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
🇮🇹 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
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyMarch of the PalioMarcia del Palio
The brass anthem played during the historical parade before Siena's horse race.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇹🇳 Tunis, TunisiaTunisian jebbaجبة
A loose traditional tunic worn by Tunisian men and women for weddings and festivals.Attire · Procession and arrival
🇮🇹 Viterbo, ItalyMacchina di Santa Rosa
The annual procession in Viterbo where men carry a towering structure to honor their patron saint.Blessing · Procession and arrival
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 moreEaster palmPolish: palma wielkanocna; Lithuanian: verba
A decorated willow or juniper bundle blessed on Palm Sunday to protect homes and crops.Blessing · The weeks before
🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa dance
A traditional Akan dance from Ghana that uses hand and foot movements to express emotions at weddings and other ceremoniPerformance · Procession and arrival
🇮🇳 Patiala, IndiaParanda
A silk thread hair ornament worn by Punjabi women during weddings and festivals.Adornment · The weeks before
🇮🇩 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
🇧🇷 Recife, BrazilFrevo
A fast, acrobatic dance and musical style from Recife that turns Carnival street parades into a display of agility.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇬🇷 Crete, GreeceSoustaΣούστα
A Greek courtship dance performed at weddings to display romance and agility.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇧🇪 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
🇳🇵 NepalPanche bajaपञ्चे बाजा
A set of five traditional instruments played at Hindu weddings in Nepal.Performance · Procession and arrival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Pantun: Nurmalinda Maharfar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tunisian jebba: Touzrimounir, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Ubaldo Day: Marco Riccardini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Frevo: Prefeitura de Olinda, CC BY 2.0, source
- Macchina di Santa Rosa: Amras Carnesîr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Panche baja: Janak Bhatta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Easter palm: Evaldas Liutkus, CC BY 2.0, source
- Adowa dance: Quami43, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Paranda: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sousta: psyberartist, CC BY 2.0, source
- Processional giants and dragons: No machine-readable author provided. Carolus assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY 2.5, source