Wedding customs
Traditional church wedding ceremony procedures
A traditional church wedding ceremony follows this order of events in the lead up to the ceremony, during the wedding service, and after the ceremony when the participants process out of the church.
Before the wedding ceremony
40 Minutes Before
Ushers arrive to direct guests to their seats and give out order of service sheets.
30 Minutes Before
Church bells [...]
Mehendi Wedding Customs
Mehendi has great significance in all Eastern wedding traditions, and no wedding is complete without the decoration of the bride’s hands and feet – in many cultures on both the front and back of the hands right up to the elbow, and on the bottom half of the legs. The mehendi night is something like [...]
Sikh Wedding Customs
The Sikh marriage ceremony usually takes place in the gurudwara, the Sikh place of worship, or at the bride's home. The Guru Granth Sahib (holy book) must be present regardless of the place where the marriage ceremony is conducted.
The morning of the wedding day is marked by the gharoli ceremony at the groom's house. The [...]
Muslim Wedding Customs
Before the wedding ceremony
On the day of the wedding ceremony, the bridegroom, dressed like a sultan in a turban with a floral veil (sehra) tied on the forehead, leads the marriage procession to the bride's house.
The groom stops at the mosqueto offer prayers and seek the blessing of Allah. The groom is attended throughout the [...]
Hindu Wedding Ceremonies
Most Hindu marriage celebrations are colourful occasions and start by taking place in the temple and the bride’s home both which are decorated specially for the event. The groom dressed in traditional Indian Kurta (white trousers and a tunic) and wearing a ceremonial turban, arrives with his relatives at the bride’s or most commonly now [...]
Wedding Customs: Before the Wedding Ceremony
Across many cultures, ritualistic acts are used to mark the import of the wedding but also to prepare and cleanse those involved. Several customs can be observed around the world that have origins in scaring away evil spirits or removing any traces of evil prior to the wedding ceremony.
For example, in Nigeria it is considered good [...]
Wedding Customs: Traditional Gifts
Wedding Gift Traditions
Whether they are given to the newlyweds to begin their new life, given to the guests or exchanged between the bride and groom, the giving of gifts is omnipresent in worldwide wedding customs.
In China, female relatives give brides pocketbooks filled with gold jewellery.
In the Philippines, the groom gives 13 pieces of gold or [...]
Wedding customs: Food
Wedding Food Customs
A consistent theme across many cultures is that of eating or giving sweet foods as wedding gifts, often to represent or wish for the sweetest moments in marriage to be plentiful.
The gift of bread and salt presented to the married couple, usually by either the parent or the maid of honour is also [...]
Wedding customs: The Wedding Engagement
Wedding Engagement History and Customs
The custom of giving a ring to signify a betrothal is ancient, believed to have been widespread in Ancient Greece where rings were also given as a token of affection and friendship.
Pliny wrote about iron rings being sent as pledges to the bride in 1st century Rome. Roman law considered betrothal [...]
