Weird Wedding Traditions

There are almost as many strange and wacky wedding traditions as there are cultures in the world. If you or your bride plan to use any of these weird traditions, it might be a good idea to give wedding cameras and photo album favors to your guests so that they can capture the fun and share the joy with their friends and families that could not attend. While most of these traditions had much deeper meanings many years ago, now they are practiced just for fun. Read on for some of the strangest wedding beliefs and traditions from all over the world.

In Germany, the wedding couples wear their wedding rings on the right hand. There does not seem to be any significance in this other than just a difference in tradition. They also have a strange custom that takes place after the couple is married as opposed to the usual traditions that take place just before the wedding. Once the couple says their I Do's, they go outside to find a log lain across either sawhorse or blocks. There is only one saw. The couple must saw through the wood, working as a team. The amount of difficulty they have is supposed to be indicative of what kind of marriage they will enjoy together. If they can work together and get the job done with relative ease, they will have a happy marriage. If not, they will have a rocky one. This tradition is simply called "Sawing."

In Blacking the Bride or Blackening the Bride, the poor wife to be is run down and covered in all kinds of terrible substances. They will use anything that smells badly and will even cook up some foul smelling sauces. Spoiled milk and rotten eggs are often used as well. The bride is then parade up and down the main street of town for all to see. This tradition takes place in Scotland. Some traditions hold that bride is blackened and some say it is the groom. There are also those who blacken both the bride and the groom. It just depends on the particular family. In all the rituals, however, the final act of the blackening is to tar the victim with molasses and douse them with feathers.

There is an Indian tradition that is called Mehndi in which the bride is painted in intricate patterns in ink. Her hands and her feet are covered in these beautiful designs. India's weddings are celebrated for days at a time and there are beautiful songs and dances that go with the mehndi tradition.

The Irish believe that it is bad luck for the bride's feet to leave the floor during her wedding day. It is said that fairies will get under her feet and whisk her away, never to be seen again. The point is that these evil little fairies love beautiful things such as brides and they will go to great lengths to get them. The bride is particularly vulnerable when she is on the dance floor so she has to be very careful to drag her feet while dancing. The person she dances with is held responsible should she disappear.

It is considered very bad luck to wear green to an Irish wedding. No matter where you are, your wedding traditions are a fun way to honor the past and carry on the ways of your family and their customs.