What to Expect at a Swedish Wedding

From singing songs and sipping Snaps to the tradition of anyone being able to kiss the bride when the groom leaves the room, Swedish wedding traditions are an interesting mixed of super chilled and modern, sentimental and a little bit quirky!

Below we’ve listed 8 of the most common traditions you’ll find at a Swedish wedding, whether you’re hosting one there yourself or attending.

1. The ceremony

Much like a British wedding, the ceremony in Sweden usually takes place in the afternoon but they have some subtle differences to how we do things. Firstly, the couple typically walk down the aisle together instead of the groom waiting at the alter for the brides arrival. It’s quite rare that the Father of the Bride gives away his daughter, as this is quite an outdated tradition in their eyes. Afterwards, guests at Swedish weddings will typically throw uncooked rice on the couple instead of confetti!

2. Bridal crown

Back in the day, the bride used to wear a crown of myrtle leaves on her head as a symbol of innocence and this was usually accompanied by a traditional Swedish wedding folk costume. Nowadays, the modern take on this is usually a tiara, flower crown or veil with less of the symbolism previously seen.

3. Low-key wedding party

Swedes typically keep their weddings chilled and laidback and one aspect where this is apparent is in the bridal party. Usually they don’t have lots of bridesmaids and groomsmen and instead opt to have just a Maid of Honour and a Best Man to accompany them down the aisle.

4. Coin tradition

A sweet tradition that carries on is that the bride will wear one silver coin in her left shoe from her father and one gold coin in her right shoe from her mother. This symbolises and spiritually represents that she will ‘never go without’.

5. Wedding rings

Similar to how we have an engagement ring, wedding band and eternity ring, the Swedes traditionally wear three wedding bands - one to symbolise engagement, another for marriage and a final third to represent motherhood.

6. Wedding speeches

A slightly different twist to their more laidback and quiet approach to weddings is that any guest at the wedding is welcome to give a speech at any point. This is typically planned and requested prior to the wedding so it doesn’t get too chaotic, but expect speeches to go on throughout the full meal!

7. Kissing the bride or groom

A tradition that seems quite unique to Sweden is that whenever the groom leaves the room for any reason, the other men at the wedding are allowed to get up and kiss the bride and visa-versa! In more modern times, the bride or groom will ring a bell to announce that they’re leaving and people will often rush up to get a kiss! It’s certainly one of the more unusual wedding trends we’ve heard of…

8. Snapsvisor

Snapsvisor are traditional Scandinavian drinking songs that involve everyone singing a little ditty followed by a shot of Snaps. If you have no idea how these go, then have no fear - they’re usually printed out and placed on the table so you can easily sing along!