Do you know that some of the wedding traditions that you follow actually have very deep roots in history? And some traditions have their analogies in totally different cultures. Today, we share our top 20 amazing facts about wedding ceremonies around the world. Which ones do you find the most interesting? Let’s discuss this in the comments!

1. Though in the US it is not obligatory for the bride to take her husband’s last name, most women agree to switch their last name after getting married (about 70%).
2. The Fijians worship the god named Nangganangga. It is believed that this god supports marriages and won’t let any single man enter paradise if he dies.
3. People who live on the island Borneo believe that women get souls only when they get married.
4. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe. This well-known phrase, in reality, is a metaphor to highlight continuity, optimism for the future, borrowed happiness, fidelity, and wealth.
5. Another symbolic wedding tradition is trowing rice. Rice is the symbol of wealth and fertility. Yet, nowadays it is becoming less popular because of the belief that raw rice can be harmful to birds who eat it. 
6. In Eastern countries, the white color is not often associated with happiness. On the contrary, some Eastern countries see it as a color of grief and never use it at weddings.
7. Do you know why we put wedding rings exactly on the fourth finger of the left hand? It’s not only because of the name. The tradition dates back to ancient Egypt when people believed that this finger is the beginning of the vein which goes straight to the heart. 
8. One more fact about rings is that wedding rings were prohibited for Puritans because it was too light-hearted. Instead, they exchanged thimbles, which were more practical. 
9. In some cultures, there was a tradition for the groom to kidnap his bride from the parent’s house. He did it with the help of his friends, and today this tradition transformed into the groomsmen’s party before the wedding. 
10. On the wedding day, the groom stands close to the bride’s right side not in vain. Historically, they did like that to have a spare right hand and be always ready to fight a rival. 
11. In some traditions, it is obligatory to create a dress by hand. Bedouin girls start making their dresses at the age of nine years old so as to finish them and get married at fifteen.

12. The custom to carry the bride over the threshold in some countries appeared because it was a symbol of her unwillingness to leave her parents and start a new life. Other countries saw a different symbol in that. People believed that evil spirits who lived under the threshold could harm the bride, and so she was carried over it for protection. 
13. In ancient times, in Babylon, the clothes of the couple were tied together during the wedding ceremony. It was a symbol of the couple’s unity. Today you can often hear the saying “tying the knot” with regard to a wedding. Sometimes similar actions are even replayed during the wedding ceremony. 
14. Today, the bride often throws her garter and her bouquet to share the luck with the guests. In ancient times, people at the ceremony were allowed to take a piece of the bride’s gown to get some luck. 
15. A wedding in the US usually has about 170 guests.
16. In some African tribes, women pierce, stretch, and put plates in their lower lips before marriage. The bigger the plate, the more cows the groom gives to the family of the bride, so the tradition makes even economic sense. However, today, some women choose to renounce this tradition and wait for a groom to love her without plates. 
17. Some scientists say that “honeymoon” as a term appeared thanks to the Teutonic tradition. The new couple would hide together and have a fermented honey drink for 30 days.
18. It is better to avoid green colors during the wedding in Scotland. Scottish people believe that green is the color of fairies and can bring bad luck to the couple or attract spirits. 
19. The tradition for a couple to share some food is quite ancient and is reproduced in some form in many countries even today. Western countries often share the wedding cake, when the groom feeds the bride and vice versa. This comes from ancient Rome. In Japan, the couple drinks sake using one cup, and Muslim countries encourage newlyweds to share one candy. 
20. Though the bride’s veil is definitely the symbol of youth and virginity. It was also used to hide the young lady from bad spirits. The colors of the veil were also different. In addition to white, you could have a red, blue, or even yellow one.