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
🇹🇷 TurkeyHoronχορόν (Pontic Greek)
The fast shoulder-shimmying line dance of the Eastern Black Sea Region performed at weddings and festivalsPerformance · The wedding feast
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKalamatianosΚαλαματιανός
A popular Greek folk dance performed in a chain at weddings and social gatheringsPerformance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇮🇷 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
🇫🇷 FrancePièce montée
A sculptural French dessert centerpiece made of nougat, sugar, and pastry for wedding banquets.Feast custom · Reception, dance and gifts
🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 4 moreKizomba
A slow, sensual partner dance from Angola that turns wedding parties into intimate social gatherings.Performance · 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
🇪🇬 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
🇲🇲 MyanmarMarriage in Myanmar
A blend of Buddhist rites, astrological timing, and family negotiations that defines union across Myanmar's diverse ethnRite · Finding a match
🇲🇦 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
🇮🇱 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
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A Zoroastrian marriage ceremony featuring hand-fastening, rice sprinkling, and shared meals.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇱🇹 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
🇮🇳 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
🇦🇲 Armenia and 1 moreKochariՔոչարի
A circle dance from the Armenian Highlands that marks weddings and community gatherings.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreKoloКоло
A South Slavic circle dance performed at weddings and social gatherings across the Balkans.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇸🇪 SwedenKrokan
A multi-tiered almond pastry tower joined by caramel and decorated with marzipan roses, served at Swedish weddings.Feast custom · The wedding feast
🇪🇬 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
🇺🇦 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
🇸🇿 EswatiniUmtsimbauntsimba
A multi-day Swazi wedding procession where the bride joins her husband's family through ritualised stages.Rite · Finding a match
🇷🇺 RussiaLoving cup
A large shared drinking vessel with two handles used in Christian rites and weddingsFeast custom · The wedding feast
🇩🇪 GermanyLandshut WeddingLandshuter Hochzeit
A four-year historical pageant in Bavaria re-enacting the 1475 royal marriage of George and Hedwig.Setting · Engagement and betrothal
🇭🇷 Croatia and 2 moreBećarac
A humorous folk song sung at weddings and village parties in Eastern CroatiaPerformance · The wedding feast
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreČočekčočек (Serbian/Macedonian), кючек (Bulgarian), çyçek/qyqek (Albanian), sistemul (Romanian), Tsifteteli (Greek)
A Balkan wedding dance with a distinctive nine-beat rhythm, kept alive by Romani musicians and village celebrations.Performance · The wedding feast
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreKarsilamaskarşılama (Turkish), καρσιλαμάς (Greek)
A face-to-face folk dance in 9/8 time that marks the joy of wedding gatherings across the Aegean.Performance · The wedding feast
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreKlezmerקלעזמער
The instrumental wedding music of Ashkenazi Jews, blending Eastern European and Jewish ritual melodies.Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreKlezmerקלעזמער
The instrumental dance music played by Ashkenazi Jewish musicians at weddings in Eastern Europe and beyondPerformance · Engagement and betrothal
🇬🇭 Ghana and 1 moreBorborbor
A lively drumming and dance tradition of the Ewe people in Ghana and TogoPerformance · The wedding feast
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreQaytarma
A Crimean Tatar folk dance of cyclical motion performed at weddings and holidays.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.
- Landshut Wedding: Oktobersonne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lithuanian wedding songs: Gailė Paštukaitė, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marriage in Myanmar: Thant Zin Myint, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Imilchil Marriage Festival: Zakaria ElQotbi, CC BY 2.0, source
- Qaytarma: Gottfried Heinrich Geißler, Public domain, source
- Borborbor: Noahalorwu, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Klezmer: Syrena Records (Warsaw), Public domain, source
- Ayyavazhi wedding: Vaikunda Raja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hora: Chajeshukarie ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Čoček: Модернист, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Noghl: Taxman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kochari: Hayordi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pièce montée: Byron Company, Public domain, source
- Kizomba: Obe Images, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kolo: Sasa.mazinjanin, Public domain, source
- Horon: Macukali, Public domain, source
- Karsilamas: Maximilian Dörrbecker ( Chumwa ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Krokan: Hansgustavsson, Public domain, source
- Tamada: Niko Pirosmani, Public domain, source
- Arab wedding: 13th century artist, Public domain, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Romvong: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Public domain, source
- Umtsimba: Cat7624, CC0, source
- Klezmer: Unknown artist identified as "M.D.", Public domain, source
- Jewish wedding: Jozef Israëls, Public domain, source
- Loving cup: Rhodian at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source