There are so many wedding traditions, that it would be almost impossible for a couple to follow them all. There are traditions depending on the country or area and even family traditions that are passed on from generation to generation.
Of course we have all heard about catching the bouquet and throwing rice after the wedding ceremony. There also is the “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” tradition that brides have kept for ages. But there are also things that nobody has heard of. There are weird archaic traditions that have lost their meaning, but people still keep them without knowing why.
For instance, in Eastern Europe it is accustomed that the bride, the groom and all their guests wear masks just before the wedding. It is said that this tradition is something they do so that the newlyweds will live a long and healthy life. It does sound weird, but the masks allow people to “hide” from evil spirits, from anything that is bad, from any kind of disease or any other type of trouble.
During the reception, some guests receive different gifts from the bride and her mother. These gifts are a way of saying thank you for helping her pass through this ceremony and for helping her become a wife. As a result, those guests get her ready for the life of a wife. They take off her veil and replace it with an old hat. This exact moment signifies her passage from a girl to a woman.
In other places, it is the groom who is helped through this rite of passage. Just before the wedding he is helped to get dressed and to shave. The process is usually delayed by different guests, who jokingly try to shave him with an axe or with other inappropriate tools. This is their way of checking if the groom is ready to take this step, to become a man and get married.
There are many other wedding traditions all around the world. Some of them include never ending dances with complicated choreographies. Others include the bride and groom having to eat very weird dishes. Others still include some type of ceremony that ensures that the bride and groom consummate the marriage. Every country has its traditions. Some of them are interesting, others are outrageous, but most of them are actually harmless.
The bottom line is that you only keep those traditions that mean something to you. Your wedding should be just like you want it to be. If there are things you consider to be too much or too embarrassing, you always have the option of not doing them. The most important thing at your wedding is that you and your wife or husband to – be have fun.