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.
🇲🇦 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
🇬🇷 GreeceTsamikoΤσάμικος
A traditional Greek folk dance performed at weddings and festivals, known for its slow tempo and acrobatic leaps.Performance · The wedding feast
🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 4 moreKizomba
A slow, sensual partner dance from Angola that turns wedding parties into intimate social gatherings.Performance · The wedding feast
🇵🇦 PanamaTamborito
A Panamanian courtship dance performed in a circle with drums and female chorusPerformance · 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
🇪🇬 Cairo, EgyptTahtibتحطيب (taḥṭīb)
A traditional Egyptian stick-fighting martial art that evolved into a folk dance performed at weddings and celebrations.Performance · The weeks before
🇹🇷 TurkeyHoronχορόν (Pontic Greek)
The fast shoulder-shimmying line dance of the Eastern Black Sea Region performed at weddings and festivalsPerformance · The wedding feast
🇰🇭 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKalamatianosΚαλαματιανός
A popular Greek folk dance performed in a chain at weddings and social gatheringsPerformance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇵🇱 PolandSto lat
A Polish song sung to wish a person long life and good health at weddings and other gatherings.Performance · The wedding feast
🇦🇲 Armenia and 1 moreKochariՔոչարի
A circle dance from the Armenian Highlands that marks weddings and community gatherings.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇱🇹 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
🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreKoloКоло
A South Slavic circle dance performed at weddings and social gatherings across the Balkans.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreBadchenבּדחן (badkhn)
The Ashkenazi Jewish wedding entertainer and master of ceremonies who guides the couple through ritual stages with song Performance · Engagement and betrothal
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Badchen: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Romvong: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Public domain, source
- Kizomba: Obe Images, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tahtib: Yasser Elrasoul, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Horon: Macukali, Public domain, source
- Lithuanian wedding songs: Gailė Paštukaitė, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Imilchil Marriage Festival: Zakaria ElQotbi, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kolo: Sasa.mazinjanin, Public domain, source
- Kochari: Hayordi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source