Wedding traditions of Europe
Rice and confetti, the veil and the white dress, Polish oczepiny, Greek koumbaro and the Irish handfast. 111 traditions on EveryShaadi so far.
Countries
๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania 1๐ฆ๐ฉ Andorra 0๐ฆ๐น Austria 8๐ง๐พ Belarus 5๐ง๐ช Belgium 2๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina 1๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria 5๐ญ๐ท Croatia 3๐จ๐ฟ Czechia 0๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark 6๐ช๐ช Estonia 1๐ซ๐ฎ Finland 5๐ซ๐ท France 21๐ฉ๐ช Germany 20๐ฌ๐ท Greece 13๐ญ๐บ Hungary 5๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland 4๐ฎ๐ช Ireland 11๐ฎ๐น Italy 13๐ฝ๐ฐ Kosovo 0๐ฑ๐ป Latvia 2๐ฑ๐ฎ Liechtenstein 1๐ฑ๐น Lithuania 2๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg 0๐ฒ๐น Malta 1๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova 1๐ฒ๐จ Monaco 0๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro 0๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands 8๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia 3๐ณ๐ด Norway 5๐ต๐ฑ Poland 13๐ต๐น Portugal 5๐ท๐ด Romania 3๐ท๐บ Russia 14๐ธ๐ฒ San Marino 0๐ท๐ธ Serbia 5๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia 1๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia 1๐ช๐ธ Spain 8๐ธ๐ช Sweden 7๐จ๐ญ Switzerland 5๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine 8๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom 52๐ป๐ฆ Vatican City 0
Cities and towns
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
๐ฎ๐น ItalyFescennine VersesFescennina carmina
Bawdy wedding songs from Ancient Rome that evolved into satire and comic drama.Performance ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom and 1 moreRรจiteach
A Scottish Gaelic betrothal ceremony where families negotiate marriage terms and celebrate with whisky.Betrothal 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 5 moreGroomsman
A male attendant who supports the groom and assists guests at a wedding.Family role ยท Finding a match
๐ฌ๐ง United KingdomBlackening
A messy pre-wedding prank where friends cover the couple in sticky substances and parade them through town.Play ยท The weeks before
๐ซ๐ท France and 1 moreAcrostic ring
A jewelled band where gemstone initials spell a secret romantic wordAdornment ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ฎ๐น Sicily, ItalyFuitina
A Sicilian elopement custom used to force family consent for marriage through presumed sexual intercourse.Betrothal ยท The weeks before
๐ฌ๐ท Greece and 2 moreEngagement party
A gathering to announce a new engagement and introduce the two families before the wedding.Betrothal ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ธ๐ฐ SlovakiaMamko Moja
A Slovak Roma wedding song about a bride's longing for marriagePerformance ยท The weeks before
๐ญ๐บ HungaryVลfรฉly
The Hungarian wedding host who guides the couple through rites, speeches, and traditions.Family role ยท Finding a match
๐ฎ๐ช Ireland and 3 moreBachelor's Day
The custom that lets women propose to men on Leap DayBetrothal 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 5 moreGroomsman
A male attendant who supports the groom and assists guests at a wedding.Family role ยท Finding a match
๐ฌ๐ง United KingdomBlackening
A messy pre-wedding prank where friends cover the couple in sticky substances and parade them through town.Play ยท The weeks before
๐ซ๐ท France and 1 moreAcrostic ring
A jewelled band where gemstone initials spell a secret romantic wordAdornment ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ฎ๐น Sicily, ItalyFuitina
A Sicilian elopement custom used to force family consent for marriage through presumed sexual intercourse.Betrothal ยท The weeks before
๐ฌ๐ท Greece and 2 moreEngagement party
A gathering to announce a new engagement and introduce the two families before the wedding.Betrothal ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ธ๐ฐ SlovakiaMamko Moja
A Slovak Roma wedding song about a bride's longing for marriagePerformance ยท The weeks before
๐ญ๐บ HungaryVลfรฉly
The Hungarian wedding host who guides the couple through rites, speeches, and traditions.Family role ยท Finding a match
๐ฎ๐ช Ireland and 3 moreBachelor's Day
The custom that lets women propose to men on Leap DayBetrothal ยท Engagement and betrothal
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Globe de mariรฉe: Alain Amet, CC BY 4.0, source
- Groomsman: Jenny Mealing, CC BY 2.0, source
- Acrostic ring: Jlblackmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Engagement party: Melissa Gupta, CC BY-SA 2.0, source