10 strange and wonderful wedding traditions

Cairo – 22 October 2017: Wedding season is in full swing and why not take a step outside of the box and look around the world at some of their strange and wonderful traditions.

1. Philippines : The happy couple set a pair of white doves into the world, one male and one female. This ritual stands as a symbol of the balanced life the happy couple will live.

2. Jamaica: The neighbors of the bride’s village line up and give their honest opinion of the bride even if they are negative. The bride then goes home and changes until the majority of the comments are in her favor.

3. Niger: The camel is the real life of the party at the wedding. The reception is set in the desert where guests enjoy the camels’ dance moves.

4. India: The bride gathers her girlfriends and are painted with mehndi (made from henna) the exquisite finely detailed art that stays on the skin for two weeks.


India- Mehandi At Rajsthan Wedding Via Wikimedia Commons

5. Greece: This one is exclusively for the groom where his best man/best friend shaves his face with a razor and then afterwards he is fed almonds and honey by his mother-in-law.

6. Norway: It is believed that the sound of small charms hanging off of the bride’s silver-and-gold crown in helps ward away evil spirits.

7. China: A one-month crying fest begins with the bride crying for one hour a day. Ten days later her mother joins her, then after ten more days her grandmother joins in at the end of the month and all of her female relatives join in. This represents joy as the weeping is similar to the melody of a song.

8. Russia: The happy couple will share a traditional type of bread called Karavaya and the one that takes the bigger bite is the leader of the relationship and the family.


Russian Karavaya Via Pixabay

9. Peru: This is similar to the Irish traditional Halloween cake Barmbrack with a fake ring inside. In Peruvian tradition, the single lady that finds the ring will be next to get married.

10. China: With a total of three dresses for their big day the brides firstly wear a slim-fit embroidered dress down the aisle. She wears a poufy dress for the reception and at the end of the night, the finale is a cocktail dress.


Traditional Chinese wedding ceremony Via Wikimedia Commons