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
๐บ๐ฆ UkraineSong about the Rushnykะััะฝั ะฟัะพ ัััะฝะธะบ (Pisnia pro rushnyk)
A Ukrainian song that celebrates the embroidered cloth used in weddings and family life.Performance ยท The ceremony
๐ช๐ธ Seville, SpainSevillanas
A traditional Andalusian folk dance performed by couples at weddings and local festivals in Spain.Performance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ฌ๐ง 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 ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom and 1 moreWedding March (Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn's C major piece from 1842, used as a recessional at Western weddings.Performance ยท After the wedding
๐ฌ๐ท Greece and 1 moreEpithalamium
A poem or song written to celebrate a bride as she goes to her wedding chamber.Performance ยท The eve
๐ฌ๐ท Crete, Greece and 1 moreSyrtosฮฃฯ
ฯฯฯฯ
A traditional Greek line dance where partners hold hands and follow a leader through slow and quick steps.Performance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ต๐ฑ Poland and 3 moreEaster palmPolish: palma wielkanocna; Lithuanian: verba
A decorated willow or juniper bundle blessed on Palm Sunday to protect homes and crops.Blessing ยท The weeks before
๐ช๐ธ Seville, SpainSevillanas
A traditional Andalusian folk dance performed by couples at weddings and local festivals in Spain.Performance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ฌ๐ง 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 ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom and 1 moreWedding March (Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn's C major piece from 1842, used as a recessional at Western weddings.Performance ยท After the wedding
๐ฌ๐ท Greece and 1 moreEpithalamium
A poem or song written to celebrate a bride as she goes to her wedding chamber.Performance ยท The eve
๐ฌ๐ท Crete, Greece and 1 moreSyrtosฮฃฯ
ฯฯฯฯ
A traditional Greek line dance where partners hold hands and follow a leader through slow and quick steps.Performance ยท Reception, dance and gifts
๐ต๐ฑ Poland and 3 moreEaster palmPolish: palma wielkanocna; Lithuanian: verba
A decorated willow or juniper bundle blessed on Palm Sunday to protect homes and crops.Blessing ยท The weeks before
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Epithalamium: Lorenzo Lotto, Public domain, source
- Sevillanas: Anual, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Syrtos: Muriel Pรฉcastaing-Boissiรจre pour Cรฉdric Boissiรจre, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Easter palm: Evaldas Liutkus, CC BY 2.0, source
- Country dance: Engraving by William Hogarth, CC BY 4.0, source