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EveryShaadi

Feasts, food and drink

The customs of the wedding table: the cake, the sweets, the toast, the shared cup. Not recipes.

The wedding feast is where the families meet at one table. Who is served first, what is shared, what is toasted and what is broken or cut are all customs with meaning. Food at a wedding is an act of hospitality and a display of generosity, and the way it is served says much about who the hosts are.

Shared foods and the first bite

In Poland the couple are greeted with bread and salt and a glass of vodka. In Georgia a tamada, the toastmaster, directs a long sequence of toasts. In Armenia and Turkey the couple may share a sweet drink or a sugar cube. In Chinese banquets a whole fish is served for abundance, and the couple go table to table for toasts. In Indian weddings the thali or the long sit-down meal comes after the ceremony, and in the Gulf a whole roast lamb on rice may be the centrepiece.

Cake and sweets

The tiered wedding cake in Britain and the United States has its roots in the Victorian era and in older bride cakes and cakes broken over the bride's head. In Sweden and Denmark a tall kransekage is built from rings of almond paste. In Iran and India, sweets such as shirini and mithai are exchanged at the first betrothal. In France the croquembouche, a tower of cream puffs, is the traditional dessert.

Drink and restraint

Wine, champagne, mead and palm wine appear in many weddings, and the Orthodox common cup is a shared symbol. Many Muslim, Sikh, Jain and Hindu weddings are alcohol free, and non-alcoholic drinks like sherbet, lassi and fruit juice are served with equal care. Hosts increasingly cater for dietary needs and think about food waste.

About this page

Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on Feasts, food and drink (kind of custom). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
StageFinding a matchEngagement and betrothalThe weeks beforeThe eveProcession and arrivalThe ceremonyThe wedding feastReception, dance and giftsAfter the wedding
🇲🇦 Imilchil, MoroccoImilchil Marriage FestivalAgdoud N'Oulmghenni A Berber marriage festival in Morocco where tribes gather to arrange unions and celebrate with music and dance.Betrothal · Finding a match 🇲🇦 MoroccoAhidusⴰⵃⵉⴷⵓⵙ (aḥidous) A collective Berber dance from Morocco performed in circles or lines to celebrate unity and victory.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMizmarمزمار (mizmār) A loud double reed instrument played at weddings and festivals across Egypt and the Levant.Performance · Procession and arrival 🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreZaffaزفّة A lively musical procession that marks the start of wedding festivities in Arab culture.Performance · The weeks before 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreArab weddingزفاف or فرح or عرس A series of family-centered rites and processions that mark marriage across the Arab world.Rite · Finding a match 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreWedding music The songs and instruments that mark the arrival of the couple and set the mood for the celebration.Performance · The weeks before 🇲🇦 Morocco and 5 moreMimounaמימונה (Hebrew), ميمونة (Arabic) The Maghrebi Jewish feast held the day after Passover to welcome leavened bread and good fortune.Feast custom · After the wedding 🇩🇿 Algeria and 3 moreSebibaسبيبة (Arabic), ⵙⴱⵉⴱⴰ (Tifinagh) The Tuareg New Year dance and festival held in Djanet to mark the end of a chaotic transition period.Performance · The weeks before 🇲🇷 MauritaniaT'heydinnالتهيدين (al-T'haydīn) A Mauritanian Moorish epic performance of poetry and music kept by griot families.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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