Lucky in Love – The 21 World Wedding Traditions To Bring You Good Fortune

New research from 888Poker finds some of the wedding rituals you might not know, from animal gifts to stealing shoes – and finds nearly half of survey respondents wore a lucky charm to their wedding.

Everyone loves a wedding. Spirits are high, drinks are flowing, the best man is shaving the groom, the mother-in-law is throwing ducks at the bride…

Weddings are different for every culture around the world. And now a new infographic from 888Poker lets you see a collection of the most interesting and most colourful – though it’s up to you whether you want to include them in your own special day.

A Different Type of Wedding Bell

Some of the rituals might be more familiar – like throwing the bouquet or breaking a glass – but others won’t be. While nearly 75% of unmarried couples wouldn’t get married without the (Western) traditional collection of things old, new, borrowed, and blue, would they be willing to borrow an old tradition like:

• Running away? – in Venezuela, it’s good luck for the newly-married couple to attempt to escape undetected during the reception.
• Baumstamm Sägen? – in Germany, the couple work together with a two-handed saw to cut a log, representing the first obstacle the couple must jointly overcome.
• Joota Chupai? – in India, when the groom enters the temple, he has to take off his shoes. The eldest unmarried girls from the bride’s family then steal them, and there ensues a friendly struggle between the families over them. Usually it ends in the shoes being ransomed back to the poor groom.
• Bell breaking? – in Guatemala, the groom’s mother breaks a specially-made ceramic bell  filled with grains, as a symbol of prosperity. Not to be confused with Irish bells, where you’re only meant to ring it!
• Wedding ducks? – a Korean tradition in which caved wooden ducks or geese are thrown to the bride by her mother-in-law. Mandarin ducks mate for life, representing the marriage, and whether the bride catches it or not supposedly affects the gender of her first child.

The piece is accompanied by a survey of respondent’s own beliefs on weddings – which found results like:

• Over 70% of men believe it’s bad luck to see their bride in her wedding dress before the big day.
• 10% of those who cohabit would stray from tradition and have the bride make a speech on the day as well as the groom, best man, and bride’s father.
• Over 25% believe in some form of lucky wedding ritual.
• Nearly 12% of women say that they would be prepared to propose to their (hopefully) future husbands, breaking with the one-sided tradition.

Whether you’re looking for a bit of extra luck at your wedding, or have some unusual traditions of your own, have a look at some of the other rituals and traditions from around the world in the infographic here.

Maralyn D. Hill