unusual wedding plansNearly every culture participates in marriage one way or the other!

If you're making your wedding plans, your ceremony or marriage doesn't have to be like this. Whether you plan an unique wedding or something more traditional, remember that traditions are different for each.

Polygamy, commonly known to most people, involves multiples wives for the same man.  Most people don’t know there are also cultures where they practice Polyandry; you got it ladies, more than one husband!  Regardless of the culture, there are some pretty strange wedding customs out there!

Here are just a couple of the simpler ones:
  • In Tanzania, the Hadza people have a straightforward approach, after the family goes to bed, the lady invites the gentleman in, if the family finds him there in the morning, you got it, they are married, no trouble, no hassle; just straightforward, get it done!
  • In French Polynesia, specifically the Gambier Islands, believe it or not they have shortened it even more!  The couples dance together and for each other, disappear into the surrounding bushes for 30 minutes and they are married.

You guessed it, there was a reason why I said just a couple simple ones, the rest get increasingly more complicated!

  • In Tanzania, the weddings of the Chagga people are extremely complicated, it all begins (but does not end,) with an extended series of parties, rituals and feasts, in which there is so much drinking that no one is really sure when the ceremony happens, and they probably don’t care!

While western-style wedding are becoming more popular, there are still odd, unusual and distinct local customs, which are still practiced.
  • Edo brides of Benin get a cash bonus from mom if they are virginal on the wedding night.
  • A cow is slaughtered in a traditional Madagascar ceremony, and the guests all drink the blood.
  • The priest in a Bali ceremony files the teeth of the bride and groom.
  • South African families of the bride and groom take turns singing insulting songs to each other.
  • The bride in Burkina Faso is welcomed into her new village by having milk spit on her.
  • In Marquesasian weddings, which are still colorful, the relatives of the bride lay face down in a row, while the bride and groom make their exit over their prone bodies!

Now that is memorable! Strange? Maybe for us.