Wedding traditions with the colour red
Red is the colour of weddings in much of Asia.
Red is the colour of weddings in much of Asia. It stands for luck, joy, fertility, life and protection, and in China, India, Vietnam and Korea it is the colour of the bride. In the West it is often avoided, which shows how much meaning a colour can carry.
Red in Asia
Chinese brides wear red qipao or qungua, the wedding hall is hung with red double-happiness characters, and guests give hongbao, red envelopes. Indian brides wear red lehengas or silk saris, and the sindoor in the parting of the hair is red. Vietnamese brides wear a red ao dai, and Korean brides wear red dots, yeonji gonji, on the cheeks. In Japan the uchikake may be red, and the bridal umbrella is also red.
Red elsewhere
Red also appears in Armenia, Georgia and Turkey, where the bride may be wrapped in a red veil or have a red ribbon tied at her waist, called the kirmizi kusak in Turkish custom. In the Balkans red and white cloth were used in traditional dress, and in Central Asia red wedding robes and headdresses were common. In Europe white took over in the nineteenth century.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on The colour red (symbol). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMizmarمزمار (mizmār)
A loud double reed instrument played at weddings and festivals across Egypt and the Levant.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇮🇳 IndiaTulasi Vivahतुलसी विवाह (Tulasī Vivāha)
A symbolic Hindu wedding uniting the holy basil plant with a stone representing Vishnu.Rite · The weeks before
🇲🇦 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
🇮🇳 IndiaOdia Hindu weddingBahaghara (ଓଡ଼ିଆ ବାହାଘର)
The traditional Hindu marriage ceremony of the Odia people in Odisha, India.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreBengali Muslim weddingবাঙালি মুসলিম বিয়ে
A multi-day Bengali Muslim marriage blending Islamic rites with local folk traditions.Rite · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaMehndi
The henna body art applied to brides and guests before a South Asian wedding ceremony.Adornment · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaHindi wedding songs
Film and folk music that accompanies the stages of a North Indian Hindu wedding.Performance · 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
🇮🇳 Goa, IndiaHaldi Kumkum
A gathering of married women in southern India who exchange turmeric and vermilion to celebrate their status.Blessing
🇰🇷 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
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreDouble Happiness双喜 (shuāngxǐ)
The red calligraphy symbol made of two joy characters that marks Chinese wedding celebrations.Adornment · The weeks before
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreChinese wedding door games堵门游戏 (dǔmén yóuxì)
Challenges set by bridesmaids for the groom at the bride's home to prove his devotion.Play · Engagement and betrothal
🇺🇦 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
🇧🇳 BruneiBrunei Malay wedding
The sequence of ceremonies that mark the engagement and marriage of Brunei Malays.Rite · Finding a match
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreWedding superstitions
Traditional beliefs about luck and omens that shape wedding rituals across culturesAttire · The weeks before
🇮🇳 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
🇻🇳 VietnamTraditional Vietnamese weddingLễ cưới truyền thống Việt Nam
The multi-stage ceremony of betrothal, engagement and union that marks a marriage in Vietnam.Attire · Finding a match
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreTuroń
A horned effigy that visits homes during Carnival to wish for fertility and collect gifts.Blessing · The weeks before
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaGoluBommai kolu (Tamil), Bommala Koluvu (Telugu), Gombe Habba (Kannada)
A tiered display of dolls and figurines arranged in South Indian homes during the Navaratri festival.Feast custom · The weeks before
🇩🇪 GermanyLandshut WeddingLandshuter Hochzeit
A four-year historical pageant in Bavaria re-enacting the 1475 royal marriage of George and Hedwig.Setting · Engagement and betrothal
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
- Bengali Muslim wedding: NahidSultan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mehndi: AKS.9955, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mizmar: dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tulasi Vivah: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Imilchil Marriage Festival: Zakaria ElQotbi, CC BY 2.0, source
- Landshut Wedding: Oktobersonne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Wedding superstitions: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ayyavazhi wedding: Vaikunda Raja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional Vietnamese wedding: Gabrielle M. Vassal, Public domain, source
- Pyebaek: halfGoku, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Double Happiness: kanegen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Golu: Ksiva21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese wedding door games: elfgoh, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Turoń: Museum: The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, CC0, source