Weddings are celebrated with lots of joy and grandeur all over the world. However, many countries have peculiar customs and traditions during weddings. These may range from being fun and crazy to being absolutely unique. Here are some of the most crazy and unique wedding traditions from around the world.
Russian weddings have an interesting custom. Before the wedding, groom visits his bride’s home, and he must pay a ransom to the bride’s family called vykup nevesty. When he makes the payment, in the form of money or jewellery, the family will bring out some other woman or man (usually a man dressed as a woman to add more fun). He or she will be dressed in a bridal attire to fool the groom.
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Once the groom realises that she is not his bride, he will ask the family to send out the real bride. The family then gets an upper hand and asks for a bigger payment. Once they find the ransom to be satisfactory, the real bride is allowed to join the groom.
This is probably the weirdest wedding tradition in the world. After the wedding ceremony, the bridal party collects leftovers and then stuff it in a toilet bowl. Once this is ready, they enter the couple's room and threaten that they will not leave until and unless the couple drinks it.
It is believed that this mixture will make the couple's night all the more pleasurable. Nowadays, the bridal party tends to fill the toilet bowl with chocolate or champagne instead, but it is still served out of a toilet.
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In the Tidong community in Malaysia, after the wedding, the newlyweds are not allowed to go to bathroom for three days.
The couple is watched over and are allowed minimal amounts of food and drink. Breaking the custom supposedly brings bad luck to the couple, in the form of broken marriage, death of their children or infidelity. After the three days are up, they are permitted to return to their normal life.
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In a Czech wedding reception, the bride and groom are covered in a large cloth to symbolise unity. Then they are given a bowl of soup and a spoon that they must share. This shows that the bride and the groom are willing to participate equally in their marriage.
Henna night or Kına Gecesi is one of the most important traditions of a Turkish wedding. It is celebrated a night before the wedding at the bride’s place. The bridegroom’s female relatives too attend this event.
The dry henna for this ceremony is provided by the groom’s family. This henna is broken into pieces in a silver bowl. A woman whose parents are alive and not separated does this. After that, the henna is applied on the bride’s hands and feet. Also, in the traditional setting, wedding expenses are met by the bridegroom’s family.
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In Swedish marriages, if either the groom or the bride leaves the table or the room for some reason, the guests can get up and kiss the partner who is left behind. Also, Swedish brides, instead of throwing their bouquets, give it to their families, who preserve them.
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According to a Polish tradition, the bride's shoes cannot be open toed. Open toed shoes mean that the future wealth and happiness can easily fly out of the newly-wedded couple's life.
Also, it is said that the bride should never wear real pearls, as they will bring misery to her life. Not just this, they also believe that the months with the letter 'R' in them are auspicious for weddings and will bring good luck to the couple.
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On the night before the wedding, a party known as Polterabend or ‘noisy evening’ is held at the bride’s residence. In this, the guests break porcelain or old crockery.
It is believed that doing this will ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune to the couple. An old proverb, Scherben bringen Glück, which means ‘shards bring luck’, is attributed to this tradition.
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According to an old Hungarian tradition, the groom has to ensure that his wife does not get kidnapped during the ceremony.
If her relatives manage to kidnap her, it means that the groom is not worthy of the bride. However, nowadays, this ritual is done more for fun. Now, the groom has to keep the bride's bouquet with him and wait for the bride to return. If he loses that bouquet before she returns, he will have to pay a ransom to get the bride back.
In an Italian wedding, the bride and the groom face several obstacles along the way. They have to perform a number of household chores and come over challenges to prove that they are fit to be married. In some regions in Italy, the bride and the groom have to cut a log in two with a double handle saw after the wedding. This symbolises the couple's partnership in marriage.
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In a Spanish wedding, the groom gives his bride thirteen gold coins called arras. These are considered as unity coins, which symbolise that the groom is committed to the bride and will support her throughout her life.
In modern days, brides and grooms exchange arras to symbolise that they will share their wealth equally.
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In a Slovak wedding, the wedding guests stand near the entrance after the ceremony and break plates. The newly-wedded couple have to sweep the glass pieces. It is believed that this tradition brings co-operation and mutual understanding in the marriage. It is all the more important for the bride and she has to ensure that no piece is left behind. A piece that has been left behind symbolises the number of children the groom will have outside the marriage.
After that, during dinner, the bride and the groom are given chicken noodle soup in a bowl with one spoon and they take turns to feed each other. This shows that the couple is ready to take care of each other throughout their lives.
Though Indian weddings are diverse and they vary from region to region, one custom that is very much common throughout is hiding the groom's shoes.
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The bride's sister, cousins and her friends hide the groom’s shoes and it is the job of grooms’ relatives and friends to find his shoes. If they fail to do so, the groom has to give money to the bride’s side to get his shoes back.
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Well, here is an interesting infographic on some of the world’s most interesting and quirkiest wedding traditions:
Infographic source: shopalike.in
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These were some of the most unique and fun wedding customs from around the world. Well, the traditions may vary, but one thing that unites all these countries is the abundance of joy with which they celebrate the occasion called- Wedding!