Wedding traditions of Europe
Rice and confetti, the veil and the white dress, Polish oczepiny, Greek koumbaro and the Irish handfast. 206 traditions on EveryShaadi so far.
Countries
๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania 5๐ฆ๐ฉ Andorra 1๐ฆ๐น Austria 12๐ง๐พ Belarus 9๐ง๐ช Belgium 5๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina 2๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria 13๐ญ๐ท Croatia 8๐จ๐ฟ Czechia 4๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark 10๐ช๐ช Estonia 2๐ซ๐ฎ Finland 9๐ซ๐ท France 30๐ฉ๐ช Germany 31๐ฌ๐ท Greece 23๐ญ๐บ Hungary 10๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland 5๐ฎ๐ช Ireland 17๐ฎ๐น Italy 21๐ฝ๐ฐ Kosovo 3๐ฑ๐ป Latvia 3๐ฑ๐ฎ Liechtenstein 2๐ฑ๐น Lithuania 4๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg 1๐ฒ๐น Malta 1๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova 6๐ฒ๐จ Monaco 1๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro 1๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands 15๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia 9๐ณ๐ด Norway 9๐ต๐ฑ Poland 26๐ต๐น Portugal 6๐ท๐ด Romania 13๐ท๐บ Russia 22๐ธ๐ฒ San Marino 0๐ท๐ธ Serbia 12๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia 6๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia 2๐ช๐ธ Spain 15๐ธ๐ช Sweden 11๐จ๐ญ Switzerland 6๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine 19๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom 78๐ป๐ฆ Vatican City 0
Cities and towns
London 7Rome 5Berlin 4Krakรณw 4Vienna 4Crete 3Hamburg 3Madrid 3Amsterdam 2Athens 2Barcelona 2Bern 2Budapest 2Copenhagen 2Dublin 2Edinburgh 2Galway 2Hanover 2
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
๐ฌ๐ท Crete, GreecePentozaliฮ ฮตฮฝฯฮฟฮถฮฌฮปฮทฯ
The vigorous Cretan war dance of high jumps and improvisation that marks the wedding procession.Performance ยท Procession and arrival
๐ฌ๐ง United KingdomGift registry
A public wish list managed by retailers to coordinate wedding gifts and prevent duplicates.Feast custom 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
๐ท๐บ Russia and 5 moreBread and salt
A traditional welcome offering of bread and salt to guests or newlyweds in Slavic, Baltic, and Balkan cultures.Feast custom 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
๐ท๐ด Romania and 7 moreHorahora (Romanian), horo (Bulgarian), oro (Macedonian), horah (Hebrew)
A circle dance held at weddings across Southeast Europe and among Jewish communities worldwide.Performance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ต๐ฑ Poland and 5 moreMoney dance
A reception ritual where guests give cash to the couple while dancing or showering them with notes.Feast custom ยท Reception, dance and gifts
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
๐ต๐ฑ Krakรณw, PolandWedding of the Weddings
A Polish annual gathering for couples who chose alcohol-free wedding receptions.Feast custom ยท The ceremony
๐ท๐ด Romania and 4 moreCฤluศariCฤluศarii
A traditional Romanian spring dance and male society known for acrobatic leaps and ritual healing.Performance ยท The weeks before
๐ฌ๐ง Newquay, United KingdomTroyl
A Cornish barn dance or social gathering featuring music, song, and communal dancing.Performance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ฌ๐ท Crete, GreeceSoustaฮฃฮฟฯฯฯฮฑ
A Greek courtship dance performed at weddings to display romance and agility.Performance ยท Procession and arrival
๐ฌ๐ง Edinburgh, United Kingdom and 5 moreScottish country dance
A social group dance where couples trace progressive patterns to traditional Scottish musicPerformance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
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
๐ท๐บ Russia and 5 moreBread and salt
A traditional welcome offering of bread and salt to guests or newlyweds in Slavic, Baltic, and Balkan cultures.Feast custom 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
๐ท๐ด Romania and 7 moreHorahora (Romanian), horo (Bulgarian), oro (Macedonian), horah (Hebrew)
A circle dance held at weddings across Southeast Europe and among Jewish communities worldwide.Performance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ต๐ฑ Poland and 5 moreMoney dance
A reception ritual where guests give cash to the couple while dancing or showering them with notes.Feast custom ยท Reception, dance and gifts
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
๐ต๐ฑ Krakรณw, PolandWedding of the Weddings
A Polish annual gathering for couples who chose alcohol-free wedding receptions.Feast custom ยท The ceremony
๐ท๐ด Romania and 4 moreCฤluศariCฤluศarii
A traditional Romanian spring dance and male society known for acrobatic leaps and ritual healing.Performance ยท The weeks before
๐ฌ๐ง Newquay, United KingdomTroyl
A Cornish barn dance or social gathering featuring music, song, and communal dancing.Performance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ฌ๐ท Crete, GreeceSoustaฮฃฮฟฯฯฯฮฑ
A Greek courtship dance performed at weddings to display romance and agility.Performance ยท Procession and arrival
๐ฌ๐ง Edinburgh, United Kingdom and 5 moreScottish country dance
A social group dance where couples trace progressive patterns to traditional Scottish musicPerformance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Hora: Chajeshukarie ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Sousta: psyberartist, CC BY 2.0, source
- Groomsman: Jenny Mealing, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bread and salt: Olli Niemitalo, CC0, source
- Badchen: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cฤluศari: El bes, CC BY 3.0, source
- Scottish country dance: ยฉ James F. Perry, CC BY-SA 3.0, source