Wedding traditions of Southeast Asia
Tea ceremonies and sinsod, adat and bersanding, the Batak ulos and the Balinese tooth-filing. 41 traditions on EveryShaadi so far.
Countries
🇧🇳 Brunei 6🇰🇭 Cambodia 5🇮🇩 Indonesia 28🇱🇦 Laos 3🇲🇾 Malaysia 10🇲🇲 Myanmar 4🇵🇭 Philippines 14🇸🇬 Singapore 7🇹🇭 Thailand 11🇹🇱 Timor-Leste 1🇻🇳 Vietnam 12
Cities and towns
On the calendar
🇲🇲 MyanmarMarriage in Myanmar
A blend of Buddhist rites, astrological timing, and family negotiations that defines union across Myanmar's diverse ethnRite · Finding a match
🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreBride price
Wealth paid by the groom or his family to the bride or her kin to formalize a union.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇵🇭 Cebu, PhilippinesCourtship in the Philippines
A traditional Filipino courtship marked by serenade, service, and family involvement.Betrothal · Finding a match
🇮🇩 IndonesiaPolygamy in Indonesia
The legal and customary practice of men having multiple wives across Indonesian faiths and communities.Family role · Engagement and betrothal
🇵🇭 Quezon City, PhilippinesBinukot
A Visayan custom of secluding young noblewomen to preserve their purity and elevate their marriage value.Betrothal · The weeks before
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 morePantunڤنتون
A Malayic oral poetry form used in wedding greetings and daily communication to express ideas through rhyme.Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇵🇭 Cebu, PhilippinesHarana
A traditional Filipino courtship serenade where a suitor sings beneath a woman's window at night.Betrothal · Finding a match
🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 morePrenuptial agreement
A written contract signed before marriage to define property rights and financial outcomes.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Harana: Markytour777, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pantun: Nurmalinda Maharfar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marriage in Myanmar: Thant Zin Myint, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Courtship in the Philippines: Markytour777, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Binukot: Francisco Ignacio Alcina, Public domain, source
- Prenuptial agreement: Jan Josef Horemans the Younger, Public domain, source
- Bride price: Пимоненко Николай Корнилиевич, Public domain, source
- Songket: Rijksmuseum, CC0, source
- Minangkabau marriage: Mamasamala, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional Vietnamese wedding: Gabrielle M. Vassal, Public domain, source
- Timorese wedding traditions: ColinTrainor, CC BY-SA 4.0, source