Wedding Traditions From Around The World

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Around the globe brides and grooms, and their families, come together through traditions and rituals, which to some might seem strange.

So whilst searching online for bride wedding venues or updating your Pinterest, give thought to some of these traditional, and sometimes unusual traditions, which take place around the world.

Unity

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Kick starting here in Australia, we have a tradition which pays respect to the ancestry in the bride and groom's families, with the creation of a Unity Bowl. The married couple-to-be select a glass bowl they want to display in their home and the grandparents and parents from each family pour separate coloured marbles or stones into the bowl.

The bride and groom stir the marbles or stones together and then add their own colours to the mix. Unity Bowls represent what their name suggests, unity within a family and the idea that each member has coloured the bride or groom's life in some way.

Something blue

If you watch any British or American sitcom where a wedding takes place they will usually carry out the tradition of "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue". This tradition is actually an English one and stems from the 1800s, when people saying the rhyme believed that by wearing these items the bride would have good luck.

Another fun fact, the ‘something borrowed' was expected to be undergarments, worn by a woman who had bore children, in an attempt to increase the bride's fertility.

Blackening of the bride

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP5535h1tD4]

Probably not the most enjoyable of traditions, but the blackening of the bride is performed in Scotland just before the big day. Friends and family throw dead fish, curdled milk, tar, feathers and flour at the bride, before tying her to a tree and then finally taking her out for drinks later.

The idea is that if she can withstand this then she can take on anything marriage throws at her. We have to say, it doesn't paint a pretty picture of married life…

Spitting on the bride

In the Masai tribe of Kenya, as the bride leaves the church her Father will spit on her head and chest in an attempt to bless her and the marriage. We're not so sure about this tradition, but each to their own we suppose.

Smashing plates

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In Germany friends and family are really helpful and smash porcelain plates and cups outside the bride and groom's home, in an attempt to bring them good luck. The bride and groom have to clean up the mess themselves, so they can understand that married life won't be easy and they have to work together to overcome any messy situations.

Kidnap and ransom

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In Romania the bride's family makes it as hard as possible for the groom to see her before the wedding and actually ‘mock' kidnap her. The groom must then bribe the family with money, food or by just generally humiliating himself to win her back, if the family like what he offers then he gets to see his bride-to-be.

Are you still just trying to get your heads around the mock kidnapping concept? We are too.

Light it up

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Finally, we have a heart-warming tradition to grace the list. In South Africa the parents of the bride and groom bring fire from their fireplaces, and more than likely the newly married couple's childhood homes, to the house of the bride and groom and together light the hearth.

Whilst some of these are less than desirable traditions to carry out, if you like the idea of one or more why not try and respectfully incorporate them into your big day?