Getting married is bad enough as it is. Just think how much worse it would be in you lived in one of the countries where they carry out the following strange wedding traditions.
The Russian Bride Switch
It seems that the groom could be in for a nasty surprise in Russia. He turns up at the bride’s house the night before and pays the dowry. So far so good for our unsuspecting Russian buddy. Hang on though; what happens if the amount of the dowry isn’t deemed sufficient by the family? Well, he’ll get a different bride presented to him, who might very well be a guy dressed as a bride. The lesson; pay what she’s worth or risk a huge disappointment on your honeymoon.
The Chinese Shaved Bride
So, you are waiting for your beautiful bride to appear walking down the aisle with her long hair flowing down her back. Wait a cotton picking minute. Who is this almost completely bald stranger walking trowards me? In parts of Chinain they have come up with the wonderfully strange wedding tradition of having the woman cut off all but a single lock of her hair. They say that it makes them more beautiful and purer. Yeah, cause Yul Brynner and Ming the Merciless were just so beautiful and pure.
The Kidnapped German Bride
In Germany the bride is at risk of kidnapping before her big day. A group of friends will carry out this dastardly deed but its ok; they only take her to the pub. The groom has to look for her and win her freedom by carrying out certain tasks. It sounds like a feeble excuse to get drunk to me.
The Polish Money Dance

You know how you hate it when your elderly relatives decide to hit the dance floor at weddings? Well, the next time they decide to embarrass themselves by thrusting their groins and shaking their wrinkled limbs you should let your mind wander over to Poland. Here, the bride does a wedding dance with a difference. She gets an apron fitted to her and she dances with all of the men present, who hopefully will all put some cash into her apron.
Beating Feet in South Korea
Getting your feet beaten isn’t the most pleasant experience in the world. Some people might even call it a form of torture. Spare a thought then for the South Korean grooms who get this done to them. I am guessing that it is all a bit of fun rather than a serious beating, as it is sometimes done with a dried fish and the victim gets asked quiz questions while it happens. If you really wanted to hurt someone’s feet you probably wouldn’t use a fish, I am guessing.
Mauritanian Bride Fattening
While the poor guys in South Korea get their feet whipped, the African ladies get fed. This is a strange wedding tradition which is linked to the force feeding custom called Leblouh. It is carried out in a number of countries but is especially common in Mauritania. The eating can be done in a fattening room or they might be sent to a fattening farm. It sounds quite funny but the habit of force feeding young girls to make them more acceptable to men is a tradition which many people consider as dangerous and demeaning.
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