🇮🇳 India
The mangalsutra, a necklace of black beads and gold, is tied on the bride's neck by the groom in many Hindu communities, and toe rings are worn by married women. Many couples also exchange rings at the engagement.
Mangalsutra, being writtenRings, knots and tokens of promise: compared across 17 places
The same wedding idea in 17 places, grouped by region. Each entry is a short portrait; follow the link for the full tradition.
South Asia 2Southeast Asia 2East Asia 1Central Asia and the Caucasus 1Middle East 2North Africa 1Sub-Saharan Africa 2Europe 2North America 2Latin America and the Caribbean 1Oceania 1
South Asia
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Muslim couples may exchange rings at the engagement, and the nikah is made by the signed contract with the groom's promise of mahr. The groom's family commonly gives the bride gold jewellery.
Nikah, being writtenSoutheast Asia
🇮🇩 Indonesia
Couples exchange rings, and many Javanese brides wear jasmine garlands, the melati, hung from the hair and chest. The groom's gift (seserahan) includes cloth, a set of toiletries and fruit.
Seserahan, being written🇵🇭 Philippines
The yugal cord and the veil are laid over the couple by the sponsors, and thirteen arras coins are given from the groom to the bride. Together they stand for unity and the sharing of wealth.
Wedding, being writtenEast Asia
🇨🇳 China
Couples today exchange rings, and in many families the groom's side gives the bride gold jewellery. Older Han custom included a hair-pinning rite for the bride, the ji li, and gifts of jade.
Chinese marriage, being writtenCentral Asia and the Caucasus
🇬🇪 Georgia
In the Orthodox ceremony priests place crowns on the heads of the couple, and the pair exchange rings that have been blessed on the altar.
Stefana, being writtenMiddle East
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
Rings are worn in many families, but the main bond is the contract. Gold jewellery is given by the groom to the bride as part of the mahr or as a gift, and it is hers to keep.
Mahr, being written🇮🇱 Israel and Jewish communities
The groom places a plain gold ring on the bride's right forefinger under the chuppah, saying the formula of consecration. The ring is plain and belongs to the groom, so that its value is clear to the witnesses.
Read: Jewish weddingNorth Africa
🇪🇬 Egypt
Couples exchange the dibla, plain engagement bands, often worn on the right hand until the wedding, when they move to the left in many families. The groom also gives the bride the shabka, a set of gold jewellery.
Read: Engagement ringSub-Saharan Africa
🇸🇳 Senegal
Senegalese brides often wear gold necklaces and rings, and many wear waist beads, called bin-bin, a private adornment of Wolof women. Jewellery is an important gift in the exchanges between the two families.
Read: Waist beads🇳🇬 Nigeria
Yoruba couples are presented with the engagement letter and gifts, and the bride's family accepts the bride price list. Coral beads, a ring and the aso ebi (family cloth) mark the day.
Read: Aso ebiEurope
🇮🇪 Ireland
The Claddagh ring, with hands holding a crowned heart, is worn by many couples as a promise ring and wedding ring, with the heart pointing in or out depending on status. Handfasting, binding the hands, has come back as a ceremony.
Read: Claddagh ring🇩🇪 Germany
Many couples wear the wedding ring on the right hand. The engagement, Verlobung, may be marked with a ring, and the evening before the wedding is the Polterabend, when friends break crockery for luck.
Read: Wedding ringNorth America
🇺🇸 United States
The diamond engagement ring became customary after a mid-century advertising campaign, and many wear a band on the left ring finger. Native peoples, such as the Navajo, may exchange a woven wedding basket and corn pollen.
Read: Engagement ring🇲🇽 Mexico
The lazo, a large rosary or cord of flowers, is placed around the couple in a figure of eight as a sign of union, together with the arras coins. The padrinos give the rings and the lazo.
Read: Wedding cordLatin America and the Caribbean
🇧🇷 Brazil
Couples wear gold rings on the right hand while engaged, and move them to the left after the wedding. Many Brazilian weddings also have the padrinhos, godparents of the couple, who stand with them at the altar.
Read: Wedding ringOceania
🇹🇴 Tonga
Tongan couples are covered in fine mats and tapa cloth that are treasured keepsakes; the exchange of koloa (cloth and mats) among families is a core part. Rings are exchanged in the church.
Tapa cloth, being writtenAbout this page
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.