most Tibetan marriages are monogamous with familiar 'nuclear' families. In many ancient societies, however, multi-wive families were common, and most Tibetan kings have several wives. The number of monks in Tibet in 1950 was about 110,000 -- which would be the equivalent per capita of the US having 27 million monks, of which about 35 percent would be of marriageable age. This creates a shortage of available males; and in many sparsely populated areas, it is hard to find a suitable spouse. Sometimes, in order to maintain a household and to avoid the dividing of property, a younger son is sent to the monastery to be a monk -- the equivalent of knighting a younger son without property in England -- and when the younger brother reaches adulthood, he shares his elder brother's wife.

Girls in Tibet are initiated ceremoniously into adulthood, selecting a 'lucky' date according to the Tibetan calendar. Her hair will be plaited from a single to many braids and she will begin wearing a colorful 'apron', indicating her availability for marriage and male friendships.

Public gatherings are considered appropriate occasions for boys to meet girls. Romantic bonfires in the moonlight draw boys and girls together to sing and to worship. After a period of courtship and permission to marry has been granted by each family, an elderly gentleman is asked to propose the marriage to the bride-to-be's parents. According to tradition, only the maternal uncle of the girl has the right to approve. Suitable gifts are presented to the bride's family once approval has been given.

The day before the wedding, the maternal uncle of the groom takes gifts and often a white horse for the bride to ride on to the bride's house or tent. Two maidens from the bride's family greet the uncle and they share three wedding toasts of beer. The uncle presents a ceremonial scarf to the bride's parents and blesses the household and all of its members. On the wedding day, the groom's house or tent is refurbished. Bowls are painted with eight auspicious emblems ready for use, and a square carpet of white wool is laid to welcome guests. The bride puts on a white woolen wedding gown and rides a white horse to the groom's house, escorted by her uncle and her groom's uncle. His uncle rides ahead to announce her arrival. Another 'wedding toast' is sung by two maidens from the groom's family while the bride dismounts in front of the groom's house, stepping precisely in the middle of the white mat, on which an emblem is formed from grains of barley. The groom's family asks him to dismount and come in. Another ceremonial scarf is exchanged, and blessings are invoked. The groom's uncle formally begins the wedding ceremony, during which the bride and groom kneel in front of the groom's uncle and a picture of Buddha while monks chant. The bride serves milk-tea to her future in-laws and flicks a fingertip of the tea above her head to salute heaven, earth, and Buddha.

The wedding ceremony is followed by a joyful wedding feast, which is liberally interrupted by many presentations of ceremonial scarves, blessings, and gifts -- so many that sometimes the groom and bride are nearly buried beneath the large number of scarves tied around their necks!

Wedding Traditions in Turkey

The Turkish marriage celebration continues after the wedding ceremony for several days. The newlywed bride may return home the morning after her wedding vows to see her family and friends, who then might perform a henna ritual on her.

A Muslim wedding program in Turkey lasts from four to seven days, starting with separate celebrations of the bride and groom's families. From this day on, the couple getting married cannot see each other until their wedding ceremony.

A Turkish bride might wear a beautifully embroidered silk wedding dress with a red velvet cape.

Ukrainian Wedding Traditions

Instead of the customary wedding cake, a traditional bread called Korovai, is served at Ukrainian wedding receptions. This sacred bread is decorated with symbols which represent the everlasting union of the couple getting married.

A traditional bride in the Ukraine may be kidnapped from her wedding reception, by friends, to symbolize the invasions their country has suffered over the years.

Wedding traditions in Venezuela

Family is very important in Venezuela, and the groom is expected to ask the permission of his prospective father-in-law before proposing. A civil ceremony will take place two weeks before the religious service, at which the couple are officially married. A reception follows both events, but the religious wedding ceremony is the bigger celebration.

During a traditional wedding ceremony in Venezuela, the families of the bride and groom will exchange 13 gold coins, to symbolize prosperity and good fortune. The coins are known as arras. These may also be exchanged between the couple themselves.

In Venezuela, it is traditional for newlyweds to sneak away from their own wedding reception without saying good-bye. This is considered to bring good luck to the union.
 

Yemeni Wedding Traditions

Yemeni wedding celebrations include the entire community. Music plays an important role at the wedding reception. Professional musicians, as well as the guests, participate in the traditional custom of "gladdening the bride" with music.

On their wedding day, all of the women in the bride's family prepare the feast for the wedding reception. This includes the traditional sweetened fritters and donuts that symbolize a sweet life for the newlyweds.