My hunt for German wedding traditions, Part 1

My fiance, oder “Velobter” auf Deutsch, is German. He was born and raised outside of Frankfurt. Since we are trying to incorporate as much of “us” into the wedding as possible, it only seems natural that we would try to smush in as much German tradition as possible, right?

So I went on a hunt for as many German wedding traditions as I could find. Ones that were pretty distinctly German and not American. (I.e. the bride’s family paying doesn’t count as a new or unique tradition). They’re all pretty awesome, but not all very do-able. Some are actually pretty awesomely ridiculous, though I know a lot of Southern wedding traditions are as well, so pot, kettle, black.

Here begins part one of my findings in German-wedding-tradition-land. This set includes traditions that happen before the wedding ceremony.

Pre-Wedding Traditions

“One tradition is for the bride and her family to collect pennies for years to pay for the bride’s wedding shoes to insure that the marriage ‘gets off on the right foot.’ The bride’s mother places dill and salt in her daughter’s right shoe.”

I think we’re a little late on the pennies part, but I could have some dill and salt in my right shoe along with a sixpence. Doable. (Though this sounds like my foot would be on its way to becoming a pickle. Just sayin’).

“The Hochzeitslader is an official inviter clad in fancy clothes decorated with ribbons and flowers. He goes door to door extending a personal rhyming invitation to the invited guests. Guests accept by pinning one of the ribbons to his hat and by offering a drink or two at each stop. Should the invited guests be numerous be of the nature to accept the offered drinks, he may need a day or two to complete his duties. It is also said that the more intoxicated the Hochzeitslader is when he returns to the couple, the more fun the wedding will be!”

Simply amazing. I’d love to be able to do this. I’d want a little old guy like that one up thurr. He so precious. Unfortunately, nobody would get it. He’d also have to travel far and wide and end up with liver failure from the number of drinks from the guests he’d have to invite. Sad day.

“Polterabend: At a party on the evening before the wedding, plates and dishes are smashed for the bride and groom. This is to ward off bad spirits and symbolize that nothing will ever be broken in their relationship. Only china may be used, otherwise it would be bad luck. The bride and groom then must sweep up the mess together to show willingness and ability to work together.”

This one I like. Well, the cleaning part is not so fun and perhaps most would be a vacuum, but I still like it. This is something I think we could incorporate fairly easily into the rehearsal dinner party. On the invitations for the dinner, we could instruct guests to bring old china to break at the dinner for good luck. Also, for those lame-os who would forget, we could just get el cheapo china from the flea market. That sounds pretty win to me.

The only thing I worry about is that we’re planning on having the rehearsal dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. We’d scare the crap out of everybody there. That’s half the fun though, right?

“Before the wedding, the German bride’s possessions would be transported to her new home. The belongings traditionally included linens which she had collected, a cradle into which a doll had secretly been placed, and the second-best cow from her parents’ farm.”

First part, pretty normal. Second part, little creepy. Third part, why can’t I have the best cow for my new life? Unless, well, the bride is the best cow! We don’t have any cows, so maybe they’ll just have to carry over some hamburger meat and a few steaks.

“Involve family and friends in the German custom of creating a wedding newspaper. Include photos, personal mementos, and anecdotes about the engaged couple.”

I want to do this one, though it’ll probably be more newsletter than newspaper. Or mini-magazine. Probably full of embarrassing and awesome things about both of us. We could also have puzzles, games, coloring stuff… The possibilities are endless!

Who else out there has trudged through the internets and otherwheres to find the wedding traditions of other cultures? How are you guys incorporating those findings into your weddings? Also, anybody know of any German pre-wedding traditions that I’ve forgotten?