Wedding Traditions by Culture
Each culture has it’s own unique wedding traditions. Here is a look at a few of them:
African American Traditions
Jumping the broom is one of the most widespread wedding traditions among the black community in the United States. The bride and groom literally jump over a broom together. This act signifies their entrance into a new life and creating a new family. They are essentially “sweeping away” their former single lives and worries.
If this is a practice you are planning on adding to your wedding, make sure the shape of your dress will allow you to easily jump the broom!
Armenian Wedding Traditions
On the day of the wedding, the bride will take her veil and circle it over the heads of her single friends. This is to bring them luck in finding a husband, much like the throwing of the bouquet. Armenian brides will typically wear a red silk gown and a cardboard headpiece. The headpiece is shaped like wings and there are many feathers on top of it. At the reception, traditional foods are served such as bourek, kabobs, hummus, and baba ghanoush.
Chinese Wedding Traditions
Chinese traditions go back thousands of years. One interesting one is the selection of the wedding date. The groom’s family asks a fortune teller to choose the wedding date, which is based on the astrological calendar. The fortune teller then tells the family when would be the most favorable time to get married. The bride and groom often dress in red to symbolize delight.
Dutch Wedding Traditions
During the reception, the bride and groom are placed near what is called a “wish tree”. The guests are given paper leaves with colorful ribbons attached. They will leave notes and well wishes for the bride and Groom, who will then read and tie them to the wish tree. Flowers are also very important in the Dutch tradition. Bridesmaids fill the bride’s basket with flowers and green garlands prior to the ceremony. Also, the bride and groom walk down the aisle on a bed of flowers, while the guests toss flowers at them.
Filipino Wedding Traditions
Filipino weddings are typically very large. There are usually between 250 and 500 guests and between 30 and 50 people in the wedding party. Guests usually pin money onto the sashes of the dancing couple, and party well into the night!
French Wedding Traditions
The French have a traditional dessert called the croquembouche, which can replace a tiered wedding cake. The dessert is interesting because it is cut with a sword! There is a regional tradition in Vendée called la danse de la brioche (“the dance of the brioche”). The bride, groom, and guests hold this giant brioche (often 20 lbs or more) as the couple dances, to demonstrate strength.
German Wedding Traditions
At the wedding itself, there are lots of games. One of them is called Baumstamm sägen (sawing a tree), which allows the couple to conquer a challenge together.
Greek Wedding Traditions
At the ceremony, there is a distinct crowning tradition where the priest places a crown on both the groom and bride. They are made out of white flowers and evergreen leaves, symbolizing fertility.
Hindu Wedding Traditions
Fire is a big theme throughout Hindu weddings. The lighting of the sacred fire is known as Havan. Rice is offered to the sacred fire and the couple walks around it as well.
Irish wedding Traditions
Handfasting is a big tradition, where the hands of the bride and the groom are tied together. It symbolizes the union of the new couple and turns out to be the origin of the phrase, “tying the knot”!
Italian Wedding Traditions
The bride and groom break a vase as their tradition. The number of fragments will amount to the number of years the couple has ahead, so the more the better!
Japanese Wedding Traditions
San-San-Ku-Do roughly translates to Three-Three-Nine and Do, and means deliverance from all flaws. During this tradition, the bride and groom drink sake three times, each from three different nuptial cups. The first “three” sips taken represent the three couples. The next “three” represents hatred, ignorance, and passion. The final “three” represents freedom from all these flaws.
Jewish Wedding Traditions
The Jewish wedding ceremony is held underneath a chuppah (or wedding canopy), which symbolizes the Jewish home that the family is about to create. After some blessings are done, the groom smashes a glass with his foot. This is done to commemorate the exile of the Jewish people. The bride and groom are also lifted up on a chair called the Horra. Guests move the chair up and down to traditional music.
Korean Wedding Traditions
These weddings tend to be very and to the point, only taking about 2 hours. There aren’t bridesmaids, flower girls, ring bearers, or groomsmen.
Latin American Wedding Traditions
There are many different countries that fall into this category, with many different traditions. One of which is called Cotillon. This is where the bride and groom come back with costumes, funny hats, and other weird items for people to take photos. Instead of the bouquet, a crowd of single women gather around a cake that has ribbons attached. One of the ribbons has a ring, and whoever pulls on the ribbon is the next to get married!
Scottish Wedding Traditions
In a Scottish wedding, there is typically a kilt worn. For the reception, the first dance is called The Traditional Grand March. This involves bagpipes and a live band.
Spanish Wedding Traditions
The groom will often present the bride with 13 coins, to show promise to support the bride. Another interesting tradition is cutting up the groom’s tie into fragments and auctioning off each piece. These pieces represent good luck.
Vietnamese Wedding Traditions
The larger the gift, the more wealth it shows. Many gifts are also covered by red paper or cloth, which symbolizes bringing luck to the couple.
No matter what your background is, we are here to help you incorporate all of your traditions into your ceremony.
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