The most beautiful stories lead to the most beautiful weddings. Between culture and tradition, here are the finest fairy tales from the five corners of the globe. A true invitation to travel… and to matrimony!
India
A colorful array of culture and rituals is what the Indian wedding has in store for us!
Before the festivities, the bride takes a herbal bath that will bring her a gentle life, longevity, and fertility. Dressed in a sumptuous red sari, she adorns herself with about sixteen pieces of jewelry from head to toe before joining her prince.
After rituals and seven circuits around a fire, they exchange a dot of vermilion on their foreheads. The unmarried older women of the bride’s family steal the groom’s shoes, and his family is responsible for finding them. The young ladies often demand a reward. Seated in a swing, the newlyweds receive well-wishes from their guests.
Morocco
In Morocco, to prepare for the big day, the bride-to-be treats herself to a relaxing hammam session and a milk bath with her family. Following the henna party, the husband and wife are carried in a chair to the center of the reception hall.
Make way for a bride worthy of the Arabian Nights: she will wear up to 7 different outfits, representing the 7 days that the festivities used to last. Four fairy godmothers, the negafas, assist her in changing her dress and jewelry. Amidst tulle and shimmering fabrics, she must wear a traditional white kaftan and a green dress for the religious ceremony.
Greece
Heading east to Greece! To encourage a peaceful life as a couple, the bride takes care to hide a piece of sugar in her glove and wears a white dress, a symbol of purity, to experience the best day of her life.
As for the groom, the Koubaros, or best man, trims his beard—a symbol of trust between the two men—while his other friends help him get dressed.
On this precious day, the bride and groom wear crowns connected by a ribbon, a sign of union. They are greeted with a shower of rice, while the newlyweds offer their guests sugar-coated almonds.
Argentina
In Argentina, music and food follow one after another, and the single young women are in the spotlight. A ring, along with other small items, is hidden inside the cake, all attached to ribbons. Each woman pulls a ribbon; the first one to find the ring will be the next to get married!
At 3 a.m., the Criocha carnival awakens! Costumes and dances intertwine… and the drums kick off the party in a wilder and even more frantic way!
The party lasts until the early hours, with a break to catch up on a few hours of lost sleep, before continuing with a Sunday brunch.
Polynesia
On the Polynesian archipelago, a wedding is a moment of pure idyll.
The bride-to-be and her loved ones travel in canoes built for the occasion to visit the groom-to-be’s family and present them with wedding gifts.
On the big day, the couple adorns themselves in their finest attire: light, white outfits, feathered headdresses, and necklaces of shells and flowers. The newlyweds and witnesses are invited to participate in the traditional dance, the Tamuré, during a dance performance where traditional songs set the rhythm for the ceremony.
Whether in Asia, Africa, Europe, America, or Oceania, a wedding is above all a unique opportunity to dress in one’s finest clothes and bring together the people we love… as well as to unite with the love of one’s life!
Love and emotions—that is the recipe for a successful wedding!
