Wedding customs by country - Wiki slovník

African customs

Ethiopia

Marriage in Ethiopia starts with the groom's side sending elders (Shimagle) who then request a union between the parties. The elders discuss a dowry (ጧሎሽ) and verify that the intended bride and groom are not relatives by checking their lineage a minimum of seven generations. After a dowry is agreed upon and it has been determined that there is no relationship between the intended bride and groom, the wedding is announced and the families begin preparations for a church/mosque ceremony and a mels(i) ceremony^[clarify]. On the wedding day the groom and groomsmen (ሚዜ) get ready at the groom's house early in the morning and proceed to the bride's parents house to begin the wedding ceremonies. At the bride's parents' house, the bride gets ready and is seated awaiting the groom's arrival. As the groom and his wedding party arrive, the bride's family and friends ceremonially block the entrance to the house. The groomsmen have to either serenade or bribe their way into the house so that the groom can take the bride with him. Additionally, the best man holds perfume and sprays it everywhere inside the bride's family house. After this ceremony, the groom retrieves his bride and they along with a procession go to a church/mosque to take their wedding vows.

After the religious ceremony, the wedding procession moves to a park/garden where lunch is served to guests. Afterwards, the wedding party typically takes pictures while guests make their way to the reception. At the reception, depending on the family's ethnic group there are several traditional dances performed. Ethiopian weddings typically serve Ethiopian food and live music and the party typically goes on into the early morning. To close the wedding ceremony, elders are seated at the exit of the venue and the bride and groom along with the wedding party bow and kiss the knees of the elders as they exit the venue. This is typically the conclusion the first day of a typical Ethiopian wedding.

The mels(i) ceremony is dependent on the ethnic heritage of the family, but it is typically smaller than the first ceremony and a time for close friends and family to spend some time with each other and continue to celebrate the newly married couple.

Nigeria

Generally, there are three types of weddings in Nigeria: traditional weddings, church weddings and court weddings. The civil marriage takes place at a registry, and then traditional wedding ceremony follows, which is followed by the church wedding ceremony. Many couples choose to do all three, depending on their financial situation. Nigerian weddings are normally characterised by an abundance of colours.

In traditional weddings, customs vary slightly from one part of Nigeria to the other. In Southern, Western and Eastern parts of Nigeria, it is called the traditional wedding ceremony. Officials and elders sip wine while they invite the couple in for introductions and negotiations, and presentation of the bride price which consists mainly of gifts of shoes, textiles, jewelry and bags.

In the other parts of the country it is very much the same. Elders from both families retreat into an inner room to negotiate on the bride price. When concluded, the gifts are then presented to the bride's family. After this, the bride, along with her entourage of girls is presented to the husband, family and guests in the most colourful way.^{[citation needed]}

Pygmy wedding traditions

Pygmy engagements were not long and usually formalized by an exchange of visits between the families concerned. The groom to be would bring a gift of game or maybe a few arrows to his new in-laws, take his bride home to live in his band and with his new parents. His only obligation is to find among his relatives a woman willing to marry a brother or male cousin of his wife. If he feels he can feed more than one wife, he may have additional wives.

Somalia

Zimbabwe

Customarily, marriage proceedings often begin with the man proposing to the woman. Upon her acceptance the man then calls for a meeting with his clan elders who largely consist of extended elderly family members. A delegation carrying small gifts is then sent to the woman's home to meet with her clan elders. Deliberations on bride price actually begin on a later date and these are strictly conducted by the older men only. Upon completion of these negotiations, a wedding date is set, with the elders having provided an acceptable percentage of the full dowry. The rest of the dowry is expected later. No request is made for it, but the young man is expected to remember to finish his payment and failure to do so spells dishonor for that family.

The wedding day begins with a convoy from the groom's family that heads to the bride's home to collect her. However, the convoy is not immediately let into the bride's homestead. Rather the bride's gate is locked and song and dance begins as a cover for negotiations. Various goods may be asked of the groom and he willingly obliges to the demands after which he is let into the compound.

Middle Eastern customs

Arabic customs

Although Christian weddings in the Arab World bear similarities to Western weddings, whereas Muslim weddings in the Arab countries are influenced by Muslim traditions. Muslim weddings start with a Sheikh and Katb Al-kitaab (book) for the bride and groom. A wedding is not Islamically valid unless both bride and groom are willing, and the groom is often encouraged to visit her before the wedding (as advised in many hadith of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). However, these visits must be chaperoned to ensure purity of action between the two. It is the custom that the groom and his family pay for all the wedding expenses. The bride's family gather together before the wedding in the bride's parents house. The groom's family come and take the bride from the house in a decorated car along with the one bride's mate which usually is the bride's sister, cousin, or best friend. The rest of the family and close friends follow in their cars, honking the car's horns. The reception is usually for all the family and friends, usually with a meal and cake. Candy covered almonds is a traditional giveaway from the couple. There is a lot of dancing and (zaghareet) Ululation. The Muslims tradition is to have men in one side and women in another so the ladies can remove their head covering. However, in non-Muslim traditions the whole wedding is for both sexes.

Iran

Persian wedding tradition, despite its local and regional variations, like many other rituals in Persia goes back to the ancient Zoroastrian tradition.^[1] Though the concepts and theory of the marriage have changed drastically by Islamic traditions, the actual ceremonies have remained more or less the same as they were originally in the ancient Zoroastrian culture.

Israel

European customs

Albania

In Albanian traditional weddings, the dress of the bride is characterized by its elegance and transparency, in that of the Catholic one can see full colors. The Catholic bride's dress is characterized by its picturesque effects and harmony.

There are two types of wedding dresses. One is worked on a "shajak" (large piece of wool) and with floral motives worked with "gajtan" (kind of rope) black cotton, sometimes mixed with green. The other one is worked in the same material but with red color. Different from the first here the motifs are enriched with full colors. These dresses have a belt worked with gold and grain necklaces in red, rose, orange creating all together a warm surface. Here the motifs are very small.

This gallery of costumes, richness of colors, and sentiments is a major, long-running experience for Albanians, not only for the ability to preserve tradition, but also for conserving the high technique of elaboration or the high artistic level.

The dress of a Catholic bride from Shkodër is tripped from the transparent white, shiny, soft, which spreads all over the body, and is intended to suggest tranquility and a warm purity. This concept of tradition is achieved through the white of the base material and the gold thread over. This dress is composed by the "barnaveke": some kind of very long pants which seem a skirt. In the upper part is worn a shirt and over it a "jelek" (waistcoat).

Ritual songs name various elements which contain "paja" (pronounced paya) of the girl, which are the goods parents give to the daughter to wear, to furnish the house, gifts for her husband and the intimate cousins. Elements are typically made by weaving clothes using looms. The preparation of the "paja" for the parents of the bride is a pleasure which means also accomplishing the obligations toward the daughter. This is also an expression of the love of parents, but is connected with the economical conditions of the family.

"Dhunti" in Shkodra means the gifts that the groom prepares for the bride during the engagement, mainly clothes, jewelry, gold ornaments and tricks, which are sent to her a few days before the wedding. In addition to those received by the family of his father, the bride takes many gifts from the groom and his family. "Dhuntia", which had a considerable monetary value, was prepared with great care by the family of the boy, because in some way embodied respect and love for his young bride, to whom these gifts were made, love for their son that he married at the same time was also a representation of the family in its economic and aesthetic. In "dhunti" there were enough clothes and items for use at all times, in joy and in sorrow, which expressed particular attention to the role of women.

Celtic handfasting

Handfasting is a wedding ritual in which the bride's and groom's hands are tied together. It is said to be based on an ancient Celtic tradition and to have inspired the phrase "tying the knot". "Handfasting" is favoured by practitioners of Celtic-based religions and spiritual traditions, such as Wicca and Druidism.^[2]

England

The Western custom of a bride wearing a white wedding dress came to symbolize purity, not virginity, in the Victorian era. Within the "white wedding" tradition, a white dress and veil is not considered appropriate in the second or subsequent wedding of a widow or divorcee.^[3]

A wedding is often followed or accompanied by a wedding reception, which in some areas may be known as the 'Wedding Breakfast', at which an elaborate wedding cake is served. Western traditions include toasting the couple, the newlyweds having the first dance, and cutting the cake. A bride may throw her bouquet to the assembled group of all unmarried women in attendance, with folklore suggesting the person who catches it will be the next to wed. A fairly recent equivalent has the groom throwing the bride's garter to the assembled unmarried men; the man who catches it is supposedly the next to wed.

The Wedding Breakfast is one occasion where every member of the family who has had at least some role in the wedding is present. It is also important as the first time the newly married bride and groom share their first meal together as a lawfully wedded couple. The modern Wedding Breakfast includes the service of food to guests that can range from traditional roasts, buffets, or regional treats such as in the case of a London Wedding^[4] in the East End.

Another Victorian tradition is for brides to wear or carry "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" during the service. It is considered good luck to do so. Often the bride attempts to have one item that meets all of these qualifications, such as a borrowed blue handkerchief which is "new to her" but loaned by her grandmother (thus making it old). Another addition to this custom is to wear a coin in one's shoe to bring prosperity.

The full text of the verse is:

Something old, something new,
Something borrowed, something blue,
And silver sixpence in your shoe.^[5]

Finland

One Finnish wedding tradition was the bridal sauna, where the bridesmaids took the bride to a luxuriously decorated, cleansing sauna on the night before the wedding. Instead of the flower bouquet the bath broom was thrown instead.^[6]

The wedding dress was traditionally black, passed on as heritage by the bride's mother. It was decorated and the bride was also given a wedding crown made from shiny bits and pieces.^{[citation needed]} Although nobles might have followed differing international conventions, black as the color of choice remained popular amongst the general population even until the 20th century. When Princess Diana wed Prince Charles in 1981 in an all-white gown, it instantly became the standard gown from there on.^[6]

The earliest Finnish weddings were held at both the bride's and groom's families' houses, a tradition that survived in Eastern Finland until the late 20th century. In Western Finland there were grand processions to the church, back from the church and from one of the houses to the other. The celebrations at each house lasted a day and then the next day the party moved to the other house. Weddings of wealthy families lasted even longer, from 3 to 4 days. 19th century also saw the rise of gatecrashers called puukkojunkkari at these long weddings.^[6]

France

In France many couples choose to have two wedding ceremonies: civil and religious. However, only civil weddings are legally recognized (due to the concept of laïcité). These are performed in the town hall by the mayor (or a deputy mayor or another councillor acting on their behalf). To be allowed to marry in a specific town, either at least one of the spouses or at least one of their parents must reside in that town. if there is also a religious wedding ceremony, it must take place after the civil one, often on the same day. Town halls often offer a more elaborate ceremony for couples who do not wish to marry religiously.

If the two ceremonies take place separately, the civil one will usually include close family and witnesses. Once the civil ceremony is complete, the couple will receive a livret de famille, a booklet in which a copy of the marriage certificate is recorded. This is an official document: if the couple have children, each child's birth certificate will be recorded in the livret de famille too. The civil ceremony in France is free of charge.

Traditionally, the wedding guests gathered at the fiancée's home and went to the church in a procession. The procession was led by the bridegroom and his mother, followed by the bride's mother and bridegroom's father, the witnesses, grandparents, brothers and sisters with their spouses. Finally came the bride and her father, followed by the bridesmaids (usually family children).

Nowadays, the guests usually gather at the town hall or church, and the bride and bridegroom enter together, followed by the family and guests.

In some regions, the groom may meet his fiancée at her home on the day of the wedding and escort her to the chapel where the ceremony is being held. As the couple proceeds to the chapel, children will stretch long white ribbons across the road which the bride will cut as she passes.

At the chapel, the bride and groom are seated on two red velvet chairs underneath a silk canopy called a carre. Laurel leaves may be scattered across their paths when they exit the chapel. Sometimes small coins are also tossed for the children to gather.

A traditional French wedding celebration at Château de Hattonchâtel

At the reception, the couple customarily uses a toasting cup called a Coupe de Mariage. This toast originated in France: traditionally a small piece of toast was literally dropped into the couple's wine to ensure a healthy life. The couple would lift their glass to "a toast", as is common in Western culture today.

In south west France it is customary to serve spit roast wild boar (sanglier in French) as the wedding breakfast, a local delicacy.

Some couples choose to serve a croquembouche instead of a wedding cake. This dessert is a pyramid of crème-filled pastry puffs, drizzled with a caramel glaze.

At more boisterous weddings, it is traditional to continue the celebration late into the night. In many regions of France, wedding rituals continue late into the night after the official ceremonies and party. In some regions after the reception, those invited to the wedding will gather outside the newlyweds' window and bang pots and pans; this is called a "charivari". They are then invited into the house for some more drinks in the couple's honor, after which the couple are finally allowed to be alone for their first night together as husband and wife.

In the rural Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, a post-wedding ritual called la rôtie involves a gang of unmarried men and women finding the bride and groom who have escaped from the reception, tipping them out of their bed, and serving them a concoction of champagne and chocolate served in a chamber pot, which will be passed around and drunk by everyone. Afterwards, the whole group will enjoy an onion soup. The heavily scatological and sexual implications and off-putting appearance of this ritual is supposed to symbolize the day-to-day intimacy of married life, deeply connected to the rural nature of the area. La rôtie is a tradition separate from the official ceremonies, in which young people can participate, and create humor by making something that "tastes good but is in bad taste". The commensal (i.e. "dining together") quality of the ritual is a symbol of the bridge between youth and the adulthood that the couple attains in marriage, as well as the community's involvement in the new couple's married life.^[7] Similar rituals are widespread across rural France, though perhaps with different foods and containers.

Germany and Austria

In a German wedding, friends of the bride "kidnap" her and take her from bar to bar. The best man of the bride^{[clarification needed]}, her father, or the groom pays the bill each time. The kidnappers then go to a certain place, such as a public building, and leave a few clues to help others to search for her. The exemption^{[clarification needed]} may be associated with a task for the groom, for example an artistic performance or washing the dishes for the next few weeks.^{[clarification needed]}

In Austria and Bavaria (usually at country weddings), it is now customary to sing a derisive song before the freeing of the bride.

In Lower Austria it is customary for a masked man and the bride to go to the nearest coffee bar or tavern to drink, sing and wait for the groom to come. In most areas of Austria it is the best man, sometimes the groom or the bride's father (rarely the best man) that pays the price^[ransom?] of the kidnappers.

This custom is due to the supposed 'right of the first night' (German Recht der ersten Nacht, French droit de cuissage, ius primae noctis) in the feudal Middle Ages. According to myth, the nobility in the Middle Ages had the right to have sex with their female subordinates on their wedding night. The bride was retrieved (kidnapped) from the vassals of the government from their weddings. The historiography sees this rite as a literary fiction.

In Bavaria and Western Austria another tradition is to wake up the bride early in the morning of the wedding day with a gunshot or firecrackers. Friends and neighbours meet at dawn at the bride's house to "greet" her on her special day.^[8]

Baumstamm sägen, the tradition of cutting a log together, represents the first obstacle that the couple must overcome in their marriage. They must work together to overcome the obstacle by sawing through the log. Using a large, long saw with two handles, the couple demonstrate their teamwork to friends and family.^[9]

Greece

In Greece, two or three days before the wedding, the couple organizes a celebration called Krevati (Greek for bed) in their new home. In Krevati, friends and relatives of the couple put money and young children on the couple's new bed for prosperity and fertility in their life. After the custom, they usually have a party with food and music.

On the day of the wedding, usually Saturday, but also Friday or Sunday, the groom cannot see the bride until the wedding ceremony. The groom usually arrives first in church and waits for the bride, who usually arrives late. After they exchange flower bouquets, they have the wedding ceremony, where the best man puts the wedding rings and crowns on the couple. The couple drink red wine from the same glass (between one and three sips, depending on the tradition). This is not "communion" in the formal religious sense, but about sharing the cup of life. At the end of the wedding ceremony, as the newly wedded pair leave the church, the guests throw rice and flowers for fertility and felicity. Special guests, such as close friends and family receive sugar-coated almonds (traditionally an odd number, usually seven but sometimes five) as a gift from the couple. Most Greek ceremonies are Orthodox.

After the ceremony, usually the couple hold a great wedding party in some place with plenty of food, drinks, music and dance, usually until next morning. The wedding party starts with the invited people waiting for the couple, who usually come after some time. They start the dancing and eventually eat a piece of their wedding cake. At some point during the party, they also dance the traditional zeibekiko (groom) and çiftetelli (bride).

In many places of Greece, where they hold a more traditional wedding, they usually play only traditional music and eat local food. For example, in the region of Cyclades, they eat the traditional pasteli (solid honey with sesame) and in the region of Crete they cook rice with goat. In most traditional weddings, they bake whole animals like pigs, goats or sheep just like the Easter celebration. Before the church ceremony, especially in smaller areas, usually friends and relatives of the bride and the groom, accompanies them separately to the church playing traditional instruments, according to the region.

A typical Greek wedding will usually have more than 100 invited people (but usually 250–500) who are friends, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, first or second cousins, neighbors and colleagues. It is common to have guests whom the couple has never met before. This is because the people who will be invited are usually determined by the parents of the couple and not by the couple themselves. Traditionally, the whole village would have attended the wedding, so very often the parents invite friends of theirs and their children, to the weddings of their own children.

There are many other traditions which are local to their regional areas. One famous tradition is the pinning of money on the bride's dress. This custom originated in one part of Greece, where it is a substitute for wedding presents; however, it has become more widespread recently.^[when?]

Ireland

Brides in Ireland traditionally wore a blue wedding dress as a symbol of purity.^[10] The bride also traditionally kept an embroidered handkerchief on her person all day, which would later be used to make a christening gown for the couple's first child.^[11]^[12]^[13] The wearing of wildflowers in the bride's hair was a common tradition.^[14]

A horseshoe was traditionally carried down the aisle by the bride and displayed as a symbol of good luck, with the ends pointing upwards to prevent the luck from running out. The horseshoe would later be hung up in the couple's home as a symbol of protection.^[15]^[16]^[17]

The church door was traditionally locked once the bride and groom were inside, reputedly to prevent the groom changing his mind and running away.^[18]

A Claddagh ring is sometimes used as a wedding ring in Ireland.^[19]^[20]^[21]

Handfasting is an occasional ritual at an Irish wedding, whereby the couple's hands are bound together as a symbol of their union.^[22]^[23]^[24]

A statue of the Child of Prague is traditionally left outside from the night before the wedding in the hope that rain will not fall on the wedding day.^[25]^[26]

Italy

In some parts of Italy, a party, known as a Serenade, is thrown outside of the bride's home by the groom. His family and friends come and wait for the bride, entertaining themselves until she appears. The groom then sings to his bride to further seduce her. Once his song is sung, the party ends.

Before the wedding, the eldest of the bride's family gifts a silver dollar to the bride. If the bride keeps this silver dollar through the life of their marriage, the couple is said to never need to be concerned for their financial prosperity. If this silver dollar is ever spent, superstition states the couple will immediately encounter financial hardship and can suffer great monetary loss through the length of their marriage.

The day of the wedding, the groomsmen try their hardest to make the groom as uncomfortable as possible by saying things like "Maybe she forgot where the church is".

It is also traditional for the groom's family to give a dowry to the bride and to provide the engagement ring. The bride's family is then responsible for receiving the guests of the wedding in their home for a reception afterward.

The color green is very important in the Italian wedding. In Italy, the tradition of something blue is replaced with something green. This color brings good luck to the married couple. The veil and bridesmaids also were important in an Italian wedding. The tradition began in Ancient Rome when the veil was used to hide the bride from any spirits that would corrupt her and the bridesmaids were to wear similar outfits so that the evil spirits were further confused.

An old Roman custom was that brides threw nuts at rejected suitors as they left the ceremony.^[27]

After dessert, more dancing commences, gifts are given, and the guests eventually begin to leave. In Southern Italy, as the guests leave, they hand envelopes of money to the bride and groom, who return the gift with a wedding favor or bomboniere, a small token of appreciation.

Poland

In Polish weddings, the celebrations may continue for two or three days. In the past, the engagement ceremony was organized by the future groom as a formal family gathering, during which he asked his chosen lady to marry him. In recent years, this custom has changed, and today an engagement is much more personal and intimate. An elegant dinner party afterward is still a nice way to inform the closest family members about the couple's decision to get married.

In some regions of Poland, the tradition to invite wedding guests in person is still upheld. Many young couples, accompanied by their parents, visit their family and friends to hand them the wedding invitations personally.

According to old tradition, a groom arrives with his parents at the house of his bride just before the wedding ceremony. At that time, both parents and parents-in-law give the young couple their blessing. The couple enters the church together and walks up to the altar followed by their parents and two witnesses. In Poland, it is quite unusual for the bride to be walked down the aisle or to have bridesmaids and groomsmen in a wedding. The couple is assisted by two witnesses, a man (usually from the groom's side) and a woman (usually from the bride's side) who are either family members or close friends.

The Polish bride traditionally wears a white dress and a veil; the groom usually wears a fitted suit with a bow tie and a boutonnière that matches the bride's bouquet. During the ceremony, wedding rings are exchanged and both husband and wife wear them on their right hands. Right after the ceremony, the closest family and all the guests form a line in the front of the church to congratulate the newlyweds and wish them love and happiness. As soon as the married couple leaves the church they get showered with rice for luck or guests drop coins at their feet for them to pick up. This is done to ensure a good and prosperous future for the newlyweds.

Once all guests have showered the couple with kisses, hugs and flowers, everyone heads to the reception. It is a custom in Poland to prepare 'passing gates' on the way to the reception for the newlyweds who, in order to pass, have to give the 'gatekeepers' some vodka. This is a misinterpretation of an earlier tradition, where the 'passing gates' were built if the bride was an orphan and money collected by 'gatekeepers' from the guests was handed over to the bride as her dowry (being an orphan usually implied poverty).

The married couple is welcomed at the reception place by the parents with bread and salt; the bread symbolizes prosperity and the salt stands for the hardship of life. This way, the parents wish that the young couple never goes hungry and learns how to deal with everyday hardships together. During the reception, the newlyweds also break two drinking glasses by either stepping on them or throwing them over the shoulder for good fortune.^[28] The wedding party lasts (and the bride and groom remain) until the last guest leaves, usually until morning.

In Poland, movements like Human Liberties Crusade^[29]^[30] or Wedding of the Weddings promote non-alcoholic wedding celebrations.

Romania

In Romanian tradition, the wedding is composed of three steps: The formal/legal wedding, the Church wedding and the banquet.

Lăutari are Romanian musicians performing traditional songs. The music of the lăutari establishes the structure of the elaborate Romanian weddings. The lăutari also function as guides through the wedding rituals and moderate any conflicts that may arise during what can be a long, alcohol-fueled party. Over a period of nearly 48 hours, this can be very physically strenuous.

Following custom almost certainly dating back at least to the Middle Ages, most lăutari spend the fees from these wedding ceremonies on extended banquets for their friends and families over the days immediately following the wedding.

The wedding begins at the Town hall where the couple literally gets married in the presence of their closest friends and relatives. After that, they go to the bride's house where the Lăutari come and sing themed songs like "Ia-ți mireasă ziua bună" (Bride's farewell) while the bride, the groom and the couple's parents take part in a symbolic preparation for the wedding (the best man and the best maid put a flower on their chests, arrange the groom's tie and shaves him and put the bride's veil, all in front of a big mirror decorated with pieces of veil and white flowers, mirror that separates the bride from the groom). They then go to the church where the religious ceremony is performed. Afterwards they go to a restaurant where the banquet begins.

The newlyweds meet the guests at the entrance and they serve a glass of champagne while the Lautari sing a song. After all the guests have arrived, the couple breaks the ice and starts dancing a waltz followed by a Hora dance. Later on, the chefs do "Dansul găinii" (the chicken dance: they dress up a roasted chicken and decorate it and they dance with it while the best man negotiate the chicken's price with them).

Another tradition is bride kidnapping. A few friends of the newlywed stake the bride while the groom is not paying attention and take her somewhere else, usually to a club. The groom is then forced to negotiate the bride's price and to redeem it, but not until the "criminals" show evidence of having the bride (a shoe, her necklace, etc.). Usually, the "thieves" ask for beverage. They then take the bride back to the wedding and as a punishment they are forced to dance a waltz with the bride lifted up.

It is normal to wish the bride and groom "Casa de Piatra" (Rock-solid home) and throw rice on them, which symbolises a solid marriage and abundance.

Russia

A traditional Russian wedding lasts for at least two days and some weddings last as long as a week. Throughout the celebration there is dancing, singing, long toasts, and food and drinks. The best man and maid of honor are called witnesses, "svideteli" in Russian. The ceremony and the ring exchange takes place on the first day of the wedding.

Throughout the years, Russian weddings have adopted many western customs, including bridesmaids and flower girls. During the wedding feast any of the guests can start chanting "Gor'ko" ("bitter") which usually is immediately supported by the rest of the guests. In this case bride and groom should kiss each other and the kiss should last for as long as the chanting continues. It's customary for the bride to eat a spoonful of sour cream on your wedding day.

Scotland

Scotland is a popular place for young English couples to get married since, in Scotland, parents' permission is not required if both the bride and groom are old enough to be legally married (16). In England, it was the case that if either was 16 or 17 then the permission of parents had to be sought.^[31] Thus Scotland, and especially the blacksmith's at Gretna Green, became a very popular place for couples to elope to, especially those under 18 and usually living in England. In the year 2000, Gretna Green still hosted 17% of all weddings in Scotland.^[31]

For a Scottish wedding, the bride's family sends invitations on behalf of the couple to the wedding guests, addressed by hand. The couple may send the invitations themselves, especially if they are more middle-aged.^{[citation needed]} The invitations are usually sent no later than 6 weeks before the wedding and will specify if the invitation is for ceremony and/or reception and/or evening following the meal at the reception. It has become more common in recent times for Save The Date Cards^[32] to be used to notify invitees further in advance to allow sufficient notice for arrangements to be made to ensure attendance. These can be sent up to 6 months before the wedding day.

Guests send or deliver wedding gifts to the bride's family home before the wedding day. Alternatively, the couple may register at a department store and have a list of gifts there. The shop then organizes delivery, usually to the bride's parents' house or to the reception venue.

The wedding ceremony takes place at a church, register office or possibly another favorite location, such as a hilltop. In this regard Scotland differs significantly from England where only pre-approved public locations may be used for the wedding ceremony.^[31] Most ceremonies take place mid afternoon and last about half an hour during which the marriage schedule is signed by the couple and two witnesses, usually the best man and chief bridesmaid. The newly wed couple often leave the ceremony to the sound of bagpipes.

There is generally a wedding reception following the ceremony, usually at a different venue. The bridal party, or members of it, always including the bride and groom, lines up in a receiving line and the wedding guests file past, introducing themselves. Usually a beverage is served while the guests and bridal party mingle. In some cases the drink may be whisky or wine with a non alcoholic alternative.

The best man and bride's father toast the bride and groom with personal thoughts, stories, and well-wishes, usually humorous. The groom then follows with a response on behalf of his bride. Champagne is usually provided for the toast.

There is nearly always dancing following the meal, with the style of music being selected by the couple to suit their preference. Often in Scotland this takes the form of a céilidh, a night of Scottish country dancing in couples and groups (sets) to live traditional music. This may be performed by a specialist céilidh band, though many non-specialist bands will also incorporate some traditional céilidh dances in their repertoire along with a range of music of all styles to suit tastes. The first dance is led by the bride and groom, followed by the rest of the bridal party and finally the guests.

The cake-cutting ceremony takes place; the bride and groom jointly hold a cake cutter and cut the first pieces of the wedding cake. Gifts are not opened at the reception; they are either opened ahead of time and sometimes displayed at the reception, or if guests could not deliver gifts ahead of time, they are placed on a table at the reception for the bride and groom to take home with them and open later.

It is the norm for the groom and much of the male bridal party and guests to wear kilts, although suits are also worn. Kilts and Highland dress are often rented for this purpose.^[33] A sprig of white heather is usually worn as a buttonhole for good luck.

Swedenedit

In a Swedish church wedding, the priest generally doesn't say when the couple may kiss each other, in contrast to Anglo-Saxon traditions. It is probably because the kiss doesn't traditionally belong to Swedish wedding customs, but has relatively recently been associated with marriage.^[34]

In Swedish weddings, the bride and groom usually go down the aisle together, rather than the bride being escorted by her father.^[35] The symbolism is that of a free man and a free woman voluntarily uniting in marriage.

It is custom in Sweden that instead of guests bringing gifts for the bride and groom, they will pay for the dinner and drinks in order to help pay for the cost of the wedding. An older tradition is that the bride's parents will give her one gold and one silver coin, which she puts in her shoe.^[36]

It is customary to have a simple wedding party, consisting of one or two bride's maid and one groom's man. Lastly, at the wedding party the couple is placed at the head of a U-shaped table instead of a separate head table for the bridal party.^[37]

South Asian customsedit

Bangladeshedit

See: Bengali Hindu wedding and Bengali Muslim wedding

Bangladeshi wedding refers to the weddings in Bangladesh. Although Muslim and Hindu marriages have their distinctive religious rituals, there are many common cultural rituals in marriages across religion among Bengali people. The indigenous groups of Bangladesh also have their own unique wedding traditions and rituals which are distinct from those of the Bengalis.

Indiaedit

Indian weddings take anywhere from five minutes to several weeks, depending on region, religion, and a variety of other factors. Due to the diversity of Indian culture, the wedding style, ceremony and rituals may vary greatly amongst various states, regions, religions and castes. In certain regions, it is quite common that during the traditional wedding days, there would be a tilak ceremony (where the groom is anointed on his forehead), a ceremony for adorning the bride's hand and feet with henna (called mehendi) accompanied by Ladies' Sangeet (music and dance), and many other pre-wedding ceremonies. Another important ceremony followed in certain areas is the "Haldi" program where the bride and the groom are anointed with turmeric paste. All of the close relatives make sure that they have anointed the couple with turmeric. In certain regions, on the day of the wedding proper, the Bridegroom, his friends and relatives come singing and dancing to the wedding site in a procession called baraat, and then the religious rituals take place to solemnize the wedding, according to the religion of the couple. While the groom may wear traditional Sherwani or dhoti or Western suit, or some other local costume, his face, in certain regions, is usually veiled with a mini-curtain of flowers called sehra. In certain regions, the bride (Hindu or Muslim) always wears red clothes, never white because white symbolizes widowhood in Indian culture. In Southern and Eastern states the bride usually wears a Sari, but in northern and central states the preferred garment is a decorated Red skirt-blouse and veil called lehenga. After the solemnization of marriage, the bride departs with her husband. This is a very sad event for the bride's relatives because traditionally she is supposed to permanently "break-off" her relations with her blood relatives to join her husband's family. Among Christians in the state of Kerala, the bridegroom departs with the bride's family. The wedding may be followed by a "reception" by the groom's parents at the groom's place. While gifts and money to the couple are commonly given, the traditional dowry from the bride's parents to the couple is officially forbidden by law.

Pakistanedit

A Pakistani wedding typically consist of four ceremonies on four separate days. It may consist of three days if the first function called "Mehndi" is done in a combined manner by both the bride and groom's family.

The first function is Mehndi in which the families get together and celebrate the upcoming wedding function. On this day, it is customary to wear either green, yellow, orange, or other vibrant colors. The bride-to-be gets her hands painted with henna, and songs and dances go on throughout the night. The next day is "baraat" which is hosted by the bride's family. This event is usually held in a reception hall, and the groom comes over with his family and friends; a large feast is given. The bride's friends and relatives are also present, and the Baraat event can be considered the 'main' wedding event as it is the largest one out of all the events. Then there is the holy ceremony of "Nikah" which is performed by a religious Pastor or imam, after which bride and groom are declared as husband and wife.The Next day there is a function of "Walima" in which the groom's family is the host and the bride's family come over for a big feast.

On her wedding day, the bride-to-be can wear any color she wants, but vibrant colors and much traditional gold jewelry are typically worn. It is customary for the bride to wear traditional clothes such as a lahnga, shalwar kameez, or sari. These weddings are also typical of the Muslim community in India. Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Wedding_customs_by_country
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