Pagan and ancient wedding traditions
Pagan and ancient wedding customs cover two different things: rites from the ancient world, such as Roman, Greek and Norse weddings, and the modern revival of Wicca, Druidry and Heathenry.
Pagan and ancient wedding customs cover two different things: rites from the ancient world, such as Roman, Greek and Norse weddings, and the modern revival of Wicca, Druidry and Heathenry. It is easy to claim a long ancestry for a custom, and this page tries to be careful about what is attested and what is a modern creation.
Ancient roots
Roman weddings had the bride wearing a flame-coloured veil, flammeum, a joining of right hands, the dextrarum iunctio, and a procession to the groom's house, where she was carried over the threshold. Greek weddings included a bridal bath, a procession in a chariot and a veil removal, the anakalypteria. Norse sources describe the use of a hammer to bless the bride, though how widely is debated, and Celtic practices are less well documented than popular books suggest.
Handfasting
Handfasting, now a popular ceremony in which the couple's hands are bound with a cord, is often described as ancient Celtic. The historical evidence is mixed. In medieval Scotland and the north of England, a handfast was a betrothal or a form of marriage by consent, and the ribbon binding seen today is largely a modern revival from the twentieth century and later, with a literary and neopagan history.
The modern revival
Wiccan and pagan weddings may include a circle, quarters, an altar, a broom and a ring blessed in turn. Many Druid and Heathen groups hold their own rites, and in the UK, Scotland and some US states pagan celebrants are authorised to marry. Practices vary widely between groups, and many couples combine elements from several traditions.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on Pagan and ancient (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyWeddings in ancient Rome
The religious ceremonies and attire that marked a union in the city of Rome before the rise of Christianity.Rite · The weeks before
🇮🇹 ItalyFescennine VersesFescennina carmina
Bawdy wedding songs from Ancient Rome that evolved into satire and comic drama.Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreHandfastingceangal na lámh (Irish); pòsadh-bliadhna (Scottish Gaelic)
A pledge ceremony where a couple joins hands to make a binding marriage contract or engagement.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom
A wedding ritual where a couple leaps over a broom to mark their unionRite · The ceremony
🇮🇹 ItalyConfarreatio
The ancient Roman patrician marriage rite marked by sharing a sacred emmer cake.Rite · The ceremony
🇳🇴 NorwayEsbat
A monthly Wiccan gathering held around the moon phases for ritual and communityBlessing · The ceremony
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreDożynki
A Slavic harvest festival where farmers bring the last sheaf of grain to the village in a ceremonial wreath.Feast custom · After the wedding
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Handfasting: Sander van der Wel, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Dożynki: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Jumping the broom: credited only as "Hipstamatic shots, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Weddings in ancient Rome: Meister der Aldobrandinischen Hochzeit, Public domain, source
- Confarreatio: Agnete, CC BY 3.0, source