Africa
Ethiopia
Marriage in Ethiopia starts with the groom's side sending elders (Shimagle) who then request a union between the parties. The elders discuss a dowry () and verify that the intended bride and groom are not relatives by checking their lineage a minimum of seven generations. After a dowry is agreed upon and it has been determined that there is no relationship between the intended bride and groom, the wedding is announced and the families begin preparations for a church/mosque ceremony and a On the wedding day the groom and groomsmen () get ready at the groom's house early in the morning and proceed to the bride's parents house to begin the wedding ceremonies. At the bride's parents' house, the bride gets ready and is seated awaiting the groom's arrival. As the groom and his wedding party arrive, the bride's family and friends ceremonially block the entrance to the house. The groomsmen have to either serenade or bribe their way into the house so that the groom can take the bride with him. Additionally, the best man holds perfume and sprays it everywhere inside the bride's family house. After this ceremony, the groom retrieves his bride and they along with a procession go to a church/mosque to take their wedding vows.
After the religious ceremony, the wedding procession moves to a park/garden where lunch is served to guests. Afterwards, the wedding party typically takes pictures while guests make their way to the reception. At the reception, depending on the family's ethnic group there are several traditional dances performed. Ethiopian weddings typically serve Ethiopian food and live music and the party typically goes on into the early morning. To close the wedding ceremony, elders are seated at the exit of the venue and the bride and groom along with the wedding party bow and kiss the knees of the elders as they exit the venue. This is typically the conclusion the first day of a typical Ethiopian wedding.
The mels(i) ceremony is dependent on the ethnic heritage of the family, but it is typically smaller than the first ceremony and a time for close friends and family to spend some time with each other and continue to celebrate the newly married couple.
Nigeria Generally, there are three types of weddings in Nigeria: traditional weddings, church weddings and court weddings. The civil marriage takes place at a registry, and then the traditional wedding ceremony follows, which is followed by the church wedding ceremony. Many couples choose to do all three, depending on their financial situation. Nigerian weddings are normally characterised by an abundance of colours.
In traditional weddings, customs vary from one part of Nigeria to the other. In north, middlebelt, southwest, south east and south-south, it is called the traditional wedding ceremony. Officials and elders sip wine while they invite the couple in for introductions and negotiations, and presentation of the bride price which consists mainly of gifts of shoes, textiles, jewelry and bags. The Yoruba traditional wedding for example involves cultural displays.
In the other parts of the country it is very much the same. Elders from both families retreat into an inner room to negotiate on the bride price. When concluded, the gifts are then presented to the bride's family. After this, the bride, along with her entourage of girls is presented to the husband, family and guests in the most colourful way. Bridewealth has historically formed part of marriage arrangements in several Nigerian societies, including Yoruba and Igbo communities.
Pygmy wedding traditions Pygmy engagements were not long and usually formalized by an exchange of visits between the families concerned. The groom to be would bring a gift of game or maybe a few arrows to his new in-laws, take his bride home to live in his band and with his new parents. His only obligation is to find among his relatives a woman willing to marry a brother or male cousin of his wife. If he feels he can feed more than one wife, he may have additional wives.
Zimbabwe Customarily, marriage proceedings often begin with the man proposing to the woman. Upon her acceptance the man then calls for a meeting with his clan elders who largely consist of extended elderly family members. A delegation carrying small gifts is then sent to the woman's home to meet with her clan elders. Deliberations on bride price actually begin on a later date and these are strictly conducted by the older men only. Upon completion of these negotiations, a wedding date is set, with the elders having provided an acceptable percentage of the full dowry. The rest of the dowry is expected later. No request is made for it, but the young man is expected to remember to finish his payment and failure to do so spells dishonor for that family.
The wedding day begins with a convoy from the groom's family that heads to the bride's home to collect her. However, the convoy is not immediately let into the bride's homestead. Rather the bride's gate is locked and song and dance begins as a cover for negotiations. Various goods may be asked of the groom and he willingly obliges to the demands after which he is let into the compound.
Asia
Arabic customs
Christian weddings in the Arab World bear similarities to Western weddings, whereas Muslim weddings in the Arab countries are influenced by Muslim traditions. Muslim weddings start with a Sheikh and Katb Al-kitaab (book) for the bride and groom. A wedding is not Islamically valid unless both bride and groom are willing, and the groom is often encouraged to visit her before the wedding (as advised in many hadith of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). However, these visits must be chaperoned to ensure purity of action between the two. It is the custom that the groom and his family pay for all the wedding expenses. The bride's family gather together before the wedding in the bride's parents house. The groom's family come and take the bride from the house in a decorated car along with the one bride's mate which usually is the bride's sister, cousin, or best friend. The rest of the family and close friends follow in their cars, honking the car's horns. The reception is usually for all the family and friends, usually with a meal and cake. Candy covered almonds is a traditional giveaway from the couple. There is a lot of dancing and () Ululation. The Muslims tradition is to have men in one side and women in another so the ladies can remove their head covering. However, in non-Muslim traditions the whole wedding is for both sexes.
Bangladesh See: Bengali Hindu wedding and Bengali Muslim wedding
Bangladeshi wedding refers to the weddings in Bangladesh. Although Muslim and Hindu marriages have their distinctive religious rituals, there are many common cultural rituals in marriages across religion among Bengali people. The indigenous groups of Bangladesh also have their own unique wedding traditions and rituals which are distinct from those of the Bengalis. Prior to the legal and religious ceremonies, the bride and groom are anointed with turmeric in the gaye holud.
Cambodia
China
Traditional Chinese marriage is a ceremonial ritual within Chinese societies that involve a marriage established by pre-arrangement between families. Within the traditional Chinese culture, romantic love was allowed, and monogamy was the norm for most ordinary citizens. A band of musicians with gongs and double-reed instruments accompanies the bridal parade to the groom's home. Similar music is also played at the wedding banquet. Depending on the region from which the bride hails, Chinese weddings will have different traditions such as the Tea Ceremony or the use of a wedding emcee. Also, in modern times, Chinese couples will often go to photo studios to take "glamour shots," posing in multiple gowns and various backgrounds.
Most regional Chinese wedding rituals follow the main Chinese wedding traditions, although some rituals are particular to the peoples of the southern China region. In most southern Chinese weddings, the bride price is based on the groom's economic status. The idea of "selling the daughter" or bride is not a phrase that is used often. Therefore, the price of the bride does not tend to be too demanding. Most of the time, the bride price is in the form of gold jewelry, fine fabric, money, or even a roast pig, which symbolizes that the bride is a virgin. Wedding presents are given by elderly couples or couples that are older than the newlyweds, while tea is served by the younger family members.
Iran
Persian wedding tradition, despite its local and regional variations, like many other rituals in Persia goes back to the ancient Zoroastrian tradition. Though the concepts and theory of the marriage have changed drastically by Islamic traditions, the actual ceremonies have remained more or less the same as they were originally in the ancient Zoroastrian culture.
Israel
India
Indian weddings take anywhere from five minutes to several weeks, depending on region, religion, and a variety of other factors. Due to the diversity of Indian culture, the wedding style, ceremony and rituals may vary greatly amongst various states, regions, religions and castes. In certain regions, it is quite common that during the traditional wedding days, there would be a tilak ceremony (where the groom is anointed on his forehead), a ceremony for adorning the bride's hand and feet with henna (called mehendi) accompanied by Ladies' Sangeet (music and dance), and many other pre-wedding ceremonies. Another important ceremony followed in certain areas is the "Haldi" program where the bride and the groom are anointed with turmeric paste. All of the close relatives make sure that they have anointed the couple with turmeric. In certain regions, on the day of the wedding proper, the Bridegroom, his friends and relatives come singing and dancing to the wedding site in a procession called baraat, and then the religious rituals take place to solemnize the wedding, according to the religion of the couple. While the groom may wear traditional Sherwani or dhoti or Western suit, or some other local costume, his face, in certain regions, is usually veiled with a mini-curtain of flowers called sehra. In certain regions, the bride (Hindu or Muslim) always wears red clothes, never white because white symbolizes widowhood in Indian culture. In Southern and Eastern states the bride usually wears a Sari, but in northern and central states the preferred garment is a decorated Red skirt-blouse and veil called lehenga. After the solemnization of marriage, the bride departs with her husband. This is a very sad event for the bride's relatives because traditionally she is supposed to permanently "break-off" her relations with her blood relatives to join her husband's family. Among Christians in the state of Kerala, the bridegroom departs with the bride's family. The wedding may be followed by a "reception" by the groom's parents at the groom's place. While gifts and money to the couple are commonly given, the traditional dowry from the bride's parents to the couple is officially forbidden by law.
Indonesia and Malaysia
Malay wedding customs A Malay wedding ceremony spreads over two days, beginning with the akad nikah ceremony on the first day. The groom signs the marriage contract and agrees to provide the bride with a mas kahwin (dowry). After that, their hands are dyed with henna during the berinai besar ceremony. On the second day, the bride is with her family and friends with musicians and bunga manggar or palm blossom carriers at the bride's house. At the house they are greeted with sprinkling of yellow rice and scented water.
Minangkabau wedding customs