Tying the knot in the Nordics or seeing a friend get hitched in this part of the world? This is what to expect...
As wedding season comes round, it’s time to get to know the traditions that make a wedding in this part of the world truly special. From tiaras decorated with spoons to rings worn on the right hand and kissing the bride when the groom leaves the room, the rituals and traditions of a Scandinavian wedding are charming, delightful and quite different from other parts of the world. Not to mention speeches. There will be a lot of speeches – you’ve been warned.
Denmark
Let’s start with what to wear. Danish brides traditionally wear a white dress and a veil, and something red. It’s not just in homage to the Danish flag; red is traditionally the colour of love and wards off evil spirits. Another fashion fact connected to Danish weddings: the groom must emphatically not buy the bride’s shoes - that’s considered bad luck. But traditionally he should choose and buy the bouquet.
When it comes to celebrating, the Danes have some special rituals too. The first dance should always be the 'Bridal Waltz', where the happy couple dance surrounded by the guests. The circle of guests gets closer as the dance goes on, eventually leading to the space around them being so small that the couple can no longer dance and have to kiss.
Kissing is a big part of a Danish wedding. There’s just no other way to put it! During the dinner, which is peppered with speeches and toasts from anyone who wants to give one, guests can bang cutlery on the edge of their dinner plates and the couple have to stand up and kiss. If the guests stamp their feet, the couple has to crawl under the table to kiss. When the bride leaves the room, traditionally the women in the room line up to give the groom a kiss. The same thing happens with the bride when the groom leaves the room.
A final bit of fashion fun happens after the first dance, when the groom is traditionally raised to the guests’ shoulders, his shoes are removed and the tips of his socks are cut off. It’s a sign that he’s taken. The bride’s veil is also ripped to pieces as per tradition, and the more pieces it is ripped into, the more happiness they will have. It’s considered good luck for guests to take home a piece of the veil.
Photo: Getty
Sweden
Over the water in Sweden, there is a twist or two on the Danish wedding traditions. To start with, the traditional wedding outfit for women is a Swedish folk costume, but these days, more brides wear white, with perhaps a bridal crown or garland of myrtle, representing innocence. According to old traditions, the bride should have coins in her shoes - silver in her left shoe from her father, and gold in her right from her mother, so she’ll never go without. Wedding rings are worn a little differently - a bride will traditionally have three rings, an engagement ring, a wedding ring, and another to symbolise motherhood.
Swedish weddings tend to take place in the afternoon, and start with the bride and groom walking down the aisle together. The ceremony is usually followed by a long dinner with a lot of speeches, and the same kissing traditions as in Denmark, with an extra twist: the bride and groom can ring a bell to summon guests to kiss their partner.
Norway
There is one word to describe a Norwegian wedding: long. Long compared to a British or American wedding that is - and it’s all because of the speeches. Anyone who wants to give a toast or speech can, and the families and guests will tell stories focused on good wishes and memories of the happy couple. It’s quite the love-in, from all directions.
It’s a real treat to be invited to a Norwegian wedding, which are traditionally a small affair attended by the closest friends and family and without children, except those of the couple. It will start with a fiddle or violin player leading the bride and groom down the aisle. The bride usually wears either a white gown or a Norwegian bridal gown and a bridal crown and the groom will wear a bunad, a traditional woollen suit, or a tuxedo. The bridal crown in Norway is silver and attached to a long veil, representing purity. Spoon-shaped bangles are attached to it and make a jangling noise as she walks, a sound said to ward off evil spirits.
Norwegian weddings share the same kissing traditions as those in Sweden and Denmark. A couple of things are different however: instead of confetti, Norwegian newly-weds are showered with rye and barley grains, which the bride will try to catch. The more grains caught, the brighter their future will be. Another neat difference: Norwegian couples wear their wedding rings on the ring finger of their right hands, not their left.
Photo: Fabian Wester
Iceland
Things are markedly different in Iceland. To start with, the Icelandic word for wedding is brúðkaup, which means ‘bride purchase’. It’s a little sign to remind you how things were, many many years ago, not a reflection of how things are today. In days gone by, Icelandic weddings lasted a week and took place in August; today it’s most likely that the wedding will take place on a Sunday and that the couple will have a long engagement, perhaps three or four years.
The bride is usually walked down the aisle by her father, wearing a white gown. It’s become increasingly popular to get married outside in Iceland. After the ceremony, a full-on celebration takes place with toasts and speeches, dancing, eating and drinking. The traditional Icelandic wedding cake is a towering kransakaka. Icelandic weddings have a unique gifting tradition – the couple give each other a wedding bed gift or a morning gift.
Asatru weddings are also becoming more popular in Iceland. This is a pagan wedding in the Norse Viking tradition similar to a handfasting wedding, where couples sup from a drinking horn and are blessed by a pagan priest. Perhaps most exciting of all, the groom is expected to present his wife with a sword.
Finland
Weddings in Finland traditionally take place on Saturdays in summer, and are a great cause for celebration. As with all Scandinavian weddings, you can expect a lot of speeches and plenty of merriment. But there are some notable Finnish wedding traditions that you won’t find elsewhere.
For a start, only the bride gets a wedding ring. The fun starts after the first dance, usually a waltz, when games are played. The bride may be 'kidnapped' by the groomsmen and guests, and the groom will have to perform some tasks to get her back. Another quirky tradition is that bridesmaids and female guests will blindfold the bride and dance around her. She takes off her crown and puts it on a guest at random. That guest is the one who will get married next.
Photo: Getty
The wedding cake is cut by the happy couple – but they are not just cutting the cake, it’s a test too. The person with their hand on top of the knife is said to have the upper hand. They traditionally feed each other with cake to show they can take care of each other, too. The wedding ends with dancing, and there is a clamour to dance with the bride, which is considered a great honour.
These are just some of the region’s wedding traditions. They vary from region to region and town to town and might not be practised everywhere. It’s most typical these days to blend in a few older traditions with your more modern wedding day – which would you choose?