Swedish Wedding Traditions

Comment Written by natasha on May 21, 2010 – 5:00 am

In another life, I worked at a translation/localization company with some amazing people who were scattered around the planet. One of my favorites was in Sweden — where wedding traditions are nothing like those in the United States! After picking her brain for the details, I decided it would make for an interesting topic; a lot of the Swedish traditions should be incorporated elsewhere! (Also, I wrote one post on US & British traditions, if you’re interested!)

After the Engagement

There is an old tradition that after the engagement, the priests in the couples’ respective churches announce the wedding to come. The announcement must occur three Sunday services in a row, in order to prevent bigamy, and behold, marriage between siblings! In the 1970s, this tradition was replaced with couples sending an application to the census office.

However, the Nobility still use this announcement, called ‘lysning’ and this also means they hold a reception at the day of the third announcement, when the couple receive wedding gifts. Most couples “normal” couples get their gifts on their wedding day.

Walking Down the Aisle

In Sweden, the tradition is that groom and bride walk “up” the aisle together. (As opposed to in the U.S. where the bride is walked “down” the aisle.)  The couple walking together is a way of saying that both woman and man are marrying of free will — rather than when women didn’t always have a choice and were more ‘handed over’ from the father to the husband as a piece of property. (I actually reall like this idea of walking down the aisle together, as opposed to being walked; it shows a sense of equality in the relationship, I think)

Along those lines — when the couple walks into the church together, there is a saying that the person who steps into the church first is the one will be the decision maker in the marriage. If the bride is led to the altar by her father, it is the person who says ‘I do’ the loudest that will be the decision maker.

Bridesmaids & Groomsmen

There aren’t any in Sweden. BUT there are bachelor and bachelorette parties, called hen parties and stag nights in which the best friends of the bride and groom kidnap them for a day or night of activities (and usually drinking! ahem). (Read why we have bridesmaids and groomsmen!)

Rehearsal dinners & Speeches

There are no rehearsal dinners and the bride and groom do not give speeches at the wedding reception.

Gift giving

There is a tradition that the groom gives the bride a gift on the wedding day — usually a piece of jewelry.  In older times, it was meant as an insurance for the wife, so that she would be financially set if her husband would die and it was also a reward for the woman who had kept her virginity… It was legislated until 1920! Incidentally, women got the right to vote in 1919 in Sweden.

Interesting right? There’s a lot of hoopla about weddings in Sweden now as the crown princess is getting hitched soon!

Do you like any of these traditions? Will you incorporate any of them into your wedding?

~ Natasha