Wedding traditions of Europe
Rice and confetti, the veil and the white dress, Polish oczepiny, Greek koumbaro and the Irish handfast. 83 traditions on EveryShaadi so far.
Countries
๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania 1๐ฆ๐ฉ Andorra 0๐ฆ๐น Austria 6๐ง๐พ Belarus 3๐ง๐ช Belgium 2๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina 1๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria 4๐ญ๐ท Croatia 2๐จ๐ฟ Czechia 0๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark 3๐ช๐ช Estonia 1๐ซ๐ฎ Finland 4๐ซ๐ท France 16๐ฉ๐ช Germany 13๐ฌ๐ท Greece 11๐ญ๐บ Hungary 2๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland 3๐ฎ๐ช Ireland 5๐ฎ๐น Italy 9๐ฝ๐ฐ Kosovo 0๐ฑ๐ป Latvia 2๐ฑ๐ฎ Liechtenstein 1๐ฑ๐น Lithuania 2๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg 0๐ฒ๐น Malta 1๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova 0๐ฒ๐จ Monaco 0๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro 0๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands 3๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia 2๐ณ๐ด Norway 3๐ต๐ฑ Poland 9๐ต๐น Portugal 4๐ท๐ด Romania 0๐ท๐บ Russia 9๐ธ๐ฒ San Marino 0๐ท๐ธ Serbia 3๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia 0๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia 1๐ช๐ธ Spain 7๐ธ๐ช Sweden 6๐จ๐ญ Switzerland 5๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine 5๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom 32๐ป๐ฆ Vatican City 0
Cities and towns
Hamburg 3Rome 3Berlin 2Hanover 2London 2Vienna 2Altenburg 1Athens 1Barcelona 1Bern 1Bologna 1Chernivtsi 1
On the calendar
June, the Western wedding monthSeptember and October wedding peakShrovetide, the old Irish wedding time2/22 and other repeated datesLag BaOmer, weddings resumeMay, the month of brides in BrazilKrasnaya Gorka, the first wedding SundayPokrov, the autumn wedding seasonLentHoly Week and the TriduumAdventOrthodox Great Lent
๐ฉ๐ช Hamburg, Germany and 3 moreWimpelืืืืืคื
A linen sash made from a baby boy's circumcision cloth that binds the Torah scroll.Adornment ยท The weeks before
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom and 1 moreGimmal ring
A betrothal ring with separate hoops that join to form the wedding band.Adornment ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine and 2 moreRushnykัััะฝะธะบ (Ukrainian), ัััะฝัะบ (Belarusian), ัััะฝะธะบ/ัััะฝะธะบ (Russian)
The embroidered linen cloth that marks life stages and guides the couple through the wedding ceremony in East Slavic culAdornment ยท The weeks before
๐ฉ๐ฐ Copenhagen, Denmark and 2 moreKransekakekransekage
A towering almond ring cake central to Scandinavian wedding and holiday traditions.Feast custom ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ฎ๐ช Galway, Ireland and 2 moreCladdagh ringFรกinne an Chladaigh
A traditional Irish ring featuring clasped hands, a heart, and a crown to symbolise friendship, love, and loyalty.Adornment ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ซ๐ท France and 1 moreAcrostic ring
A jewelled band where gemstone initials spell a secret romantic wordAdornment ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ฉ๐ช Hanover, Germany and 5 moreBridal crownBrautkrone
A headdress worn by brides in Central and Northern Europe to symbolize purity and status.Attire ยท The ceremony
๐ฎ๐น ItalyFede ring
A clasped-hands ring that symbolizes betrothal and faithfulness in marriage traditions.Adornment ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ซ๐ท Paris, FranceGlobe de mariรฉe
A glass bell jar used in France to hold the bride's bouquet and preserve family memories.Adornment ยท The weeks before
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom and 1 moreLovespoonLlwy garu
A carved wooden spoon given as a romantic gift to show skill and intent.Adornment ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ท๐บ RussiaLoving cup
A large shared drinking vessel with two handles used in Christian rites and weddingsFeast custom ยท The wedding feast
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bridal crown: Daderot, CC0, source
- Globe de mariรฉe: Alain Amet, CC BY 4.0, source
- Lovespoon: Btinsley785, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wimpel: Wikipedia Loves Art participant " The_Grotto ", CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Gimmal ring: Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rushnyk: Pavlo Boyko, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kransekake: Kjetil Ree, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Loving cup: Rhodian at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Claddagh ring: Royalcladdagh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Acrostic ring: Jlblackmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fede ring: Anonymous ( Europe ) Unknown author, Public domain, source