Unique wedding food traditions from around the world

Unique wedding food traditions from around the world
Weddings are magical events, and these days there are so many different ways to say “I do”.

But have you ever seen the bride and groom downing sake during the ceremony, or breaking a giant loaf of bread at the reception? It might seem a bit out there, but this is exactly what happens in some places across the globe. We share some of the weird and wonderful wedding food traditions from around the world.

Bulgaria

Bread plays an important role in Bulgarian weddings. At the reception, both mothers feed the bride and groom bread and honey as a gesture to welcome them into their families, and wish them a sweet life. Afterwards, the couple pull on each end of a giant loaf until it breaks – and it is said that whoever is holding the bigger piece will be the “boss” in the marriage.

South Korea

While it’s common to throw rice or flower petals at newlyweds in Western ceremonies, things are a bit different in Korea. During pyebaek, a family-only ceremony held after the wedding, the bride offers her in-laws chestnuts as symbols of fertility. They then toss them back at the bride, who tries to catch them in her gown. Allegedly, the quantity she catches represents how many children she’ll bear.

Japan

One of the oldest and most popular Japanese wedding customs is the ritual known as san-san-kudo. During this ceremony, the bride and groom and both sets of parents each take three sips of sake from three cups – nine sips in total. The sips represent the union of the families, and are believed to seal the marriage and the couples’ commitment to each other. Three is also considered a particularly lucky number for a wedding in Japanese culture, as it cannot be divided in two.

Bermuda

You can never have too much cake, and each traditional Bermudan wedding has two. The groom gets a cake covered in gold leaf, signifying wealth and prosperity; while the bride gets a silver-coated fruitcake doused in local rum to herald fruitfulness. Both are topped with cedar saplings, which the couple plant when they move into their home together. This is said to symbolise their union and the blossoming of their relationship.

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