Comments on: Wedding Traditions from Around the World

By: Anna

Anna — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:54:14 +0000

I’ve never heard of the Greek traditions you describe, but they probably happen in some part of Greece. However, Greeks do have something like the stepping on the toes tradition you describe for other countries. At a certain part in the ceremony, this line is read “the wife will respect her husband” (note that the Greek word for “respect” in this case is also the word for “fear”). At this point, some brides choose to step on their groom’s foot, to apparently show that they may not follow these words.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:14:06 +0000

I’ve become infamous for my international wedding traditions bridal shower game, in which I troll the web for bridal traditions and then quiz guests on which country corresponds. Thank you for adding to my arsenal.

A few other noteable ones:

1. At a Polish reception, a groom is made to wear a funny hat which is supposed to bring laughter and joy to the marriage.

2. Germany has a twist on the Bridal kidnapping. The best man sneaks her out of the reception and to a local pub. When the groom arrives to rescue her, he pays for their drinks!

3. In Japan, brides are painted white before a traditional wedding.

… I have more…

By: xixita

xixita — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:21:44 +0000

ahahah… Thank you Jenn Thompson for making me lough out loud imagining a bride doing the “not it!” bit…

you’re super funny! please write more!

By: Miss Nae

Miss Nae — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:40:12 +0000

Has anyone heard of a Money Dance? It is a highly practiced wedding reception tradition in Guam and other Islander types weddings I assume.

Anyways, the bridemaids hand out pins to all those willing or wanting to dance with the bride and groom. After money is pinned to the dress/tux they dance for few minutes and then next… so on and so forth.

What a way to collect extra money?

By: Ann

Ann — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:42:27 +0000

Our family does the dollar dance too! We’re Polish and I believe the tradition originated from European wedding customs. It was to provide the newlyweds with money to start their new life together.

By: frodopal

frodopal — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:05:09 +0000

That Scottish ritual was described in her post the other day as “Blackening the Bride”. One tradition where I would opt out…

And the money/honeymoon dance is not contained to Louisiana; I’ve seen that in other families and cultures, too.

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:56:20 +0000

Not sure if this one is popular outside of south Louisiana, but down we do the “money dance.” People pin dollar bills (I’ve even seen hundreds) onto the bride’s dress or veil and the groom’s suit and dance with them for about 30-45 seconds. I like it simply because it means you’re guaranteed to have a moment to talk to the bride and/or groom during the reception. During my brother’s wedding, this was the only chance I had to dance with him.

By: nutmeag

nutmeag — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:21:24 +0000

@Diane:
Ugh, sounds like what happened to my cousin when she entered high school.

As for me, since I’m planning on a non-traditional wedding, I don’t think any of these strange traditions (American or otherwise) will be included.

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:08:07 +0000

Oh, forgot a detail or two not that it makes it any better. After dousing the poor espoused pair, they would then line them up and throw eggs at them.

Poor lad and lassie.

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:05:14 +0000

I was watching “Globetrekker” on PBS last night, and they were traveling through Scotland. As they made their way through a village, there was a sort of pre-wedding “tarring and feathering” going on. They made some horrible mixture that included such things as flour, molasses, sand, dirt, and water into this really thick, viscous mixture and then spontaneously poured it on the bride and groom to-be. They were then paraded around town in the back of the truck, and were finally taken to the nearest body of water, where the mother of the bridge dunked her into the surely-freezing water.

I know some celebrities(Madonna, for instance) marry in Scottish castles, but I don’t think I want any part of this…