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 12๐ต๐น Portugal 5๐ท๐ด Romania 3๐ท๐บ Russia 14๐ธ๐ฒ San Marino 0๐ท๐ธ Serbia 5๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia 1๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia 1๐ช๐ธ Spain 8๐ธ๐ช Sweden 7๐จ๐ญ Switzerland 5๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine 7๐ฌ๐ง 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
๐ฌ๐ง United KingdomQuaichcuach
A shallow two-handled cup used in Scottish weddings to share a drink and symbolise union.Feast custom ยท The ceremony
๐ท๐บ RussiaRussian wedding traditionsะ ัััะบะฐั ัะฒะฐะดัะฑะฐ
A multi-day celebration blending Orthodox crowning, ransom games, and lively toasting in Russia.Rite ยท Engagement and betrothal
๐ต๐ฑ Poland and 1 moreBadchenืึผืืื (badkhn)
The Ashkenazi Jewish wedding entertainer and master of ceremonies who guides the couple through ritual stages with song Performance ยท Engagement and betrothal
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 Kingdom and 1 moreWedding breakfast
The post-ceremony feast served to the couple and their guests in British English usage.Feast custom ยท The ceremony
๐ฎ๐ธ IcelandIcelandic weddings
A blend of church ceremony and multi-day feasting that marks the union of two people in Iceland.Feast custom ยท The ceremony
๐ญ๐บ HungaryVลfรฉly
The Hungarian wedding host who guides the couple through rites, speeches, and traditions.Family role ยท Finding a match
๐ต๐ฑ Poland and 6 moreKolachะบะพะปะฐั (kolach), ะบะฐะปะฐั (kalach), koลacz, colac, kalรกcs
A braided or ring-shaped bread that marks weddings and major holidays across Eastern Europe.Feast custom 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.
- Russian wedding traditions: GeorgeLouis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Badchen: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Groomsman: Jenny Mealing, CC BY 2.0, source
- Quaich: Robin-wood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wedding breakfast: Arpingstone, Public domain, source
- Kolach: ะะพะฑะฐัะตะฒ ะะปะฐะดะธะผะธั, CC BY-SA 3.0, source