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
🇦🇱 Albania 5🇦🇩 Andorra 1🇦🇹 Austria 12🇧🇾 Belarus 9🇧🇪 Belgium 5🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2🇧🇬 Bulgaria 13🇭🇷 Croatia 8🇨🇿 Czechia 4🇩🇰 Denmark 10🇪🇪 Estonia 2🇫🇮 Finland 9🇫🇷 France 30🇩🇪 Germany 31🇬🇷 Greece 23🇭🇺 Hungary 10🇮🇸 Iceland 5🇮🇪 Ireland 17🇮🇹 Italy 21🇽🇰 Kosovo 3🇱🇻 Latvia 3🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 2🇱🇹 Lithuania 4🇱🇺 Luxembourg 1🇲🇹 Malta 1🇲🇩 Moldova 6🇲🇨 Monaco 1🇲🇪 Montenegro 1🇳🇱 Netherlands 15🇲🇰 North Macedonia 9🇳🇴 Norway 9🇵🇱 Poland 26🇵🇹 Portugal 6🇷🇴 Romania 13🇷🇺 Russia 22🇸🇲 San Marino 0🇷🇸 Serbia 12🇸🇰 Slovakia 6🇸🇮 Slovenia 2🇪🇸 Spain 15🇸🇪 Sweden 11🇨🇭 Switzerland 6🇺🇦 Ukraine 19🇬🇧 United Kingdom 78🇻🇦 Vatican City 0
Cities and towns
London 7Rome 5Berlin 4Kraków 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
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark and 2 moreKransekakekransekage
A towering almond ring cake central to Scandinavian wedding and holiday traditions.Feast custom · Reception, dance and gifts
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCountry dance
A social partner dance from England where couples follow a caller through repeated figures in long lines or squares.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇺🇦 UkraineTraditional Ukrainian weddingТрадиційне українське весілля
A multi-day sequence of folk rites, bread baking and church vows that marks the transition from maidenhood to married liRite · Finding a match
🇵🇱 Poland and 6 moreKolachколач (kolach), калач (kalach), kołacz, colac, kalács
A braided or ring-shaped bread that marks weddings and major holidays across Eastern Europe.Feast custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇬🇷 Crete, Greece and 1 moreSyrtosΣυρτός
A traditional Greek line dance where partners hold hands and follow a leader through slow and quick steps.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇵🇱 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
🇷🇴 Romania and 3 moreMărțișor
The red and white string charm worn in early spring to welcome the new year.Adornment · The weeks before
🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain and 5 moreTwelve Grapeslas doce uvas (de la suerte)
Eating one grape per midnight bell strike to welcome the New Year with good luckFeast 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.
- Syrtos: Muriel Pécastaing-Boissière pour Cédric Boissière, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Country dance: Engraving by William Hogarth, CC BY 4.0, source
- Twelve Grapes: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source
- Kransekake: Kjetil Ree, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dożynki: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kolach: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source