For Better Or Worse
Surprising love and marriage customs of the world
WALK INTO A wedding in the South, and you might notice something odd next to the cake: another cake. The so-called groom’s cake is a Victorian custom that spread to the southern United States more than 100 years ago and stuck. Based on the dated idea that a poofy white cake is too feminine for the male half of the nuptial equation, the groom’s cake is often shorter, darker, infused with liquor, and shaped like a football helmet, a hamburger, or R2-D2. You know—the stuff of romance.
While this may seem outrageous to international eyes, no culture is without its quirks when it comes to tying the knot. Case in point: these (arguably) weird wedding rituals from around the globe (including the good old US of A).
TRASH THE DRESS
Why preserve your wedding dress as a priceless family heirloom when you can drench it, torch it, or cover it in paint? In an increasingly popular postwedding trend known as trashing the dress, brides intentionally sully their gowns in one final photo shoot that may involve the newlyweds rolling in mud, tramping through sand, diving underwater, or waging paint-throwing battles, all while wearing their freshly used wedding attire. Las Vegas wedding photographer John Michael
Cooper is credited with starting the trashy trend a decade ago; today, nontraditional brides around the world are beginning to embrace the destruction.
WHALE’S TOOTH GIFTS
In Fiji, it’s common practice when asking for a woman’s hand that the man present his soon-to-be father-in-law with a tabua (whale’s tooth). Because, let’s face it, it’s not real love unless you have to dive hundreds of feet beneath the ocean and go toe-to-fin with one of the world’s largest mammals.
THE FIRST DANCE AS BILLED
Greek weddings are known for their ebullient spirit. A wonderful tradition is the bride and groom’s first dance, when guests pin money to the couple’s clothing, leaving the pair twirling about the floor entwined in decorative (not to mention expensive) paper streams.
ELOPING IN SCOTLAND
When the Marriage Act of 1754 made it illegal for persons under 21 to get hitched, young English sweethearts ran off to Scotland, where the law didn’t apply. As the first village over the border, Gretna Green grew into the top spot for elopements—to this day, some 5,000 couples visit each year to tie the knot or reaffirm their vows.
TREE’S THE ONE FOR ME
Some unlucky girls in India are born during the astrological period when Mars and Saturn are both under the seventh house. What’s so wrong with that, you ask? Basically, it means they are cursed. Those unfortunate ones, known as Mangliks, are said to be
doomed to have unhappy unions and even bring early death to non-Manglik
husbands. The remedy? Have the Manglik marry a tree—ceremonially, of course—and then have the tree cut down to break the curse.
LOVE SPOONS IN WALES
This adorable Welsh tradition gives a new meaning to the term spooning. The beau presents his lover with a meticulously carved wooden spoon as
a gesture that he will always feed and provide for her.
CHINA’S BRIDESMAID BLOCKADE
As if the wedding day weren’t stressful enough, when the Chinese groom comes to collect his bride before the ceremony, he is confronted by a barrage of bridesmaids blocking his entrance to her room.
After demanding red envelopes of money, the bridesmaids may force him and his groomsmen to sing sappy love songs, dress up in women’s clothing, or complete any number of other physical and mental trials to prove his love.
GRAVESIDE WEDDINGS IN RUSSIA
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is both Russia’s most famous World War II memorial and Moscow’s top destination for wedding parties, whose members snap photos and drink champagne while the bride and groom pay their respects by laying flowers at the grave.
LADIES’ CHOICE AT THE GEREWOL FESTIVAL
In this annual courtship event, the men of the Wodaabe in Niger (like the one pictured to the left) dress up in elaborate costumes, put on makeup, and dance and sing in a bid to win a bride. At the end of the performance, the women choose their favorites.