After the wedding
The first night, the return visit, the honeymoon and the first anniversary.
The wedding does not end with the party. The first night, the return visit to the bride's home, the gift-opening and the honeymoon all follow, and in many cultures the bride has a series of visits and tasks in her new family.
Returning and visiting
In India the pag phera or the satvaru sees the bride return to her parents' home soon after the wedding. In China the huimen is the visit a few days later, with gifts. In Iran the pa-gosha is a gathering at the bride's parents' house after the wedding. In Pakistan and Bangladesh the chauthi and the walima, held by the groom's family, mark the new bride's welcome. In Jewish tradition the seven blessings are repeated at feasts in the week after.
Honeymoon and settling
The honeymoon, a Western custom, is now a global custom, from the Maldives to Niagara Falls. In some cultures the couple live with the husband's parents, in others they start a new household at once. The first anniversary has its own gifts; in the West the first year is traditionally paper.
What is changing
Honeymoons have moved from a luxury to a norm, and couples now travel together or return to jobs the next week. Post-wedding visits are being shortened but still held in many families. Joint households are declining in cities while remaining common elsewhere.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on After the wedding (stage of the wedding). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceLoutrophorosλουτροφόρος
An ancient Greek vessel that carried water for a bride's bath or marked an unmarried death.Attire · The weeks before
🇺🇦 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
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreOwanbeÓwàńbẹ̀
The extravagant Yoruba celebration where music, fashion, and money spraying mark life's milestones.Feast custom · Reception, dance and gifts
🇼🇸 Samoa and 3 moreʻIe tōga
Prestige woven mats exchanged at Samoan weddings to honor family ties and chiefly status.Attire · The ceremony
🇮🇩 IndonesiaUlosᯥᯞᯘᯬ᯲
The hand-woven textile that binds Batak couples in marriage and symbolizes warmth.Attire · The ceremony
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreToe ring
A silver band worn on the second toe to mark a woman as married in India.Adornment · The ceremony
🇲🇽 Oaxaca, Mexico and 1 moreHuipilhuīpīlli
The traditional tunic worn by indigenous women in Mexico and Central America for weddings and daily life.Attire · The weeks before
🇨🇳 ChinaHonggaitou紅蓋頭
The red bridal veil worn by Han Chinese brides to cover their faces before the wedding night.Attire · Procession and arrival
🇺🇸 United StatesNavajo wedding ceremony
A Navajo marriage ritual centred on harmony, family union, and nature inside a Hogan.Rite · The eve
🇮🇳 IndiaOdia Hindu weddingBahaghara (ଓଡ଼ିଆ ବାହାଘର)
The traditional Hindu marriage ceremony of the Odia people in Odisha, India.Rite · 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
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreBou Bhatবউ ভাত
A feast hosted by the groom's family to welcome the bride into her new home.Feast custom · After the wedding
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreWedding ring
A metal circle worn on the finger to show that a person is married.Attire · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 IndiaMeitei weddingLuhongba (ꯂꯨꯍꯣꯡꯕ)
The traditional union of the Meitei people, marked by clan exogamy and specific courtship rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇳🇬 NigeriaIgbo traditional marriageIgba Nkwu
The multi-stage Igbo marriage process that formalizes a union through family negotiations and the wine-carrying ceremonyRite · Finding a match
🇺🇦 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
🇨🇳 ChinaFengguan xiapei凤冠霞帔
The traditional Han Chinese wedding ensemble of a phoenix crown and embroidered robes worn by brides in the Ming and QinAttire · The ceremony
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 morePyebaek폐백
A Korean post-ceremony ritual where the couple bows to the groom's parents and shares symbolic foods.Blessing · After the wedding
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Odia Hindu wedding: Aditya Mahar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Loutrophoros: Picture taken by Marcus Cyron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wedding ring: CLW at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- ʻIe tōga: Sarah Kelemen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ulos: Boy Lawson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Toe ring: Wikiss, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Huipil: Gift in memory of Elizabeth Ege Freudenheim, No restrictions, source
- Meitei wedding: Dabu Leichombam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Igbo traditional marriage: Olugold, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Fengguan xiapei: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Pyebaek: halfGoku, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Honggaitou: kanegen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Navajo wedding ceremony: Neeta Lind, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ochipok: Unknown author, CC0, source