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
🇲🇱 MaliWeddings in Mali
Multi-day Malian wedding traditions blending Islamic rites, civil law, and local customs with bazin attire.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 IndiaWanvun
A Kashmiri choral singing style performed before weddings and religious ritesPerformance · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaOppanaഒപ്പന
A circle dance and song tradition of the Mappila Muslim community in Kerala weddingsPerformance · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAlpanaআলপনা (Bengali)
Rice flour floor paintings that bless homes and mark wedding celebrations in Bengal.Adornment · The weeks before
🇸🇿 Ludzidzini Royal Village, Eswatini and 1 moreUmhlanga
The annual Swazi and Zulu gathering where young women cut reeds to preserve chastity and offer tribute labour.Rite · The eve
🇰🇿 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
🇿🇦 South AfricaUmemulo
The Zulu coming of age ceremony that marks a woman as ready for marriageRite · The weeks before
🇪🇬 Cairo, EgyptTahtibتحطيب (taḥṭīb)
A traditional Egyptian stick-fighting martial art that evolved into a folk dance performed at weddings and celebrations.Performance · The weeks before
🇨🇱 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
🇮🇳 IndiaGaye holudগায়ে হলুদ
The turmeric ceremony that prepares the Bengali bride and groom for marriageRite · The weeks before
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMayian
The turmeric paste ceremony held the day before Punjabi weddings in India and Pakistan.Rite · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaChaklong wedding
The traditional Ahom marriage system involving rice powder mandalas and ancestral rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreEpithalamium
A poem or song written to celebrate a bride as she goes to her wedding chamber.Performance · The eve
🇸🇿 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
🇩🇪 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
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreHausa traditional marriage
The Islamic marriage rites of the Hausa people in Northern Nigeria and Niger.Rite · Finding a match
🇦🇿 AzerbaijanAzerbaijani wedding traditionsAzərbaycanın toy adətləri
The multi-step family rituals of Azerbaijani weddings, from matchmaking to the henna night.Rite · Finding a match
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreHenna ceremonyليلة الحناء (Laylat al-Henna)
The pre-wedding gathering where the bride and guests receive intricate henna body art for luck and protection.Adornment · The weeks before
🇮🇳 Lucknow, IndiaBabulबाबुल
The Hindi term for father that marks the emotional farewell of a bride leaving her home.Performance · The eve
🇮🇷 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
🇮🇳 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
🇺🇸 United StatesNavajo wedding ceremony
A Navajo marriage ritual centred on harmony, family union, and nature inside a Hogan.Rite · The eve
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A Zoroastrian marriage ceremony featuring hand-fastening, rice sprinkling, and shared meals.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇧🇳 BruneiBrunei Malay wedding
The sequence of ceremonies that mark the engagement and marriage of Brunei Malays.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaBrahmanippattu
A devotional song and dance performed by Nambeesan women to bless a marriage with the grace of the Goddess.Performance · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaMeitei weddingLuhongba (ꯂꯨꯍꯣꯡꯕ)
The traditional union of the Meitei people, marked by clan exogamy and specific courtship rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇪🇬 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
🇧🇩 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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreHenna night
The evening before a wedding when the bride and groom are decorated with henna patterns for luck and joyAdornment · The eve
🇮🇳 IndiaDejhoor
A hexagonal ear ornament worn by Kashmiri Pandit women to mark their marriage.Adornment · The eve
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAnastenariaΑναστενάρια (Greek), Нестинарство (Bulgarian)
A barefoot firewalking ritual performed by Orthodox Christian communities in Greece and Bulgaria.Rite · The weeks before
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreVechornytsiвечорниці
A Ukrainian courtship gathering where young people meet, dance and practice matchmaking rituals before the wedding seasoBetrothal · 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
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreTuroń
A horned effigy that visits homes during Carnival to wish for fertility and collect gifts.Blessing · The weeks before
🇷🇴 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomWassailing
Singing and drinking to bless trees or homes during the Christmas seasonFeast custom · The weeks before
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan and 1 moreKelaghayiKəlağayı
A traditional silk headscarf exchanged as a marriage proposal and worn at henna parties in Azerbaijan and Armenia.Attire · Engagement and betrothal
🇰🇷 South KoreaHahoe byeolsingut talnori하회별신굿탈놀이
A rare Korean masked dance-drama performed to appease the village deity Seonangsin in Hahoe.Rite · The weeks before
🇭🇷 CroatiaŽudijeŽudije (čuvari Kristova groba)
Catholic guardians who stand watch over a replica tomb of Christ in Dalmatia until Easter Vigil.Rite · 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
🇭🇷 CroatiaZa križen
A night-long Maundy Thursday procession on Hvar island that honors the Weeping of the Lady.Blessing · 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
- Kelaghayi: Urmen19, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mehndi: AKS.9955, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Polterabend: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hausa traditional marriage: Bembety, CC0, source
- Wassailing: Joss Smithson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Umhlanga: Amada44, Public domain, source
- Kazakh wedding ceremony: jerome taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Weddings in Mali: HawaG, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Azerbaijani wedding traditions: Azim Azimzadeh, Public domain, source
- Henna ceremony: No author provided, CC0, source
- Za križen: E.mil.mil, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Ubaldo Day: Marco Riccardini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Henna night: Izzah Zainab, CC BY 2.0, source
- Turoń: Museum: The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, CC0, source
- Hahoe byeolsingut talnori: Ian Sewell, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Cueca: Manuel Antonio Caro, Public domain, source
- Tahtib: Yasser Elrasoul, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chaklong wedding: Chiring chandan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gaye holud: Arr4, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Iranian wedding: Flickr.com user "avlxyz", CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Odia Hindu wedding: Aditya Mahar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Oppana: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mayian: Rakzika, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Alpana: Tripan123, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Navajo wedding ceremony: Neeta Lind, CC BY 2.0, source
- Epithalamium: Lorenzo Lotto, Public domain, source
- Golu: Ksiva21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vechornytsi: Гейслер, Кристиан Готфрид Генрих, Public domain, source
- Meitei wedding: Dabu Leichombam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Arab wedding: 13th century artist, Public domain, source
- Bengali Muslim wedding: NahidSultan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dejhoor: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Anastenaria: Artkostov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source