All wedding traditions
650 traditions so far, best known first. 440 more are on the list to be written. Filter by region, kind and stage of the wedding.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan and 1 moreKazakh wedding ceremonyҮйлену тойы (Üilenu toiy)
The multi-stage Kazakh marriage process featuring the face-revealing feast and the Islamic religious contract.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 IndiaOppanaഒപ്പന
A circle dance and song tradition of the Mappila Muslim community in Kerala weddingsPerformance · Engagement and betrothal
🇨🇱 Santiago, Chile and 3 moreCueca
A courtship dance from Chile and the Andes where couples trace circles with handkerchiefs to reenact a rooster and hen.Performance · The eve
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAlpanaআলপনা (Bengali)
Rice flour floor paintings that bless homes and mark wedding celebrations in Bengal.Adornment · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaChaklong wedding
The traditional Ahom marriage system involving rice powder mandalas and ancestral rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇧🇩 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
🇸🇿 EswatiniUmtsimbauntsimba
A multi-day Swazi wedding procession where the bride joins her husband's family through ritualised stages.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaMehndi
The henna body art applied to brides and guests before a South Asian wedding ceremony.Adornment · The weeks before
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreHausa traditional marriage
The Islamic marriage rites of the Hausa people in Northern Nigeria and Niger.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaOdia Hindu weddingBahaghara (ଓଡ଼ିଆ ବାହାଘର)
The traditional Hindu marriage ceremony of the Odia people in Odisha, India.Rite · 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
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A Zoroastrian marriage ceremony featuring hand-fastening, rice sprinkling, and shared meals.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇪🇬 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
🇮🇳 IndiaTelugu Hindu weddingతెలుగు వివాహ వేడుక
A multi-day Telugu Hindu marriage marked by seven vows around fire and family rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇧🇳 BruneiBrunei Malay wedding
The sequence of ceremonies that mark the engagement and marriage of Brunei Malays.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇷 Tehran, Iran and 1 moreIranian weddingمراسم عروسی در ایران
A multi-stage ceremony rooted in Zoroastrianism and Islam that binds families through courtship, feasts, and sacred vowsRite · Finding a match
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreVechornytsiвечорниці
A Ukrainian courtship gathering where young people meet, dance and practice matchmaking rituals before the wedding seasoBetrothal · The weeks before
🇵🇱 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
🇮🇹 Gubbio, Italy and 1 moreSaint Ubaldo DayFesta dei Ceri
A procession where runners carry massive wooden pedestals with saint statues through the streets of Gubbio and Jessup.Blessing · Procession and arrival
🇬🇧 United KingdomWassailing
Singing and drinking to bless trees or homes during the Christmas seasonFeast custom · The weeks before
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
- Mehndi: AKS.9955, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hausa traditional marriage: Bembety, CC0, source
- Wassailing: Joss Smithson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kazakh wedding ceremony: jerome taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Saint Ubaldo Day: Marco Riccardini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Turoń: Museum: The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, CC0, source
- Cueca: Manuel Antonio Caro, Public domain, source
- Odia Hindu wedding: Aditya Mahar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chaklong wedding: Chiring chandan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Iranian wedding: Flickr.com user "avlxyz", CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Oppana: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Alpana: Tripan123, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Golu: Ksiva21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vechornytsi: Гейслер, Кристиан Готфрид Генрих, Public domain, source
- Arab wedding: 13th century artist, Public domain, source
- Bengali Muslim wedding: NahidSultan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source