Unique wedding traditions from around the world
We all love a wedding, and over the years many of us have opted to tie the knot in various places across the globe; from major cities, to beautiful bleaches, we only want the best on our big day.
But have you ever thought about how wedding traditions vary across the globe? Well we have, and below you’ll find our list of unique wedding traditions from across the globe.
A Whale Tooth
We’ve all heard of the tradition of asking the bride-to-be’s father for her hand in marriage, but in Fiji this goes one step further. Here the groom-to-be must also present his potential father in law with a whale’s tooth – which we’re assuming would be pretty hard to get; dedication at its finest.
Human Rug
When you go to a wedding think how long it takes to find an outfit, and then think how much the outfit actually costs. Well, if you lived on the Maruesas Islands of French Polynesia and were a relative of the bride, the time, effort and money spent on said outfit would amount to nothing; because after the wedding reception the bride’s relatives all lay side by side to create a human rug. You are then walked over whilst your face sits comfortably in the dirt – how delightful.
Shooting the Bride
Don’t squeal in disbelief, the bride won’t be harmed – not fatally anyway. In Chinese Yugar culture, the groom shoots his bride with a bow and arrow, before the wedding, three times. Although there are no arrow heads, those of us who’ve been paintballing, know you don’t need to be hit with a lethal weapon for it to sting.
Fishy Feet
Over in Korea it’s the groom who gets the weird treatment, this time in the shape of several fish. Following the wedding, the groom traditionally removes his socks, has his ankles tied and then allows his friends to beat his feet with fish to prepare him for his first night of married life. We’re assuming the bride will make him shower as soon as the day is over.
Delicious Toilets
Following the wedding ceremony in France, friends of the newlywed couple would collect left overs and bits of rubbish, alongside anything else disgusting they could find and place them in a toilet bowl. The happy couple would then be made to drink from the toilet in question. However, today the rubbish is substituted with chocolate, but the toilet bowl still remains – yum.
Writing on the Dress
We all know how it feels to be the single one at a wedding, answering the awkward questions and being told ‘it’ll be you next’. But in Brazil this goes one step further, as all the single friends write their names inside the bride’s dress to help them find a partner – we wonder what Bridget Jones would say about this.
Locked In
The honeymoon is when we get to spend some quality time with our new husband or wife – but in Indonesia things have a slight twist. Following the wedding day, the honeymooners are housebound for three days and nights, watched over, only allowed minimal food and drink and aren’t allowed to use the toilet – if that’s not a unique bonding session, we don’t know what is.
Dancing Camels
In Niger, the approach to weddings is a little different to what we, in Britain, may be used to. Firstly if a young man is interested in a woman, he sneaks into her home and tickles her ear, in order to entice her – if successful, they marry. Then before the ceremony, a goat is sacrificed at the wedding site to purify it, then at the wedding a camel is made to dance along to a drum beat – why? We aren’t quite sure.
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