Great Wedding Customs From Different Cultures

Weddings are all about tradition. There are many, many customs which are usually included in American weddings. There are also quite a few marvelous traditions with which some brides may be less familiar. These are some great wedding customs from different cultures; some of them might make a terrific addition to your own wedding!

For those who are not familiar with Jewish wedding customs, there are some beautiful ones that could be adapted for a wedding of any faith. One of the best ones is the Yichud. Following the conclusion of the marriage ceremony, the newlyweds are escorted to a private room where they can spend several minutes alone together. This is a fantastic idea for any newly married couple, especially if you are not opting for a “first look” before your ceremony. It will be very special to spend the first minutes as husband and wife alone together, out of the spotlight. In many cases, it will be the first chance the bride and groom have had to speak to each other all day (aside from their vow exchange, of course). The groom can tell his bride how gorgeous she looks in her bridal gown and wedding jewelry, and she can tell him how handsome he looks. Then it is off to the reception to start the celebration!
The Greek Orthodox church has many beautiful marriage customs. One of the most beautiful to witness is the crowning of the bride and groom with the stefana. The stefana crowns were made of plants in ancient Greece, and evolved over time to become more like royal crowns in the Byzantine era. The idea was that the stefana crowns represented the new kingdom being formed by the marriage, that of the new home and family. As the pair of crowns became made of more durable materials, it became customary to keep them forever. The bride chooses her wedding jewelry to complement her stefana. During the marriage ceremony, the priest ties them together with a ribbon to represent the enduring connection between the bride and groom and the ties that must never be broken. Could you get your groom to agree to wear a small wreath or crown during your marriage ceremony if he is not Greek? Maybe not, but the symbolism of an enduring connection is a very powerful one that would be wonderful to include in any wedding.
There are many old jokes about awful mothers-in-law, and there is an ancient Belgian wedding custom that is designed to get the young wife started off on the right foot with her husband’s mother. As the bride processes down the aisle, she stops before the altar and hands a single flower to her mother and gives her a hug. At the conclusion of the marriage ceremony, after the couple has been officially wed, the bride stops during the recessional to hand a single flower to her husband’s mother and gives her a hug. It is a lovely symbolic gesture to show that the bride is accepting her mothers-in-law as family. This charming Belgian custom would be very easy to include in any modern American wedding.
Some of the most meaningful wedding customs from around the world take place after the marriage ceremony. In Holland, it is traditional for newlyweds to plant lily-of-the-valley outside of their new home. The flowers symbolize “return of happiness”, and the idea is that the married couple’s love will be equally renewed each year. In Switzerland, a tree is planted in front of a newly married couple’s home to represent fertility. Either of these customs would be very nice for a couple to include in their marriage celebration. If a tree or lily-of-the-valley will not work for you, consider planting something which is a clipping from the garden of a couple that has been happily married for many years. Hopefully your love will grow and endure year after year just like theirs did.

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