Wedding traditions have been around for many centuries and every society adheres to some sort of wedding custom during this amazing time! Germany has many regions with all kinds of different traditions and is a beautiful country. If you are planning to visit make sure you hire a professional photographer that will capture your wedding day, and the gorgeous German landscape, expertly. Remember, these memories are precious and will treasured by future generations, so make sure they are taken care of by an expert. In Germany the most favored month for couples to wed is May. During the engagement period, the bride and the groom both wear an engagement ring on their left hands. After the ceremony, the precious engagement rings are joined by a plain gold band, as a symbol of unity between the couple. The plain gold band is worn on the right hand. It is the duty of an “official” party planner (normally a family member or close friend) to invite the guests. The planner puts on fancy clothing adorned with flower and ribbon adornments, and goes to the homes of each of the guests and invites them to the wedding with a rhyming, personal invitation. Guests show their acceptance by pinning a single ribbon on a Hochzeitslader hat worn atop the planner’s head.
Several weeks prior to the ceremony, the groom along with some male friends visits a pub (Kneipe) for drinks and to enjoy the groom’s final moments as a single man as is traditional in many societies. On the eve of the wedding, people smash dishes and plates near the bride’s house, the groom’s house, and the wedding venue, to scare evil spirits away. For this tradition, only china dishes are used as it is believed anything else being smashed brings with it bad luck. Afterward, the groom and his bride clean each other in a bath to signify that they are able to work together. German brides also collect pennies for a period of time to buy wedding shoes, to ensure that the marriage carries on unhindered. The mother of the bride also puts some salt and dill into the right shoe of the bride. Again, this is a way to ward off evil spirits.
Wedding attire for the German bride is usually a white gown with a short or no train. Veils are not mandatory but those that wear them have them at fingertip length and these do not cover the brides’ face. Grooms attires include a dinner jacket(smoking jacket) and a black suit. Prior to the ceremony at the church, the wedding couple solemnizes their union at the Registry Office (Standesamt) with the registrar as the officiator. Having a church ceremony without solemnizing the union at the Registry Office is illegal. Two witnesses are needed for this, one for the groom and the other for his bride. At the church, the couple walks the aisle together. Groomsmen, bridesmaids and flower girls are not included in German wedding traditions. It is customary for German brides to carry bread and salt as a sign of plentiful harvests. The groom on the other hand will carry grain; a sign of good fortune and wealth.
When the couple is leaving the church, they are required to cut a log, on top of a sawhorse, in half to show the manner in which they will accomplish difficult tasks. At the reception the best man takes the bride without the groom’s knowledge, to a place for champagne. The groom has to look for them and when he finds them, pay their bill. The first dance is usually reserved for the couple while the next is for the groom and his mother and bride and her father. The mother of the bride dances with the father of the groom. When you are hiring your wedding staff to take care of your traditional German wedding, why not consider Babylon? For over 25 years we have been servicing traditional wedding and non-traditional weddings all over the GTA, and even in other parts of the world! Make sure you arrive in style in one of our deluxe style limousines? Any make or model of car you want to carry you to your wedding, we can provide for you. Also, if you want your wedding to have a traditional German flare, why not hire a German-speaking band? We can provide you with wedding DJs, wedding singers and bands that speak any language, from Chinese and French to Italian and of course, German!
Babylon considers your wedding day special, and your wedding DVD production should show that! We offer skilled videographers that will film your traditional German wedding expertly. After, you can choose what you want and what you don’t want on your DVD, and our expert staff will edit in in the style you choose. They can even have a soundtrack of traditional German music playing on your wedding DVD production. We don’t just consider your video as a video, but as a video production that is meant to be shared with friends and families for years to come! Make sure you hire Babylon Productions for your wedding day needs. We will make your day as stress-free as possible. Trust the best in the wedding and wedding photography business. Trust Babylon.