http://www.projectwedding.com/wedding-ideas/wedding-traditions-from-around-the-globe
Here are a few more intriguing wedding traditions from around the world:
- If you were a bride in Norway, your wedding gown may be green and the bridesmaids would definitely wear the lucky color. After the ceremony, 2 small trees would be planted on each side of your home to represent your new life together and encourage fertility.
Finnish brides walk over a path of laurel leaves rather than flower petals. The laurel leaves symbolize fertility.
- A contemporary wedding tradition in the Netherlands is for the new couple to plant a lily of the valley together to represent their ever-renewing love for one another.
- In South Africa a bride price must be paid before a girl can get married. Cattle was once the preferred method of payment but today it's usually cash.
- Japanese brides and grooms spend an average of $50 on gifts for each guest.
- Traditional wedding favors in Malaysia are most often decorated hard-boiled eggs, representing fertility.
- Guests at a Russian wedding harmoniously smash their cups to the ground, symbolizing happiness. The getaway car is decorated with a teddy bear if the new couple hopes for a boy or a doll for a girl.
- A traditional Scottish wedding features the lovely sound of bagpipes and kilts are donned in place of tuxedos.
- In Mexico, the groom gives his bride 13 gold coins to symbolize his love. She accepts the gift, confirming her love as well, and the priest will bless the coins during the ceremony.
- Irish brides carry horseshoes to bring them luck on their wedding day. Some add a horseshoe to their bouquet and others sew an embellishment onto their gown.