fbpx

Finnish Wedding

 

How to Conduct a Traditional Finnish Wedding

Modernity has disrupted many traditional wedding procedures, making wedding ceremonies rather dull and robotic. If your partner has a Finnish background, its best to opt for a Finnish wedding and do it the traditional way. This will make your wedding to be more lively and memorable.

Old Traditions, New Festivities

In Finland, it is common for both the bride and the groom to get golden rings during their engagement. The bride receives another ring at the wedding time. In some traditions, the groom is also given another ring at the wedding time. The rings given during the engagement time derive their roots in medieval times during which engagement and marriage had the same weight.

In those days, the groom's spokesman (puhemies) had to negotiate the marriage terms with the bride's father or guardian (holhooja) until they reached an amicable agreement. After the agreement, the couple got engaged, and after that, they could get married.

If the couple had a child before they got married, that child had the same rights as those born after the validation of the marriage. In those days, the blessings of a priest weren't necessary to validate a marriage. But as from the 17th C, it became a requirement that a priest has to conduct a wedding for it to be legal.

Preparations for the Wedding

Before you get married, a priest reads the banns in the bride's parish during a service. The purpose of the banns is to give room to anyone who has any objection to the marriage to come forward and stop it. It is a requirement that the couple listens to the reading of the banns, after which they can head to the home of the bride's parent to have some coffee.

The bride brings a dowry, also known as myötäjäiset, to the house she's getting married into. The dowry is part and parcel of the wedding. It comprises of personal property like a chest, a bed or tools. It can also consist of cash or animals like cows or sheep, depending on the location of the celebrations.

Apart from the dowry, the bride would bring kapiot (trousseau), which comprised of textile such as linen. She had to embroider the linen by herself, or a woman from her home would help her.

The husband is supposed to give huomenlahja (a dower) to his wife the morning following the wedding day. Traditionally, the dower was used by the husband as a sign of appreciation and to show the wealth of the new home the wife was getting into. Today, a dower comprises of jewelry, like necklaces or earrings. Upon the death of the wife, her children would inherit the dowry. However, if she died without an heir, the dowry would be taken back by her father.

Before the Wedding Ceremony

Traditional Finnish weddings used to take between2 to 4 days. But this has changed because many people are engaged in their working places. Today, a wedding ceremony can take even one day provided you meet all the requirements for a Finnish wedding. The bride and the groom are not supposed to see each other within 24 hours before their wedding ceremony.

For a couple that's already living in the same house, the bride will have to spend the last 24 hours either at a friend's place or with her parents. It's expected that, on the day of the wedding, the father of the bride should bring her to the church then walk her to meet the groom at the center of the church. The father lifts his daughter veil, then gives her away to the groom. The father then walks behind the couple as they move to the front of the church.

The father is supposed to sit on the bride's side (left-hand side) of the church and in the front row. Just before the wedding ceremony begins, the groom will lift the bride's veil. He can as well do this after the wedding ceremony but before they turn and face the congregation.

The Attire

Traditionally, the bride is supposed to be in a long white dress. The dress is supposed to cover the shoulders of the bride, so a short jacket or a shawl can be part of the dressing.

The groom is supposed to wear a black suit or a tailcoat. Formerly, the brides used to wear black dresses. You can try that out to have a real taste of traditional Finnish wedding, but it would look rather odd.

The guests are supposed to dress in fancy clothes, but not in evening gowns. Guests can ask from the wedding organizers the expected dressing code, so they don't look odd. The invitation cards can also indicate the guests' dressing code.

The Wedding Ceremony

Traditionally, the mother of the bride is supposed to pay for the wedding. The ceremony can be short or long. It begins the moment the couple enters the altar. Once they enter the altar, they receive a blessing from the priest who then reads from the Bible.

The priest proceeds to give a speech. What follows are the questions for the vows and a prayer for the rings. After that, the priest confirms the marriage then blesses the couple. To the whole congregation, the priest reads a psalm, followed by the Our Father prayer. The priest then blesses the gathering after which church attendants play relevant music.

The congregation is supposed to stand as the bride and groom enter the church, when they walk to the altar, when the priest delivers the Word of God, and when they finally leave the church.

Couples usually choose some specific marching music to play as they enter or leave the church, e.g. from Mendelssohn, Melartin, or Wagner. Many churches across the country have organs on which they play the music. As the couple leaves the church, they'll have rice thrown at them from up so they can walk in the "rain" of rice.

Reception, Food, And Drinks

The reception usually takes place at a place near the church. It can be at a rented hotel or restaurant. Before the couple moves to the reception venue, they have to present themselves for a photo session. They are supposed to arrive at the celebrations after the guests have settled down. As they arrive, they receive hearty greetings and congratulations accompanied by sparkling toasts.

The couple and their guests then join their hands at the dinner.  It usually comprises of pitopöytä fare - a combination of Karelian stew (or gravy), boiled potatoes, salads (mayo-based and green), cold cuts (fish and meat), some casseroles, meatballs, and rainbow trout. Practically, anything can appear at the dinner table; it depends on the taste of the couple and their guests. A lot of alcohol and some wine are also served at the ceremony.

Entertainment and Dancing

After dinner, the bride's father can give a speech followed by some dancing. Games can also be played, like "Robbing the Bride." The couple cut the cake at this stage. The couple preserves the top of the cake to eat during their first wedding anniversary (they can freeze it).

At the wedding reception, the women are supposed to blindfold the bride then dance around her. The bride will take her crown and place it on the head of a girl expected to marry next.

The bride and the groom sit at a designated table where the bride holds a shawl-covered sieve in which guests put their cash as gifts. In some instances, the groom's mother places a china plate on the head of the bride when the couple begin their wedding dance, called a waltz. The china plate eventually falls from the bride’s head and breaks into pieces. The number of pieces foretells the number of kids the couple would expect to have.

At the end of the celebration, there's the weaning waltz dance. In this dance, the women dance with the bride as the men dance with the groom. The children may also dance alongside adults.

After the dance, the couple leaves first as the congregation waves at them. Their car is usually well decorated at it's supposed to drag some cans and old shoes to make some noise. As the guests leave, they also honk their cars to the wedding car to add to the sound.

After the wedding, the bride is supposed to stay at the groom's home for some weeks, then return to her parents and spend between 3 to 4 weeks before returning to her husband. She is referred to as a bride until she gets the first child.

 

New Articles

Afghan Wedding

Afghan Wedding

Cultural Weddings
Hawaiian Wedding

Hawaiian Wedding

Cultural Weddings
French Wedding

French Wedding

Cultural Weddings

EventDone LLC


We went Virtual!
Woo Hoo - working from home!


Contact
Privacy Policy
Legal Terms
Careers

Contact


Telephone: +1 (703) 239 - 6410

Fax: +1 (703) 574 - 8320

Information: info@eventdone.com

Support: support@eventdone.com

Privacy Notice

This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for eventdone.com. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website. It will notify you of the following: What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used and with whom it may be shared. What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information. Information Collection, Use, and Sharing We are the sole owners of the information collected on this site. We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone. We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as necessary to fulfill your request, e.g. to ship an order. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy. Your Access to and Control Over Information You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website: See what data we have about you, if any. Change/correct any data we have about you. Have us delete any data we have about you. Express any concern you have about our use of your data. Security We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline. Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for "https" at the beginning of the address of the Web page. While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment. If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately via telephone at (703) 239-6410 or via email found in our contacts page.

Legal Terms: Last Updated 4/19/2019

Please read these Terms and Conditions ("Terms", "Terms and Conditions") carefully before using the http://www.eventdone.com (change this) website and the EventDone mobile application (the "Service") operated EventDone. Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Service. By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms then you may not access the Service. Links To Other Web Sites Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by EventDone LLC. EventDone has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. You further acknowledge and agree that EventDone shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web sites or services. Changes We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material, we notify you through a usage dialogue of any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion. Contact Us If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us.

Careers

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Copyright © 2018 - 2024 EventDone LLC. All rights reserved.