The wedding feast
The stage and the toasts: who is served first, what is shared, what is thrown or broken.
After the ceremony comes the feast, the center of many weddings. It may be a sit-down banquet, a long buffet, a roast on a mat, or a table of small dishes. It is where the families celebrate together and where the toast, the cake and the first shared bite take place.
Order and honour
Seating is a message: the head table in the West, the stage in India where the couple receive guests, the separate men's and women's halls in many Muslim and Orthodox Jewish weddings. In Georgia the tamada leads toasts in a set order. In China the couple tours the tables with a drink, and in Ethiopia the couple feed each other in a gesture called gursha.
What is served
Menus carry meaning. A whole fish for abundance in China, a roast lamb in the Gulf, sugared almonds in Italy, jollof rice in Nigeria and Ghana, biryani in India and Pakistan, tagine and pastilla in Morocco, and a cake in Britain. Sweet dishes are especially common, from the Greek koufeta to the Persian sholeh zard.
What is changing
Food stations, plant-based menus and halal or kosher catering are growing, and many couples work with local cooks rather than chains. Some communities cap the guest list or the menu to control spending, as in a few Gulf and Indian states.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on The wedding feast (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.
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreNoghlنقل (Persian) / نقل (Dari)
Sugar-coated almonds served at Iranian and Afghan weddings as a sweet treat and showered confetti.Feast custom · The wedding feast
🇲🇦 Imilchil, MoroccoImilchil Marriage FestivalAgdoud N'Oulmghenni
A Berber marriage festival in Morocco where tribes gather to arrange unions and celebrate with music and dance.Betrothal · Finding a match
🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 4 moreKizomba
A slow, sensual partner dance from Angola that turns wedding parties into intimate social gatherings.Performance · The wedding feast
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreZaffaزفّة
A lively musical procession that marks the start of wedding festivities in Arab culture.Performance · The weeks before
🇬🇪 Georgia and 1 moreTamadaთამადა
The toastmaster who leads the Georgian supra and sets the rhythm of a wedding feast.Feast custom · The wedding feast
🇹🇷 TurkeyHoronχορόν (Pontic Greek)
The fast shoulder-shimmying line dance of the Eastern Black Sea Region performed at weddings and festivalsPerformance · The wedding feast
🇫🇷 FrancePièce montée
A sculptural French dessert centerpiece made of nougat, sugar, and pastry for wedding banquets.Feast custom · Reception, dance and gifts
🇲🇲 MyanmarMarriage in Myanmar
A blend of Buddhist rites, astrological timing, and family negotiations that defines union across Myanmar's diverse ethnRite · Finding a match
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKalamatianosΚαλαματιανός
A popular Greek folk dance performed in a chain at weddings and social gatheringsPerformance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇰🇭 Cambodia and 4 moreRomvongរាំវង់ (Khmer)
A circular folk dance across Southeast Asia where couples hold hands and step in time with drums.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 3 moreJewish wedding
The ceremony and laws that bind a couple in Jewish marriage, from the canopy to the glass.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 IndiaTelugu Hindu weddingతెలుగు వివాహ వేడుక
A multi-day Telugu Hindu marriage marked by seven vows around fire and family rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreArab weddingزفاف or فرح or عرس
A series of family-centered rites and processions that mark marriage across the Arab world.Rite · Finding a match
🇸🇿 EswatiniUmtsimbauntsimba
A multi-day Swazi wedding procession where the bride joins her husband's family through ritualised stages.Rite · Finding a match
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian wedding songsvestuvinės dainos
The polyphonic songs and weeping rituals that mark a Lithuanian bride's transition to her new family.Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A Zoroastrian marriage ceremony featuring hand-fastening, rice sprinkling, and shared meals.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇸🇪 SwedenKrokan
A multi-tiered almond pastry tower joined by caramel and decorated with marzipan roses, served at Swedish weddings.Feast custom · The wedding feast
🇷🇺 RussiaLoving cup
A large shared drinking vessel with two handles used in Christian rites and weddingsFeast custom · The wedding feast
🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreKoloКоло
A South Slavic circle dance performed at weddings and social gatherings across the Balkans.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇺🇦 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
🇦🇲 Armenia and 1 moreKochariՔոչարի
A circle dance from the Armenian Highlands that marks weddings and community gatherings.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇮🇳 IndiaAyyavazhi wedding
The sacred rite of Ayyavazhi that treats marriage as a spiritual sacrament and family life as the highest austerity.Rite · Procession and arrival
🇷🇴 Romania and 7 moreHorahora (Romanian), horo (Bulgarian), oro (Macedonian), horah (Hebrew)
A circle dance held at weddings across Southeast Europe and among Jewish communities worldwide.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Umtsimba: Cat7624, CC0, source
- Pièce montée: Byron Company, Public domain, source
- Romvong: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Public domain, source
- Kizomba: Obe Images, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Horon: Macukali, Public domain, source
- Lithuanian wedding songs: Gailė Paštukaitė, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marriage in Myanmar: Thant Zin Myint, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Noghl: Taxman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tamada: Niko Pirosmani, Public domain, source
- Imilchil Marriage Festival: Zakaria ElQotbi, CC BY 2.0, source
- Krokan: Hansgustavsson, Public domain, source
- Loving cup: Rhodian at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jewish wedding: Jozef Israëls, Public domain, source
- Kolo: Sasa.mazinjanin, Public domain, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Kochari: Hayordi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ayyavazhi wedding: Vaikunda Raja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hora: Chajeshukarie ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Arab wedding: 13th century artist, Public domain, source