Wedding traditions of Europe
Rice and confetti, the veil and the white dress, Polish oczepiny, Greek koumbaro and the Irish handfast. 143 traditions on EveryShaadi so far.
Countries
🇦🇱 Albania 1🇦🇩 Andorra 1🇦🇹 Austria 9🇧🇾 Belarus 7🇧🇪 Belgium 2🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2🇧🇬 Bulgaria 7🇭🇷 Croatia 4🇨🇿 Czechia 2🇩🇰 Denmark 7🇪🇪 Estonia 1🇫🇮 Finland 5🇫🇷 France 25🇩🇪 Germany 25🇬🇷 Greece 16🇭🇺 Hungary 5🇮🇸 Iceland 5🇮🇪 Ireland 15🇮🇹 Italy 14🇽🇰 Kosovo 0🇱🇻 Latvia 3🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 2🇱🇹 Lithuania 3🇱🇺 Luxembourg 1🇲🇹 Malta 1🇲🇩 Moldova 2🇲🇨 Monaco 1🇲🇪 Montenegro 1🇳🇱 Netherlands 10🇲🇰 North Macedonia 5🇳🇴 Norway 7🇵🇱 Poland 17🇵🇹 Portugal 6🇷🇴 Romania 4🇷🇺 Russia 17🇸🇲 San Marino 0🇷🇸 Serbia 7🇸🇰 Slovakia 2🇸🇮 Slovenia 2🇪🇸 Spain 11🇸🇪 Sweden 8🇨🇭 Switzerland 5🇺🇦 Ukraine 11🇬🇧 United Kingdom 60🇻🇦 Vatican City 0
Cities and towns
London 4Rome 4Hamburg 3Vienna 3Amsterdam 2Athens 2Barcelona 2Berlin 2Copenhagen 2Dublin 2Galway 2Hanover 2Kraków 2Lisbon 2Madrid 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
🇷🇺 RussiaEastern Orthodox marriage
The Byzantine Rite ceremony where a priest crowns the couple to seal their union in Christ.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyWeddings in ancient Rome
The religious ceremonies and attire that marked a union in the city of Rome before the rise of Christianity.Rite · The weeks before
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreHandfastingceangal na lámh (Irish); pòsadh-bliadhna (Scottish Gaelic)
A pledge ceremony where a couple joins hands to make a binding marriage contract or engagement.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreWedding cord
A satin loop placed around the couple to symbolize their lifelong union in Catholic weddings.Rite · The ceremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreBedding ceremony
The public ritual of placing the newlyweds in their marital bed to witness and seal the marriage.Rite · The ceremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreQuaker wedding
A silent ceremony where Friends witness each other's vows without clergy or rigid rituals.Rite · The weeks before
🇺🇦 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
🇮🇹 ItalyConfarreatio
The ancient Roman patrician marriage rite marked by sharing a sacred emmer cake.Rite · The ceremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreHumanist wedding
A non-religious marriage ceremony led by a trained humanist officiant, celebrated in many countries worldwide.Rite · The ceremony
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian wedding traditionsРусская свадьба
A multi-day celebration blending Orthodox crowning, ransom games, and lively toasting in Russia.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreLas arrasLas arras matrimoniales
Thirteen coins exchanged by the couple to symbolize provision and trust in a Christian marriage.Rite · The ceremony
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAnastenariaΑναστενάρια (Greek), Нестинарство (Bulgarian)
A barefoot firewalking ritual performed by Orthodox Christian communities in Greece and Bulgaria.Rite · The weeks before
🇩🇪 GermanyBeilager
A public ceremony in German-speaking lands where witnesses observed the couple entering the marriage bed to finalize theRite · The ceremony
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
- Las arras: penny, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wedding cord: Phil! Gold, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bedding ceremony: Isaac Cruikshank, Public domain, source
- Eastern Orthodox marriage: VitVit, CC BY 3.0, source
- Weddings in ancient Rome: Meister der Aldobrandinischen Hochzeit, Public domain, source
- Handfasting: Sander van der Wel, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Confarreatio: Agnete, CC BY 3.0, source
- Anastenaria: Artkostov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Humanist wedding: User:m5 , Hans Bernhard ( Schnobby ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source