Top 10 Fun Facts About Weddings Around The World

Introduction 

Marriage and weddings have long been a part of society’s history. From the simple “I do” to week-long celebrations, weddings have always been a cause for celebration. Many couples will spend months planning their perfect day and some simply walk to the nearest city hall and sign their marriage certificate. 

Both are great ways to enter into a marriage with your chosen partner! Each couple is different and rarely are two weddings the same. One thing has never changed though and that’s our fascination with over-the-top weddings and unusual customs. 

Married on the Blockchain has gathered ten fun facts about marriage from around the world. We hope these facts inspire your own ceremonies or are at least entertaining! From expensive weddings to ancient customs, we’ve got you covered! 

1- A Roman Kiss 

We can thank the Romans for a lot of things, but many don’t know that they also invented kissing at your wedding. While Roman weddings were rarely romantic, the bride and groom would share a kiss after signing the contract. This kiss was considered legally binding and sealed the couple together in the eyes of the law. 

2- The Decoy Bride

Today, we’re all familiar with finding the perfect dress for your bridesmaids. Usually, the dresses will all match and compliment the bride’s dress as well. However, in times where superstition and abductions were more common, bridesmaids were dressed the same as the bride!

This was to keep evil spirits from taking the bride or rival suitors from kidnapping the bride! So if your bride tries to dress you the same as her, look out! You may find yourself swept off to your own nuptials. 

3- Superstar Wedding

World famous singer Celine Dion vowed to put on the most extravagant show of her life when she married. True to her word, when Celine Dion married René Angélil, their wedding was one that will never be forgotten. Celine wore a seven-pound headpiece that had 2,000 gorgeous Swarovski crystals. Reports say that her lavish wedding dress would’ve taken at least 1,000 hours to complete. To put the final touch on her wedding, Celine had her guests showered with faux snow as they entered the reception hall.

4 - “I Woof” 

As per usual, the dogs stole the show! While many of us consider ourselves animal lovers, Wendy Diamond sets the record. An animal rights activist, Wendy rescued her own pup named Baby Hope Diamond, and hosted the most expensive pet wedding to date. Baby Hope Diamond married his canine love, a poodle named Chilly. 

Their wedding cost a cool 250,000 USD and included a 6,000 USD wedding dress and a 5,000 USD sushi spread. While these amounts are staggering for a pet, it’s actually a heartwarming story as the wedding was a fundraiser for the New York Humane Society. Around 250 guests plus their canine plus ones attended this spectacular event. 

5 - 150 Carats, please

If you want the ultimate wedding dress that will sparkle no matter which way you look at it, head to Beverly Hills, USA! Created by wedding dress designer Renee Strauss and her collaborator, Martin Katz of Katz Jewellers, designed and created a wedding dress with 150 carats worth of diamonds. The price? Just a measly 12 million USD. 

This dress is still available to be purchased at Strauss’s salon in Beverly Hills. Wonder who will walk down the aisle in this stunner of a dress? 

6- Straight to the Heart

While originally thought to be started in Egypt, early Christians during the Roman period adopted the idea of the “ring finger.” The fourth finger on the left hand was believed to have a direct vein to the heart and was called “Vena Amoris” which roughly translates to 'vein of love'. 

Most western countries still use this custom today by wearing their engagement and wedding rings on the fourth finger of their left hand. Other countries wear their rings on the fourth finger of their right hand, as the left hand is still regarded as a sign of bad luck. 

7 - Don’t Throw This Bouquet! 

A common event at weddings is to throw the bride’s bouquet and whoever catches it is said to be married next. However, Canadian bride Christa Rasanayagam was unable to throw her bouquet due to it being 202.8 pounds! This record setting bouquet, featured in the Guinness Book of Records, also measured a whopping 197 feet long. 

Designed with 340 baby breaths, 500 roses, 60 lilies, 200 daisies, and 400 carnations, this bouquet also featured native Canadian plants. It was a stunning bouquet and required the assistance of 79 bridesmaids and 47 groomsmen. As if the largest bouquet wasn’t enough, the couple had a record-setting wedding party as well! 

8- Rock Love

Each culture around the world has their own wedding traditions that are quite fascinating and can date back hundreds of years! In Australia, some weddings observe the tradition of a unity bowl. When guests arrive for the wedding ceremony, they are each given a colorful stone that they must hold throughout the ceremony. Once the ceremony has concluded, the couple will place the stones in a bowl that will then be placed in their home. It’s an amazing way to remember and thank all those who supported your special day! 

9- Royal Sweethearts 

No wedding list would ever be complete without mentioning one of the most famous weddings in history. On April 29th, 2011, Prince William married Kate Middleton in one of the most viewed events in history. From live filming to rewatches on YouTube, this royal wedding was enjoyed around the world! 

Princess Kate’s wedding gown, designed by Alexander McQueen’s house, cost over 400,000 USD. Along with two cakes totaling 80,000 USD, there was also 800,000 USD worth of flowers decorating Westminster Abbey. The largest budget of this wedding wasn’t the dress or the flowers, but the security! As a global event with some of society’s highest members, the UK government spent a few million to protect all 1,900 guests. Throw in some other important wedding numbers and the estimate for this royal wedding was 26 million USD. 

10 - Cake Forever! 

Proving that wedding cake has been around for generations, the cake eaten at Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s wedding in 1840 survived to the present day. Well, two pieces of it at least. When placed on display in 2007 at Windsor Castle in the UK, the cake was 167 years old.

Conclusion

There you have it, a list of fascinating wedding and marriage facts! Hopefully you’ve learned something new while browsing our list. As marriage changes in the future and evolves, we’ll be watching to see what new traditions and customs are created. 

Even if your dream wedding won’t feature a 12 million USD dress or be attended by 1,900 guests, it can still be a memorable and important day in your life. All weddings, no matter how big or small, are symbols of commitments between couples and turn into lasting marriages.