Wedding Content // Bridal Traditions from Around the World*

Next month one of my best friends is getting married and she’s asked me to be part of her special day. A marriage is a big deal, couples spend months, sometimes years planning and saving for the big day. It doesn’t matter where you go, a wedding is always going to be special. Across the world, different cultures have their own unique ways of preparing for and celebrating. QUIZ, retailers of Winter Jumpers, share with us some of the wedding traditions from around the world.

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In Germany
Firstly lets look at some traditions from other countries in Europe. Starting in Germany.

Before the bride even gets engaged she starts to save to pay for her wedding shoes. This tradition of the bride to be buying her own shoes is said to help get the marriage off on the right food. How cute?

And forget about sending a paper wedding invitation sent through Royal Mail, in Germany the couple sends out a Hochzeitslader, which is a gentleman dressed in formal, fancy wear complete with ribbons and flowers, to hand-deliver their invitations. Guests accept the invitations by pinning a ribbon from the Hochzeitslader’s outfit onto his hat, before inviting him into their home for a drink. Talk about time consuming!

German couples must have a civil ceremony in their town registry office. This isn’t optional. However after this has been conducted the couple are welcome to also hold a fancy church wedding. Generally, few guests will attend the civil ceremony and the bride and groom will dress relatively simply.

If a church ceremony is to take place, it’s traditional for a Polterabend to take place a few days after the civil ceremony. Believing that negative spirits are attracted to brides, a ceremony called a Polterabend takes place to scare them aware. On the night before the church ceremony, the bride and groom gather with their friends and family where they smash china and porcelain. The noise made is said to scare away the spirits, while illustrating that their marriage will never break. However glass is never broken, as this is believed to be bad luck.

Rather than throwing the bouquet at the reception, the bride’s veil is held up and the couple dance underneath it. When the music stops single women tear off pieces of the veil. The lady who ends up with the biggest piece is said to be next to marry.

In Spain
A traditional Spanish wedding will look very different to a wedding in the UK. They don’t include a bridal party of any form and it’s the mother of the groom who walks her son down the aisle, rather than the father of the bride walking the bride. There are no speeches made and the wedding ring is worn on the right hand. The wedding dress is traditionally made from black lace, however more modern brides are going with the white like other western cultures.

A Spanish wedding will usually take place in the early evening and continue into the morning. And although there is no bridal party, the bride will give a small flower corsage to her friends. If they are single they must wear it upside down and if they lose it during the wedding it is believed that they will be married next!

As a gift, the groom often presents his bride with 13 gold coins blessed by a priest. This tradition is said to bring the couple good fortune and symbolise the grooms commitment to supporting his bride.

China
Heading further east to China, a country steeped in traditions.

With China being so large there are different traditions in each region.

Listen to this, Tujia brides must cry for an hour a day every day for a month in the run-up to their wedding. After the first ten days, the bride’s mother joins her in crying daily before being joined by her grandmother. As the other women join in, it’s seen as an expression of their joy. Happy tears I guess?

Brides from the country’s Yugar culture will be shot by their grooms with a bow and arrow (thankfully, the arrows are free from their arrowheads!). After shooting their bride three times, the arrows are broken, showing that the couple will always love each other. I guess I see the logic in that! But I think I’d rather do the crying.

On the day of the wedding, a ‘good luck woman’ will help the bride do her hair. This woman is considered lucky if she meets the following conditions; she has living parents, a spouse and children. It is hoped she will pass on some of this good fortune to the bride.

This is my personal favourite! The groom has collect the bride from her home, where he is greeted by the bride’s friends. They will block his entry into her parents home and the groom is required to prove his love for his future wife through answering a series of questions about her or even by offering money in red envelopes to buy his way into the house.

In India
Finally, India. Again the wedding traditions can differ depending on the region but it’s not uncommon for Indian weddings to take place over several days!

Before the wedding day, the bride partakes in a Mehendi ceremony. This is where family and friends gather to apply the beautifully intricate henna. Tradition says that the deepness of the colour of the henna determines the bond between husband and wife and how well the bride will get along with her mother-in-law. Hidden within the henna are the names of the happy couple and it’s often painted on the palms, hands, forearms and legs. Usually the wedding party will also have henna done before the big day.

When it comes to the outfit of the big day, it again depends on where the bride was born. In some regions, the women will wear a saree (long drape) for her wedding and in others she wears a lehenga (a long skirt). Red is a very popular colour to be worn by the bride at an Indian wedding.

A key element in an Indian wedding is the walk around the fire. The marriage becomes official when the bride and groom walk around the fire four times as verses are chanted, and the couple is tied together. The husband and wife then race back to their seats, as the one who sits first is said to be the most dominant.

Will you take any inspiration from these traditions for your special day?