This week we’re going to branch away from the usual wedding traditions and planning tips to focus on a few of the more interesting wedding customs from around the world. From practicing crying, to carving wooden spoons for your betrothed, there are plenty of cool things that people do before, after and during their special day.
Borneo: It is a ritual in Borneo in a community called Tidong to lock up the bride and groom to test their bond. This test is somehow aimed to make the bond of the future couple stronger.
Germany: Polterbend. On the night before the wedding, the relatives of the bride and the groom gifts the future couple some porcelain made utensils which later they break. The broken utensils are believed to bring in the life of the future couple.
Wales: grooms are required to gift their newly bride a wooden spoon of love. The wooden spoon of love is a symbol of a promise that a groom makes to his new wife. The wooden spoon of love indicates that he would never let his wife go hungry in her life. It is a very romantic gesture and it is definitely one of the most cultural wedding traditions of the world.
Fiji: In Fiji, it is a ritual to gift the father of the woman you’ve proposed to a whale's tooth. It is very common to see young men gifting their future father-in-laws a necklace made of whale tooth. It is one of the cultural wedding traditions in Fiji weddings that every groom has to do.
South Korea: It is a tradition in South Korea to beat the groom's feet with bamboo sticks and dead fish. According to the South Korean marriage tradition, it is done so the groom can be strong to handle the coming responsibilities on his shoulders of the family.
Uganda: Imagine being watched on your wedding night by an elder that is your relative. This is what actually happens in Uganda. At the wedding night, an elder is present with the newlywed couple and they stay as a witness as the couple consummates their marriage. It is the job of the elderly person to make sure that the bride is a virgin. It is certainly one of the unique wedding traditions that can be found all around the world.
These are just a few highlights of wedding traditions around the world. We’d love to hear any you know of as it’s always fun to incorporate other traditions into our own special day!
