Wedding Customs of Other Countries Part 1

We all can go back in our family history and find a culture that we are connected to. Here are a few customs that you may want to consider.

Africa: In some African ceremonies the couple’s wrists are bound together by plaited grasses.

Belgium: The bride’s mother presents her daughter with a handkerchief with her name embroidered in one corner. The bride carries it during the wedding. Afterward the handkerchief is framed and displayed in the bride’s family home until another daughter is married, then her name is added and she carries it in her wedding.

Czechoslovakia: Some brides choose to wear a traditional wreath made of rosemary, a symbol of love, loyalty and wisdom.

China: During a Chinese wedding ceremony two goblets holding honey in one and wine in the other are tied together with a red ribbon which the bride and groom take sips from to symbolize their union.

England: As the bride and groom enter the church, the bells chime; when they exit as husband and wife the bells chime again but to a different tune.

Finland: In early times the bride-to-be was adorned with a gold crown. After the ceremony she was blind folded and surrounded by the unmarried female guests. The bride would go around the circle until she picked someone to pass the crown to. Like today’s bouquet catcher she was thought to be the next one to marry.

France: After the ceremony the couple drinks from a “coupe de marriage”, a silver cup with two handles.

Germany: Both the bride and the groom wear gold bands as a symbol of their engagement.

Greece: After their vows the bride and groom each take three sips of wine and walk around the altar three times following the priest. This symbolizes the Trinity.

Holland: The bride and groom sit on thrones covered by a canopy of evergreens, symbolizing everlasting love, during a pre-wedding celebration.

India: Female relatives and friends use henna dye to paint the newlywed’s hands. The couple then leaves their handprints on the outside door of their new home for good luck.

Read Part 2

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