Scandinavian Wedding Traditions

A wonderful way to add something personal and unique to your wedding, no matter the style, is to honor your heritage by including traditions from your family’s culture. Scandinavian traditions are some of the oldest and their wedding traditions are no exception.

Scandinavia includes the countries of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland and though their traditions are varied, they are more or less the same. Though some traditions are more interesting to read about than to put into practice, there are many traditions can be adapted for a modern day wedding.

Often there are a great deal of traditions that take place even before the wedding. In Denmark, it is a tradition to have an arch of pine branches built in front of the bride’s home. This arch is known as the Gates of Honor.

In Finland, the bride-to-be walks from house to house with a pillowcase to collect her wedding presents. An older, married man is at her side with an umbrella over her head to symbolize protection and shelter.

In Sweden, the mother of the bride presents her daughter with a gold coin to be placed in her right shoe and the bride’s father gives her a silver coin for her left shoe. They do this in the hopes that their daughter will never know poverty.

During the wedding, a Norwegian bride wears a silver crown with silver charms hanging around it. As she walks, the charms tinkle, making a beautiful sound that will ward off evil spirits.

During her engagement, a Swedish girl receives an engagement ring. During the wedding, the groom not only gives her a wedding ring, but a second ring symbolizing motherhood. So when he slips the wedding ring on her finger during the ceremony, he gives her this ring as well.

When performing the cake cutting, it is customary for the Danish husband and wife to cut their wedding cake together, holding the knife together in order to ward off evil spirits. The typical wedding cake (or it can be a groom’s cake) is the Kransekage. A tower of almond flavored cake rings (4-18 rings), the Kransekage is decorated with party favors and, most importantly, miniature flags from whatever country you hail from, (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden).

A bride from Finland traditionally wears a golden crown. A twist on the “toss the bouquet” tradition, during the reception, the bride is blindfolded and spun around, while all the unmarried girls dance around her. The bride then takes the crown from her head and puts it on another’s. The girl who wears the crown will be the next one to be married.

An interesting tradition shared by most Scandinavian cultures is this rule: If the bride should leave the room where the reception is held, then the unmarried women present are allowed to kiss the groom. The same goes for the groom, should he leave the room.

Finally, in Norway, the tradition goes that after a couple is married, their friends and neighbors plant two small pine trees on either side of the couple’s front door. While a touching gesture, the pine trees also symbolize fertility.

While these are the basic “traditions” there’s no rule that says you can’t adapt them to suit your wedding. You can pick and choose which ones you like or dislike. Either way, honoring your heritage will be a unique addition to your wedding.

Scandinavian Wedding Traditions, WorldWeddingTraditions.com

Kransekage–The Traditional Scandinavian Wedding Cake, Danish Delight Bakery