Wedding customs by country

Officials and elders sip wine while they invite the couple in for introductions and negotiations, and presentation of the bride price which consists mainly of gifts of shoes, textiles, jewelry and bags.

[1] Though the concepts and theory of the marriage have changed drastically by Islamic traditions, the actual ceremonies have remained more or less the same as they were originally in the ancient Zoroastrian culture.

The dress of a Catholic bride from Shkodër is tripped from the transparent white, shiny, soft, which spreads all over the body, and is intended to suggest tranquility and a warm purity.

Ritual songs name various elements which contain "paja" (pronounced paya) of the girl, which are the goods parents give to the daughter to wear, to furnish the house, gifts for her husband and the intimate cousins.

"Dhunti" in Shkodra means the gifts that the groom prepares for the bride during the engagement, mainly clothes, jewelry, gold ornaments and tricks, which are sent to her a few days before the wedding.

[citation needed] Although nobles might have followed differing international conventions, black as the color of choice remained popular amongst the general population even until the 20th century.

[6] The earliest Finnish weddings were held at both the bride's and groom's families' houses, a tradition that survived in Eastern Finland until the late 20th century.

Once the civil ceremony is complete, the couple will receive a livret de famille, a booklet in which a copy of the marriage certificate is recorded.

In south west France it is customary to serve spit roast wild boar (sanglier in French) as the wedding breakfast, a local delicacy.

The heavily scatological and sexual implications and off-putting appearance of this ritual is supposed to symbolize the day-to-day intimacy of married life, deeply connected to the rural nature of the area.

In Lower Austria it is customary for a masked man and the bride to go to the nearest coffee bar or tavern to drink, sing and wait for the groom to come.

This custom is due to the supposed 'right of the first night' (German Recht der ersten Nacht, French droit de cuissage, ius primae noctis) in the feudal Middle Ages.

A typical Greek wedding will usually have more than 100 invited people (but usually 250–500) who are friends, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, first or second cousins, neighbors and colleagues.

If this silver dollar is ever spent, superstition states the couple will immediately encounter financial hardship and can suffer great monetary loss through the length of their marriage.

In Southern Italy, as the guests leave, they hand envelopes of money to the bride and groom, who return the gift with a wedding favor or bomboniere, a small token of appreciation.

It is normal to wish the bride and groom "Casa de Piatra" (Rock-solid home) and throw rice on them, which symbolises a solid marriage and abundance.

It has become more common in recent times for Save The Date Cards[32] to be used to notify invitees further in advance to allow sufficient notice for arrangements to be made to ensure attendance.

[31] Most ceremonies take place mid afternoon and last about half an hour during which the marriage schedule is signed by the couple and two witnesses, usually the best man and chief bridesmaid.

Often in Scotland this takes the form of a céilidh, a night of Scottish country dancing in couples and groups (sets) to live traditional music.

Due to the diversity of Indian culture, the wedding style, ceremony and rituals may vary greatly amongst various states, regions, religions and castes.

While the groom may wear traditional Sherwani or dhoti or Western suit, or some other local costume, his face, in certain regions, is usually veiled with a mini-curtain of flowers called sehra.

Also, in modern times, Chinese couples will often go to photo studios to take "glamour shots," posing in multiple gowns and various backgrounds.

In either case, the couple must first be legally married by filing for marriage at their local government office, and the official documentation must be produced in order for the ceremony to be held.

With all the speeches finished, the bride and the groom will perform the Western-style traditions, which include the following: (1) the cake cutting ceremony and (2) the newlyweds' first dance as husband and wife.

The groom usually wears the barong tagalog during the wedding, along with the male attendants, though nowadays the wealthy opt to don Western attire such as a tuxedo.

For the majority of Chinese, weddings in Singapore would have a day event where the groom will pick up the bride with a tea ceremony followed by a church lunch or dinner banquet.

The traditional gowns were modeled after the áo nhật bình (worn by royalty women and ladies) of Nguyễn Dynasty members of the court.

The wedding-list practice started in the US and Canada in the 1920s when a bride and a groom did not live together and a bridal registry was a way of helping young couples to set up their home.

[57] Registries are intended to aid guests in selecting gifts the newlyweds truly want, and the service is sufficiently profitable that most retailers, from luxury shops to discount stores, offer the opportunity.

[59] Whether considered appropriate or not, others believe that weddings are opportunities to extract funds or specific gifts from as many people as possible, and that even an invitation carries an expectation of monetary reward rather than merely congratulations.