Wedding traditions beginning with P
55 traditions under P.
🇬🇧 United KingdomPage boy
A young male member of the bridal party who manages the bride's train or carries the wedding rings.Family role · The ceremony
🇮🇩 Jakarta, IndonesiaPalang pintu
The martial arts and poetry test that allows the groom to enter the bride's home in Betawi weddings.Rite · The weeks before
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPamamanhikan
The formal visit by the groom's family to ask the bride's parents for her hand in marriage.Betrothal · Finding a match
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 morePantunڤنتون
A Malayic oral poetry form used in wedding greetings and daily communication to express ideas through rhyme.Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 Patiala, IndiaParanda
A silk thread hair ornament worn by Punjabi women during weddings and festivals.Adornment · The weeks before
🇬🇷 Crete, GreecePentozaliΠεντοζάλης
The vigorous Cretan war dance of high jumps and improvisation that marks the wedding procession.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 morePerinița
A Romanian circle dance where a pillow marks the last partner dance for unmarried youth before a wedding.Performance · The eve
🇵🇰 Peshawar, PakistanPeshawari chappal
A traditional leather sandal with crossed straps, worn by men at Pakistani weddings.Attire
🇨🇳 ChinaPhoenix crown凤冠 (Fèngguān)
A traditional Chinese bridal headdress adorned with pearls, gemstones and kingfisher feathers.Attire · The ceremony
🇻🇳 VietnamPhu Thê CakeBánh phu thê
A Vietnamese mung bean cake exchanged by the couple to wish for a happy marriageFeast custom · The ceremony
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 morePicture brideNakōdo (仲人) matchmaking; Jungmae gyeolhon (결혼) process
Early twentieth century marriages arranged through photographs between Asian immigrant men and women in Hawaii and the UBetrothal · Finding a match
🇫🇷 FrancePièce montée
A sculptural French dessert centerpiece made of nougat, sugar, and pastry for wedding banquets.Feast custom · Reception, dance and gifts
🇨🇳 ChinaPlace card
A small card that tells a wedding guest where to sit and who sits next to them.Feast custom · Reception, dance and gifts
🇽🇰 Kosovo and 2 morePodruga
A second wife brought into the home to bear children when the first marriage is childless.Family role · Engagement and betrothal
🇳🇱 NetherlandsPoffer
The elaborate white headdress worn by married women in the Netherlands to mark their status.Attire · Engagement and betrothal
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 morePolonaisePolonez
A stately Polish partner dance in triple metre that opens weddings and formal celebrations.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 morePolterabend
The evening before the wedding when guests break porcelain to bring luck and test the couple's teamwork.Blessing · The eve
🇦🇫 Kabul, AfghanistanPolygamy in Afghanistan
The practice of Afghan men taking multiple wives under Islamic and civil law.Family role · Engagement and betrothal
🇧🇭 BahrainPolygamy in Bahrain
A legal marital arrangement where a man may have multiple wives, practiced by a minority of citizens.Modern
🇧🇩 BangladeshPolygamy in Bangladesh
The practice of men taking multiple wives, regulated by different laws for Muslims and Hindus.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇹🇩 ChadPolygamy in Chad
A legally recognized marriage structure where one husband has multiple wives across Chadian communities.Family role
🇬🇭 GhanaPolygamy in Ghana
A practice where a man has multiple wives, recognized under customary law but illegal under civil statutes.Family role · Engagement and betrothal
🇬🇳 GuineaPolygamy in Guinea
A polygynous marriage structure regulated by Guinean family law since 2019.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇩 IndonesiaPolygamy in Indonesia
The legal and customary practice of men having multiple wives across Indonesian faiths and communities.Family role · Engagement and betrothal
🇱🇷 LiberiaPolygamy in Liberia
A customary practice allowing men to have multiple wives despite civil law.Modern
🇱🇾 LibyaPolygamy in Libya
The practice of men marrying multiple wives within Libyan law and custom.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇳🇿 New ZealandPolygamy in New Zealand
The legal prohibition of multiple spouses and the limited recognition of foreign polygamous unions.Vow
🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaPolygamy in Nigeria
A marital practice where men take multiple wives, legally recognized in twelve northern states under Sharia law.Family role · Engagement and betrothal
🇵🇰 Lahore, Pakistan and 1 morePolygamy in Pakistan
The legal allowance for Muslim men to have up to four wives under Pakistani law.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇷🇼 RwandaPolygamy in Rwanda
The traditional practice of men having multiple wives, now illegal but still found in rural areas.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 2 morePolygamy in Saudi Arabia
A legal marriage structure allowing a man to have up to four wives under Islamic law.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇿🇦 South AfricaPolygamy in South Africa
The practice of men marrying more than one wife under customary and Islamic law in South Africa.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇸🇸 South SudanPolygamy in South Sudan
A common marital structure where men take multiple wives, often measured by cattle wealth.Family role
🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaPolygamy in Sri Lanka
The historical and current legal status of multiple marriages under Kandyan and Muslim law.Vow
🇹🇭 ThailandPolygamy in Thailand
The historical practice of multiple wives in Thailand and its legal status today.Gift custom
🇬🇲 GambiaPolygamy in the Gambia
The legal recognition of men having multiple wives in West African society.Family role
🇲🇻 MaldivesPolygamy in the Maldives
The legal practice allowing men to marry multiple wives under strict financial conditions.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇹🇷 TurkeyPolygamy in Turkey
The practice of having multiple spouses, banned by law since the mid-twentieth century.Gift custom
🇺🇬 Uganda and 3 morePolygamy in Uganda
The legal practice of a man having multiple wives simultaneously in Uganda and neighboring nations.Family role · Engagement and betrothal
🇺🇿 UzbekistanPolygamy in Uzbekistan
The practice of men taking multiple wives in a country where the law strictly forbids it.Modern · Engagement and betrothal
🇾🇪 YemenPolygamy in Yemen
A legal practice allowing Muslim men to marry up to four wives under specific conditions.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal
🇿🇲 ZambiaPolygamy in Zambia
A legal form of marriage allowing one man to have multiple wives under customary law.Family role · Engagement and betrothal
🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoruwa ceremony
The Sinhalese wedding ritual performed on a carved wooden platform with betel leaves and milk rice.Rite · The ceremony
🇨🇳 China and 5 morePosthumous marriageminghun
A union performed when one or both partners have died, kept in parts of Asia and permitted by law in a few nations.Betrothal · After the wedding
🇫🇷 FrancePosthumous marriage in Francemariage posthume
A legal union with a deceased partner, authorized by the French President for serious reasons.Vow · The ceremony
🇩🇪 Hamburg, Germany and 1 morePosthumous marriage in Germany
A legal rite that joined a living woman to a deceased soldier for state benefits.Vow · After the wedding
🇺🇸 United States and 1 morePostnuptial agreement
A contract signed after marriage to plan for divorce or death.Vow · After the wedding
🇺🇸 United StatesPre-Cana
The Catholic Church course that helps engaged couples prepare for the sacrament of marriage.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal
🇧🇪 Belgium and 1 moreProcessional giants and dragonsGéants et dragons processionnels
Large costumed figures carried in street festivals across Belgium and France.Setting · Procession and arrival
🇧🇪 Bruges, BelgiumProcession of the Holy BloodHeilig Bloedprocessie
A Catholic parade in Bruges that carries a relic on Ascension Day.Blessing · The ceremony
🇿🇦 South AfricaProhibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949
An apartheid-era law in South Africa that banned marriages between white and non-white citizens.Modern
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreProxy marriage
A union where one or both partners are absent and represented by another person.Vow · The ceremony
🇵🇭 Hungduan, PhilippinesPunnuk
A post-harvest tug of war held in the Hapao River to ensure a plentiful rice harvest.Play · After the wedding
🇧🇷 Salvador, BrazilPuxada de Rede
A Brazilian dance that reenacts the tragic retrieval of a fisherman's body from the sea.Performance · The weeks before
🇰🇷 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Polygamy in South Africa: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Polterabend: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Page boy: Joe Cheng, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pièce montée: Byron Company, Public domain, source
- Punnuk: Bernardguerrero, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pantun: Nurmalinda Maharfar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Poruwa ceremony: A Derivative Work by MediaJet ,, CC BY 2.0, source
- Poffer: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Pre-Cana: Jebulon, CC0, source
- Puxada de Rede: SebáNeto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Palang pintu: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Proxy marriage: Alejandro Cicarelli, Public domain, source
- Phoenix crown: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Place card: Elizabeth Sullivan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Polygamy in Turkey: Studio? Photographer?, Public domain, source
- Procession of the Holy Blood: Cbl62, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Paranda: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Processional giants and dragons: No machine-readable author provided. Carolus assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY 2.5, source
- Polonaise: Korneli Szlegel, Public domain, source
- Pyebaek: halfGoku, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Phu Thê Cake: JeanFousrou52, CC BY-SA 4.0, source