Have you ever wondered how wedding traditions vary around the world? We think it is fair to say if you’ve got as far as to reading this article then you must be somewhat intrigued. To satisfy your need, the Wedding Co-ordinators from one of the top wedding venues Somerset has to offer have come up with some interesting world wedding traditions. The Webbington Hotel & Spa’s team have used their passion for multicultural weddings to give you a brief summary of how different parts of the world carry out their wedding rituals.
Indian Wedding Traditions
Indian weddings are traditionally multi-day events which involve many intricate ceremonies. These include the painting of the hands and feet of the bride and the presentation of garlands to guests of honour. At Indian weddings, there tends to be a lot of flower or rose petals dispersed across the multiple days. The wedding is typically divided into three parts: pre-wedding, main, and post-wedding. Alongside this, colourfulness comes aplenty and they are generally not short of guests with numbers ranging from 200 to more than 500 family and friends.
Fun Fact: On the day of the main wedding, the groom’s sister in law will attempt to steal his shoes and if she succeeds, the groom must pay her to get them back.
Chinese Wedding Traditions
A traditional Chinese wedding is usually an exceptionally grand occasion with elaborate formalities. Within Chinese wedding culture there tends to be eight major procedures. These include the proposal, the birthday matching, the marriage divination, betrothal gifts presenting, wedding date fixing, dowry urging, welcoming the bride to the wedding and performing the formal wedding ceremony.
Fun Fact: Did you know once a Chinese proposal has been confirmed, the groom’s family would invite a fortune teller to choose a wedding date. This is believed to bring the most luck to the couple based on the Chinese calendar mythology.
Japanese Weddings Traditions
As far as traditional Japanese wedding traditions go, they tend to include a variety of rituals which signify bringing the two families together. Some of these rituals include a palace visit where the bride and groom gain admission to the private ceremony; purification where they must carry out an exorcism of a person or place to release evil spirits; food to be offered to God, and Shinto prayers to be recited to encourage happiness for the future.
Fun Fact: Similar to the Wester tradition for marriage, brides are to toss their bouquet and have their friends throw rose petals. Alongside this, they also feed each other their first bite of cake.
Brazilian Wedding Traditions
When it comes to the Brazilian wedding, it brings nothing less than what you would expect. Their moving traditions reflect the Brazilian nation’s great passion for family life, as well as encompassing other ancient customs which reflect a rich heritage of superstition, excitement and extravagance! From long pamper ceremonies for the bride and family before the big day to no two dresses being allowed to share the same shade, a colourful event in every manor.
Fun Fact: In some parts of Brazil, the groom may still be required to prove his love and worth prior to the wedding. The groom is sometimes required to tame a donkey to show that he is a capable provider for his wife.
