All wedding traditions
674 traditions so far, best known first. 108 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
🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaArdahالعرضة
The men's group dance with swords and drums that marks weddings in the Arabian PeninsulaPerformance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇾🇪 Yemen and 4 moreKafa'ahالكفاءة (al-kafā'ah)
The Islamic legal principle of social and religious equivalence between spouses in marriage.Vow · Finding a match
🇹🇷 Kayseri, Turkey and 4 moreHalay
A traditional line and circle dance performed across Turkey and surrounding regions at weddings.Performance · The ceremony
🇹🇷 TurkeyHoronχορόν (Pontic Greek)
The fast shoulder-shimmying line dance of the Eastern Black Sea Region performed at weddings and festivalsPerformance · The wedding feast
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreNikahnikāḥ (Arabic: نِكَاح)
The Islamic marriage contract that establishes a binding union between two people.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇵🇸 Ramallah, Palestine and 4 moreDabkeدبكة
A Levantine line dance performed at weddings to celebrate union and community.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇮🇱 IsraelMazel tovמזל טוב
The Jewish phrase said to congratulate someone on a happy occasion or good fortune.Blessing · The ceremony
🇨🇾 Cyprus and 2 moreMarriage in Cyprus
A destination for civil and religious weddings that allows interfaith couples to marry outside their home laws.Vow · The ceremony
🇮🇷 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
🇮🇱 IsraelSeudat nissuinSeudat nissuin (סעודת נישואין)
The Jewish wedding meal blessed with wine and bread, followed by seven days of celebration.Feast custom · The ceremony
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelTu B'Avט״ו באב
A minor Jewish holiday in Israel that serves as a popular day for weddings and matchmaking.Betrothal · The weeks before
🇮🇷 Shiraz, Iran and 5 moreUlulation
A high-pitched trilling sound made by women to celebrate weddings and share good news across many cultures.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇮🇱 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
🇮🇱 IsraelErusinאירוסין
The first stage of a Jewish marriage that consecrates the bride to the groom.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreSheva Brachotשבע ברכות
The seven blessings recited during Jewish weddings and the subsequent festive week.Blessing · The ceremony
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreChuppahחֻפָּה (ḥuppā)
The four-poster canopy that marks the Jewish wedding ceremony and symbolizes the couple's new home.Setting · The ceremony
🇸🇾 Syria and 3 moreAssyrian wedding
Marriage ceremonies blending ancient Assyrian rites with modern cultural practices among the Assyrian people.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreBaháʼí marriage
A spiritual union requiring parental consent and a specific vow to establish harmony between partners.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreCollective wedding
A single ceremony where many couples exchange vows and become married at once.Modern · The ceremony
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 2 moreJewish prenuptial agreement
A contract signed before the wedding to ensure a Jewish divorce can happen if one spouse refuses.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇶 Baghdad, IraqWedding traditions in Iraq
A structured sequence of arranged matches, religious vows, and family feasts across Iraqi communities.Betrothal · Finding a match
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreInterfaith marriage in Judaismשִׁדּוּג חַלּוּץ (Shidug Chalutz) / אינטרפייט מריאז' (Interafeyt Mariyaz')
The union of a Jew and a non-Jew, viewed as void by traditional law but increasingly common in modern communities.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, IsraelSame-sex marriage in Israel
Legal recognition for same-sex couples through foreign or online marriages due to the absence of civil marriage in IsraeModern · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 IsraelKallahYarchei Kallah (Hebrew: ירחי כלה)
A biannual gathering for Torah study and marriage law held by Babylonian Jewish scholars in Adar and Elul.Betrothal · The weeks before
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 4 moreAgunahעֲגוּנָה (Agunah)
A Jewish woman trapped in a marriage because her husband has not granted a religious divorce document known as a get.Vow · After the wedding
🇮🇷 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
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreKetubahכְּתוּבָּה
The Jewish marriage contract that outlines the groom's financial and personal obligations to the bride.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreNikah mut'ahنكاح المتعة
A private contract for a fixed-term marriage practiced in Twelver Shia Islam.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreYibbumייבום
A Jewish rite where a brother marries his childless deceased brother's widow to continue the family line.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇸🇾 Syria and 3 moreMystery of Crowning
The crowning ritual in Eastern Christian weddings that marks the couple as king and queen.Rite · The ceremony
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreInterdenominational marriage
A wedding between two people of different denominations within the same religion.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreLevirate marriage
A custom where a man marries his deceased brother's widow to protect her and keep the family line intact.Betrothal · After the wedding
🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi ArabiaSa'yeeالسعي
The seven trips between two hills in Mecca that complete the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.Rite · The ceremony
🇸🇦 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
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreCousin marriage in the Middle East
A traditional practice of marrying close relatives, especially paternal cousins, across Middle Eastern communities.Betrothal · Finding a match
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreXwedodahxwidōdāh
A Zoroastrian rite of close-kin marriage rooted in ancient cosmology and royal tradition.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 IsraelGetגט
The Aramaic divorce document that frees a Jewish woman to remarryVow · After the wedding
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreLieberman clause
A ketubah provision for rabbinic arbitration to prevent a woman from being unable to remarry.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 IsraelIsha katlanitאישה קטלנית
A Jewish legal concept regarding a widow who has lost two husbands and the risks associated with her remarrying.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇧🇭 BahrainPolygamy in Bahrain
A legal marital arrangement where a man may have multiple wives, practiced by a minority of citizens.Modern
🇮🇱 IsraelHalizahחליצה (ḥălīṣā)
The Jewish rite that frees a childless widow from the duty to marry her deceased husband's brother.Rite · After the wedding
🇾🇪 YemenPolygamy in Yemen
A legal practice allowing Muslim men to marry up to four wives under specific 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
🇨🇾 Nicosia, CyprusRecognition of same-sex unions in Cyprusπολιτική συμβίωση (Greek), sivil birliktelik (Turkish)
The legal framework for registered partnerships and the ongoing debate over marriage equality in Cyprus.Modern · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreHava Nagilaהָבָה נָגִילָה
A Jewish folk song sung and danced at weddings and celebrations to mark joyous occasionsPerformance · Reception, dance and gifts
🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, IsraelUnregistered cohabitation in Israel
Legal recognition for same-sex couples living together without a formal religious or civil wedding ceremony.Modern
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreHeter meah rabbanimהיתר מאה רבנים
A rare exemption allowing a man to remarry when his wife refuses a Jewish divorce.Vow · After the wedding
🇮🇷 Bojnord, Iran and 1 moreTurkmen embroidery
Intricate silk embroidery on wedding and daily wear that marks territorial identity and family skill.Attire · The weeks before
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jewish wedding: Jozef Israëls, Public domain, source
- Same-sex marriage in Israel: דוד שי, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Xwedodah: Dageoa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Interfaith marriage in Christianity: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ketubah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Get: Moshe Rynecki (1881-1943), Public domain, source
- Yibbum: School of Rembrandt, Public domain, source
- Interfaith marriage in Judaism: Rembrandt, Public domain, source
- Sheva Brachot: מנחם יוסיפון, CC0, source
- Sa'yee: Aiman titi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Halizah: Daderot, CC0, source
- Polygamy in Turkey: Studio? Photographer?, Public domain, source
- Noghl: Taxman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dabke: Sarah Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Halay: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
- Assyrian wedding: Yucalyptus, CC0, source
- Collective wedding: Tribunal de Justiça do Estado do Pará, Public domain, source
- Horon: Macukali, Public domain, source
- Erusin: LGJMS, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mazel tov: Iwona Erskine-Kellie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ardah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nikah: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chuppah: me, Public domain, source
- Iranian wedding: Flickr.com user "avlxyz", CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Mystery of Crowning: Shakko, CC BY-SA 3.0, source