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
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark and 2 moreKransekakekransekage
A towering almond ring cake central to Scandinavian wedding and holiday traditions.Feast custom · Reception, dance and gifts
🇺🇦 UkraineSong about the RushnykПісня про рушник (Pisnia pro rushnyk)
A Ukrainian song that celebrates the embroidered cloth used in weddings and family life.Performance · The ceremony
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainSevillanas
A traditional Andalusian folk dance performed by couples at weddings and local festivals in Spain.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceLoutrophorosλουτροφόρος
An ancient Greek vessel that carried water for a bride's bath or marked an unmarried death.Attire · The weeks before
🇬🇧 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
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceGlobe de mariée
A glass bell jar used in France to hold the bride's bouquet and preserve family memories.Adornment · The weeks before
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWedding March (Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn's C major piece from 1842, used as a recessional at Western weddings.Performance · After the wedding
🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreDower
A share of the husband's property set aside to secure a woman's life if he dies first.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇬🇧 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
🇺🇦 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreEpithalamium
A poem or song written to celebrate a bride as she goes to her wedding chamber.Performance · The eve
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreWedding ring
A metal circle worn on the finger to show that a person is married.Attire · Engagement and betrothal
🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 2 moreOchipokочіпок
The embroidered cap that covers a Ukrainian bride's hair to mark her new status as a married womanAttire · The ceremony
🇩🇪 Hamburg, Germany and 1 morePosthumous marriage in Germany
A legal rite that joined a living woman to a deceased soldier for state benefits.Vow · After the wedding
🇮🇪 Galway, Ireland and 2 moreCladdagh ringFáinne an Chladaigh
A traditional Irish ring featuring clasped hands, a heart, and a crown to symbolise friendship, love, and loyalty.Adornment · Engagement and betrothal
🇵🇱 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
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, Netherlands and 5 moreSame-sex marriage
The legal union of two people of the same sex or gender, recognized in dozens of countries.Modern · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇪 Galway, Ireland and 1 moreMarriage stone
A carved stone bearing the initials and date of a newly married couple, placed on a building to mark their union.Adornment · After the wedding
🇪🇸 A Coruña, Spain and 2 moreFirst same-sex marriage in Spain
The 1901 union of two women in Galicia that preceded legal recognition by over a centuryModern · The ceremony
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 1 moreContubernium
A recognized union between slaves or a slave and a free person in ancient RomeBetrothal · After the wedding
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreGet of Cleves
A disputed 1766 Jewish divorce document that sparked international rabbinic debate over mental competence.Vow · After the wedding
🇩🇪 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.
- Globe de mariée: Alain Amet, CC BY 4.0, source
- Bedding ceremony: Isaac Cruikshank, Public domain, source
- Loutrophoros: Picture taken by Marcus Cyron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kransekake: Kjetil Ree, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Claddagh ring: Royalcladdagh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Country dance: Engraving by William Hogarth, CC BY 4.0, source
- First same-sex marriage in Spain: Jglamela, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Contubernium: Mark Landon, CC BY 4.0, source
- Dower: Pvasiliadis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Same-sex marriage: Stefano Bolognini, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Epithalamium: Lorenzo Lotto, Public domain, source
- Wedding ring: CLW at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Kolach: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ochipok: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Sevillanas: Anual, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marriage stone: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source