German Culture

All about Germany

  • Home
  • Learn German
  • Articles
    • Famous Germans
    • German Holidays
    • German Cuisine
    • How To In Germany
    • Daily Life
    • German Facts
    • German Traditions
  • Facts About Germany
  • German History
    • Early History of Germany
    • Middle Ages in German History
    • German Reformation Period
    • 19th Century and German Unification
  • German Recipes
    • German Baking Recipes
    • German Bread Recipes
    • German Christmas Recipes
    • Desserts
    • German Easter Recipes
    • Halloween Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • German Salad Recipes
    • German Salads
    • Sauerkraut Recipes
  • Travel to Germany
  • Contact

Wedding Traditions in Germany

wedding-cupIn Germany parents start thinking about the daughter’s wedding quite far in advance.

  • When a baby girl is born, the parents, and later on the little girl herself, will save pennies used to buy the wedding shoes in future.
  • According to German wedding traditions, when a baby girl is born in Germany, several trees are planted in honor of her birth. When her wedding date is set, the trees are sold, and the money is used for her dowry.
  • In some regions – the agreed upon abduction of the bride by her (and/or the groom’s) friends.
  • Engagement rings are worn on the left hand. After the ceremony, the same rings are placed on the right hand. Engagement rings are commonly plain gold bands.
  • A couple should spend some time some time cleaning up – after their friends and family dropped loads of china in front of the door and made a huge mess during the Polterabend. Only the couple has the privilege to toss the china down the stairs the night before the ceremony. Each guest might bring a special food. This occasion continues until the early hours of the morning and may be followed by a breakfast at the bride’s parents’ home.
  • This custom is figurative and is to wish a happy, lucky life to the new couple. The German proverb “Scherben bringen Glück,”( translated as ‘broken crockery brings you luck,’) originates from this custom.
  • Driving the bride’s furniture to her future home in a cart, with driver and musicians. At the threshold, the bridegroom greets her with a jug of beer; she gives him a pair of shoes, a shirt she spun and wove, and a key to her bridal chest.
  • A wedding contract called ‘Heiratsvertrag’ (previously ‘Fraktur’) is made, a precursor to prenuptial agreements.
  • The creation of a wedding newspaper by the friends and family of the bride and groom. This newspaper, or booklet, is filled with pictures, articles and stories of the engaged couple. The newspaper is sold at the wedding reception, to assist with the expenses of the honeymoon.

Germany has a variety of lovely towns in which a couple can choose to hold a marriage ceremony. Cities such as Munich, Dusseldorf and Berlin are renowned cultural centers that attract tourists from around the world.

The bride usually wears an heirloom gown, or one from an older sister or her mother, or purchases a new gown. Each has her own elaborate wedding crown constructed of wire, tinsel, artificial flowers, pearls, ribbon and pins. It is bad luck to try on someone else’s crown, or take her own off before midnight, when it is replaced by a bonnet. The bridegroom, best man, and bridesmaids dance around the blindfolded bride. She must catch a bridesmaid (the next to marry). Married women then tie the bridal bonnet on this maid, who must dance with all the bridegroom’s male relatives around three lit candles on the floor.

Young girls wear wreaths made of fresh flowers if they are pages in the ceremony. Orchids are most popular in modern weddings. ‘Roping the couple’ is a tradition in which red ribbons and garlands of flowers are placed across their exit; the bridegroom must buy their ransom with money or the promise of a party.

It is customary for the ‘best man’ to steal the bride from the reception and take her to a local pub, where they drink champagne until the groom finds them. Then the groom has to pay for all that they drank. Later, friends of the couple block all the reception site exits with ribbons and garlands. When the couple is ready to leave for their honeymoon, the groom must pay a toll to exit, usually the promise of another party.

The couple leads the way in a car decorated with a huge bouquet of flowers fastened to the hood, with all the guests following them, loudly honking their horns. The guests will have tied white ribbons to their cars’ antennas. Onlookers will also honk their horns in honor of the wedding party.

At the newlyweds’ home, the couple share a bite of bread, symbolizing they never will be short of food. In some regions, the bride is pushed into the kitchen at once, as a housewife, she must first put salt in the soup. A more common tradition among newlyweds involves the groom carrying the bride across the threshold of their home.

The party that follows after the wedding lasts long into the night. Germans also love to play tricks on the new couple. Sometimes a bunch of friends can be seen laboriously lugging furniture and other items onto the roof of the couple’s home while they are away at church.

Germany’s most popular honeymoon destinations are in the Bavarian Alps and the Black Forest.




Related articles:
German Wedding Traditions: Old Customs That Still Exist Today
How to Saw a Log
Champagne, Bridal Soup and a Saw!
German Wedding Tips
German Wedding Traditions
Getting Married in Germany

You might also like:

  • German Wedding Traditions: Old Customs That Still Exist Today
    German Wedding Traditions: Old Customs That Still Exist…
  • Germany’s Best-Kept Secret: The Culture and Traditions of the Sorbs
    Germany’s Best-Kept Secret: The Culture and Traditions of…
  • Common Genealogical Terms for German Ancestry Research
    Common Genealogical Terms for German Ancestry Research
  • The History and traditions of Lederhosen
    The History and traditions of Lederhosen
  • Celebrating Christmas in Germany
    Celebrating Christmas in Germany
  • The Meaning of Osterfeuer: Germany’s Easter Fire Tradition
    The Meaning of Osterfeuer: Germany’s Easter Fire Tradition
  • The Schuhplattler: A Tradition of Bavarian Dance
    The Schuhplattler: A Tradition of Bavarian Dance
  • German Superstitions and Folklore: Unusual Beliefs from the Past to the Present
    German Superstitions and Folklore: Unusual Beliefs from the…

Recent Posts

Frankfurter Würstchen – The Original German Hot Dog

Frankfurter Würstchen – The Original German Hot Dog

Teewurst – Soft German Sausage for Spreading

Teewurst – Soft German Sausage for Spreading

12 Types of German Wurst You Should Know

12 Types of German Wurst You Should Know

What Is Landjäger? Germany’s Portable Sausage Snack

What Is Landjäger? Germany’s Hiking Sausage Explained

What Is Mettwurst? Raw-Cured German Sausage Guide

What Is Mettwurst? Raw-Cured German Sausage Guide

Copyright © 2025 · German Culture

Go to mobile version