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EveryShaadi

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.

About this page

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.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindRiteVowBetrothalGift customAttireAdornmentPerformanceFeast customBlessingPlayFamily roleSettingModern
🇫🇷 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 3 moreBedding ceremony The public ritual of placing the newlyweds in their marital bed to witness and seal the marriage.Rite · The ceremony 🇳🇱 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 🇮🇹 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 🇽🇰 Kosovo and 2 morePodruga A second wife brought into the home to bear children when the first marriage is childless.Family role · Engagement and betrothal

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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