Jan

Swedish Wedding Traditions

Looking for some Swedish elements you can add to your wedding? Here is a select few:

Tradition: Typically the bride wears her mother or grandmother’s veil on for the ceremony. Another tradition is the bride wears a gold crown handed down from her family or church.
Before the bride walks down the aisle the mother gives her daughter a penny for her to put in her shoe, which is called a sixpence. A pence is supposed to represent fertility and good luck!
Guest List: Most Swedes have the mentality of all the more the merrier!
Bridal Parties: Typically there bridal parties are not held in Sweden, but they absolutely still have their bachelor and bachelorette party!
Ceremony Tradition: During the blessings “rare cloths” are placed over the Bride and Groom to hide them from evil spirits.
Reception: Swedish weddings used to last for about three days, but in todays world the reception usually lasts only on the day of the wedding. As most weddings in western Europe the bride and groom open up their gifts in front of all of their guests. This is done because the majority of guests want to see the newlywed couples faces when their gift is open.

Food: A Swedish buffet is called Smorgasbord, which consist of an extensive feast. Two of the most common foods are brundlaupskling (sweet bread) and Kottbullar (Swedish meatballs- Yumm!)

Toasts: Instead of saying “cheers” to the bride and groom, you can now say “skål!”
The Wedding Night: The groom must carry his bride over the door step into their new home. By doing this action, he is taking responsibility for bride.
Post- Wedding: Traditionally the mother of the bride will visit the newlywed couple and offer a nut. The nut used to be referred to as “sweetmeat,” meaning that the bride will be sweet of tongue.

Here’s the delicious link for Swedish Meatballs: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/swedish-meatballs-recipe/index.html

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Wedding Traditions

Nov

Southern Belles: Wedding Traditions of the South

Having grown up all over America, I have had the opportunity to see all sort of different traditions. I must say, it is truly amazing how culturally diverse the United States is.

For many years, I lived in the South. Needless to say, they do things different there, even when it comes to weddings. Southern wedding traditions are some of my favorites, as they truly bring personality to the table.

The groom’s cake is an example of this: The groom’s cake was originally a fruitcake, placed beside the bride’s cake, and later cut and boxed for the guests to take home. There was a superstition that the women who slept with a slice of the groom’s cake under her pillow would dream of her future husband. Nowadays, the groom gets to have complete say over this part of the wedding day. The groom’s cakes can be any type of cake (although traditionally they have been chocolate or red velvet cake), and are often shaped to highlight the groom’s lifestyle. If he’s a bowler, it might be a bowling ball; a fisher would maybe have a cake of a lake with a boat in it or a bass; a policeman could have a badge…You get the idea!

Following tradition is an important custom of the South. It is vital for Southern brides’ families to follow traditions – whether that be the traditions of the family, or of the South itself. Southern weddings are generally very traditional, and rules of etiquette are strictly adhered to. Church ceremonies are a part of the tradition, and are often followed by outdoor celebrations.

The bride, often the bridesmaids, and even sometimes the groom and his entourage can be seen wearing gloves; the ladies will often don hats as well. You can expect the scent of magnolias, gardenia and freesia to be incorporated into the florals, especially the bouquets and boutonnieres.

The father, of course, gives away the bride; in the absence of dad, a brother, uncle, or even brother-in-law would step in. This is the bride’s male figure endorsement, to all witnessing the ceremony, that the groom is the best choice for the bride. Don’t be surprised if you also see rice still being tossed on the bride and groom’s exit from the church.

All the trimmings of a reception are traditionally seen, including place cards, a formal dinner, the first dance, father-daughter dance, speeches by the best man and father of the bride, bouquet and garter toss, and many more customs worked into the day. One of the things folks in the South are often proud of is their baking, so it is not unusual to see a pastry or dessert made by a family member to compliment the cake.

All in all, Southern weddings tend to be over-the-top affairs. Guest lists can easily run into the hundreds. Small armies of bridesmaids and groomsmen are commonly encountered, so expect a Southern affair to be quite the drain on the pocketbook, unless you reign it in.

Oh, and any of you men marrying into a Southern family…. Don’t you dare forget to carry her over the threshold. It’s a tradition steeped deeply into the South and although your bride-to-be might not let you do it, you should at least give it a go!

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For more information on Muse – A Wedding & Event Planning company based out of Portland, Oregon, visit www.eventmuse.biz. Thanks for stopping by!

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Aug

English Wedding Traditions

Wedding Traditions from England

Prior to the Wedding
Finding a spider in the wedding dress is considered lucky. To bring good fortune, if no spiders are presend, the bride sews a good luck charm, such as the silver horseshoe of royal British brides, to the hem of her wedding dresses. Further, Old English wedding tradition also calls for the bride to carry a horseshoe, streaming with ribbons, for good luck. Of course, one might want to be creative with this practice as horseshoes are quite heavy. Brides can opt to use ceremic, plastic, or tin creations.

In England, if the couple intends to marry in a church, banns announcing the proposed wedding are read aloud in the church three Sundays before the wedding. It is unlucky for the bride and bridegroom to be present at the calling of the banns, so this is a planned event. This allows for anyone who has reason against the marriage to speak up or make peace with the couple.

Traditionally, brides in England have “hen” nights and bridegrooms have “stag” parties similar to the bachelor/bachelorette parties we are accustomed to.

Weddings are traditionally held at noon; afterward there is a seated luncheon, called a “wedding breakfast.” There are ceremony rehearsals, but no rehearsal dinner.

Ceremony Traditions
Church of England weddings are “announced” by ringing the church bells. As the couple enters the sanctuary, the bells ring to ward off evil. At the end of the ceremony, the bells ring again as the couple leaves the church.

Wedding flowers are scattered by a small girl preceding the English bride and her wedding party, who walk together to the wedding chapel or the wedding site. The flowered path and symbolic walk express hope for the bride’s path through life to be happy and lovely. English bridesmaids wear wedding dresses very much like the bride’s, so she cannot be singled out by any jealous evil wishers, who might curse her for her happiness.

Traditionally, an English couple getting married will exchange their vows outside the wedding chapel doorway, allowing the ceremony to be witnessed by anyone who might want to watch.

Reception Traditions
English wedding cake is a fruitcake, usually made with raisins, ground almonds, cherries and marzipan. The top layer of the wedding cake is called the “christening cake” which the couple is saves for the baptism of their first child. The fruitcake is served at the wedding reception along with another traditional cake — the groom’s cake — which originated during the Tudor period. It was once English custom for this to be a fruitcake as well, but today, the groom’s cake is likely to be chocolate.

A unique Victorian wedding reception event is called a ‘ribbon pull.’ A sterling silver charm is purchased for each of the bridesmaids. A ribbon is tied to each one, and the baker places them between layers of the wedding cake as it is being assembled. Before the bride and groom share their first slice of cake, the bridesmaids gather so that ech can pull one ribbon, claiming for herself a future good promise.

The wedding tradition of tying shoes to the cars of newlyweds also began in England during the Tudor period. Originally, wedding reception guests threw shoes at the newlyweds as they were leaving the church for good luck. The modern tradition is to tie shoes to the honeymoon vehicle.

Oh, and for all of those who live here in Portland with me (or England), the English consider rain on a wedding day a sign of good fortune!

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Aug

German Wedding Traditions

Wedding Traditions from Germany

Prior to Wedding
Rather than having a bachelor or bachelorette party, it’s customary in certain parts of Germany to hold a “Polterabend” the night before the wedding. During the Polterabend, friends and family smash plates and crockery against the side of the couples house, or on their kitchen floor. It’s believed that broken crockery brings good luck to newlyweds. Afterwards, the bride and groom must clean up the pieces together. This act symbolized the cooperation they’ll have to use as a married couple. The guests play jokes at this point. They try to tip the collected pieces all over the ground right after the couple as finished sweeping them up.

A unique German pre-wedding custom is the creation of a wedding newspaper by the friends and family of the bride and groom. This newspaper, or booklet, is filled with pictures, articles and stories of the engaged couple. The newspaper is sold at the wedding reception, to assist with the expenses of the honeymoon.

Brides often carry salt and bread as an omen for good harvests and the groom carries grain for wealth and good fortune. Before the wedding the bride’s possessions are transported to her new home. These may include linens she has collected, a cradle into which a doll has been secretly placed, and for the wedding of a farm girl, her parents second-best cow.

Ceremony Traditions
On the wedding morning, a breakfast called ‘morning soup’ or ‘bridal soup’ is served for the guests. Most weddings are held in the late morning. The groom calls for his bride (who may be hidden for him to find) and drives her to the church.

Guests usually seat themselves. There are no groomsmen or ushers. Usually the first pews are reserved for the family. The children walk as pages and little girls wear fresh flowered wreaths.

A traditional wedding day, in Germany, could actually last three days. First, German couples who are getting married must have a civil ceremony at the city center, which only family and close friends attend. The next night is the big wedding party. The bride and groom invite all of their friends, neighbors and acquaintances. On the third day, the German religious wedding ceremony takes place. German brides do not have traditional wedding attendants except for flower girls. During the wedding ceremony, the couple kneels down. The groom traditionally puts his knee on the hem of the bride’s gown to show he plans to “keep her in line.” To reassert herself, the bride then steps on the groom’s foot as they stand up from the kneeling position. As the newlyweds leave the wedding chapel, they throw coins to the children watching.

Reception Traditions
A wedding reception follows the religious service. Usually Champagne, white wine or schnapps may be served at the reception. It is customary for the ‘best man’ to steal the bride from the reception and take her to a local pub, where they drink champagne until the groom finds them. Then the groom has to pay for all that they drank. Later, friends of the couple block all the reception site exits with ribbons and garlands. When the couple is ready to leave for their honeymoon, the groom must pay a toll to exit, usually the promise of another party. Meanwhile guests often leave banknotes in the lower arrangements and gifts for the newlyweds.

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1377 days ago Short URL Comments

Wedding Traditions

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