Wedding traditions from around world

12 wedding traditions from around the world

Beside being a destination wedding planner I’m super love travelling. Every time that I have the chance, I plan an adventure somewhere. I’m also very curious about different cultural traditions from different parts of the globe. In every county I visited I tried to know as much as possible about local culture. This also includes a deep curiosity about wedding traditions.

1.   Shooting the bride with arrows

This Cupid inspired wedding tradition comes from china. It consists in the groom to shoot his bride with three arrows. No panic, there are arrowheads and the bride is completely safe. After that, the groom breaks in two pieces the arrows and the bow to ensure everlasting love.

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2. Lovey-Dovey tradition

Doves play a strong symbolic role in many wedding traditions. In Filipinos celebrations they represent the love and a peaceful life together of the spouses. The newly wed release a pair of doves, a male and a female, together in the air.

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3.   Indian wedding traditions: shoe thievery

This ritual is also called Joota Chupai, like the groom’s embroidered shoes wore for the wedding day. It consists of the female relatives of the bride, like sisters and cousins, stealing the shoes from the groom to obtain a monetary ransom when he needs them back. the thoughtful meaning is to show acceptance from both family and share fun together.

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4.   Smashing dishes from Germany

This custom German wedding tradition, also known as Polterabend, doesn’t take place on the actual wedding day itself but on the night before. Friends and family meet up in front of the couple’s house and smash dishes and porcelains. The bride and groom have to clean up the mess together to demonstrate that they are ready to work as a couple with the challenging tasks of life

5.   The Karavay

One of the Russian wedding traditions is the two spouses eating the Karavay. This a traditional sweet bread handsomely decorated with symbols of fertility and two rings that symbolise the union. As part of the ritual the relatives of the groom serve the bread to the couple that have to eat a piece without using their hand.

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6.   Extravagant dance from Cuba

In Cuba they have a super practical and fun custom. After the wedding reception, men who wish to dance with the bride, pin to her dress money. Yes, exactly money. This will help the newly weds to pay for their future life together and the wedding.

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7.   Brooms in Ghana

The broom has a deep symbolic meaning to African culture, to sweep away the past and the bad feelings to be ready to start a new bright life together. To keep the evils spirits away, newly married couples in Ghana have to jump over the broom. Sometimes is also waived above their heads.

8.   The 12 symbols of life

This is a very interesting tradition from South Africa. The 12 symbols of life, represent the different aspect of what the couple should expect from their married life together. They also represent good luck for the years together and will give the strength to the couple to dissolve the bad feelings and the misunderstands.

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9.   Spitting on the couple

In Greece, to keep the evil away, guests have to spit three time over the happy couple. of course, not literally! Moreover, this curio also is a witch of good luck. Among all the wedding traditions from all around the world, this is one of the most curious for sure.

10. Italy: tie’s auction

In this funny wedding tradition, during the wedding reception, the closest friends of the groom and the male relatives chop his tie, then they sell pieces at the best price to the guest.  the final meaning is the same of other wedding traditions from around the world, to raise money for the newlyweds to help them with the upcoming married life.

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11. Wales and spoons

This wedding tradition have ancients’ roots. When a man was ready to commit, the had to carve a spoon for his beloved one. In the past those spoons were used to eat, but nowadays they have a merely decorative purpose. There are different design and each of them has a specific meaning: hearts for true love, the knot to mean a life together forever, dragon as protection.

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12. Cintas de la torta from Peru

in this a romantic wedding tradition very similar to the toss of the bouquet. During the wedding day, a fake cake is adorned with ribbons. One of them has a ring or a charm. Before the cut of the cake, all the single ladies pull a ribbon. Following the local custom, the woman that finds the ring is the next one to get married.

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