Ukrainian Culture - Weddings

Weddings

Weddings traditionally take place in churches, the bride in white and the groom in black. Wedding celebrations are known to continue for days and even weeks. They are accompanied by lively music and dancing, drinking and eating, and fellowship.

Some particular wedding customs include:

• Before the wedding, the groom goes with his friends to the bride's house and bargains with "money' to get a bride from her family.
• When leaving the church, the bride carries a basket of candies or sweets to throw to children and the crowd.
• The groom carries her down the stairs.
• At the reception, the bride dances with each of the unmarried women present, and places a special veil on each of them. This veil symbolises that they are still pure, but that the bride hopes they will get married soon. She also throws her veil and the girl who catches it first will likely be the next to marry.