Swedish Weddings

Sweden is a place of beautiful coastal islands, breathtaking glacial mountains, amazing cities and home to some very interesting wedding traditions. Marriages are celebrated a little differently in Sweden. Their weddings traditions are very quirky and aren’t the usual wedding practices you may see in other Countries. 

In a Swedish Wedding, both the bride and groom walk down the isle together. Women aren’t walked down the isle by their father. This is because most Priests don't like the idea of a man owning a woman and then giving her away to be owned by another man.

In Sweden, they like to keep their weddings simple. They don't tend to have many bridesmaids and groomsmen. Instead they usually have one bridesmaid and one best man. An old tradition that is still incorporated into Swedish weddings is the Lysning held on the Sunday before the wedding. This consist of a daytime party for the couple where the wedding gifts are given out.

Swedish weddings are very laid back. During the reception any guest that wishes to give a speech is allowed at any time. During the dinner there will usually be about 10 speeches along with footage played from the bachelor and bachelorette party! During the reception the bride or groom usually kiss many of their guests. In fact many guests line up just to get a kiss from the bride and groom. 

Another aspect that differs to other cultures are the rings. An engagement ring is not only given to the woman by the man by also given to the man by the woman. The women is the only person that gets a second ring at the marriage ceremony. 

References:
https://www.thelocal.se/20150609/seven-traditions-that-make-a-swedish-wedding
https://www.yourlivingcity.com/stockholm/community/swedish-wedding-traditions-customs-culture/
http://www.ingebretsens.com/culture/weddings/swed-wed-tradition
http://www.boho-weddings.com/2014/10/08/swedish-wedding-by-fotografmatlida/
http://bridalmusings.com/2014/11/unique-swedish-diy-wedding-film/

By: Ella Gregory