With the summer wedding season getting into full-swing, inboxes are full of RSVPs to all manner of lavish ceremonies. The Maps International team love a good wedding. So much so that we created our own range of bespoke, travel themed wedding stationery featuring some of our best-loved maps.
To celebrate the summer of love this year, we’ve been reading up on weird and wonderful wedding traditions in different countries around the world. Here are 5 of our favourites:
Italy – Confetti
While confetti may seem like a small detail of any traditional wedding ceremony, for the Italians it’s the star of the show! In the UK, we stick to coloured paper confetti, thrown at the newly-weds, but the true meaning of the word in Italian refers to sweets, such as sugared almonds, that are given as favours to guests at the reception.
Scotland – ‘Blackening’
In this bizarre Scottish wedding ritual, traditionally carried out to ward off evil spirits before a marriage, the happy couple are seized by their friends the day before the ceremony, plied with alcohol, and then covered in treacle, ash, flour and feathers. They would then be paraded around town on a wagon. Blackenings have fallen in popularity in more recent times, but they are still carried out in some areas of Scotland, including Orkney, Angus, and Fife.
France – Champagne and Chocolates (with a twist)
It might seem very ordinary for a bride and groom to enjoy Champagne and chocolates on their wedding night. In France, however, these special treats are lavished upon couples after the reception, but with a major catch – they must be consumed out of a toilet bowl.
Niger – Getting the hump
Okay, we admit it – we’ve done our fair share of tipsy chicken dancing at wedding discos in the past but, in Niger, West Africa, the wedding party get their groove on with the Camel Dance, performed by an actual camel, to the beat of traditional African drums.
India – ‘Joota Chupai’
Translated to English as “Hiding the shoes”, this quirky Indian tradition is intended as a playful bonding experience between the bride and groom’s respective families. On his way to the altar, the groom is asked to remove his shoes, which are then given to his family to protect. The family of the bride-to-be must then try to steal the shoes and hide them.
Antique world map wedding stationery
Wedding Stationery
If you’re as fascinated by other cultures as we are, have guests flying in from across the globe, or just want to showcase your love of travel on your big day, our stylish collection of personalised world map wedding stationery adds the perfect finishing touch to your celebration – including table seating plans, table and name cards, and invitations. Choose from our best-selling Classic or Antique world maps – our wedding stationery fits with any wedding colour palette.
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