These wedding traditions are so wild, you’ll double-take—trust us, every single one is worth reading till the end to satisfy your curiosity!
TOP 10. The Relative “Carpet”
Over in French Polynesia’s Marquesas Islands, the wedding feast isn’t where the chaos ends—it’s just the warm-up! Once everyone’s done eating and celebrating, the bride’s close relatives plop face-down in the soft dirt, packed tight side-by-side. Then the newlyweds slowly strut over them like they’re treading on a one-of-a-kind human red carpet to kick off their marriage. Wild, right?
TOP 9. Getting the Bride “Dirty”
Scottish brides have to survive a *seriously* rough pre-wedding ritual—we’re talking next-level pranking! Their friends pelt them with all sorts of gross stuff (mud, rotten veggies, you name it) then tie them to a nearby tree for a bit. The logic? If she can handle this mess, she can handle anything marriage throws her way. Yikes—hard pass!
TOP 8. The Chicken Test for Wedding Dates
Some folks in Mongolia pick their wedding date in a way that’s equal parts unique and creepy—total shock for outsiders! The bride and groom team up to kill a small chicken, then dig into its intestines and liver to check for “good vibes.” If the liver looks healthy and “approves,” they lock in the date. If not? They repeat the process until they find a chicken with the perfect liver. Talk about commitment to the cause!
TOP 7. The “Salty” Wedding Song
Weddings make people cry—we get it. But brides and women from China’s Tujia ethnic group take this to a whole new level. A month before the big day, the bride starts sobbing for an hour every single day (yep, it’s a tradition). Ten days in, mom joins the tear-fest. Another ten days? Grandma hops right in. By the end of the month, all the ladies in the family are sobbing in harmony—but here’s the plot twist: it’s a celebration! Their different crying tones blend into a heartfelt “salty song” of joy and blessing.
TOP 6. Hold It In!
For the Tidung people in North Borneo, newlyweds have a brutal first three days of marriage. They’re stuck strictly at home—and get this: they can’t use the bathroom at all (no peeing, no pooping) for 72 straight hours. That’s a next-level test of willpower!
TOP 5. Gotta Have Two Kids
In southern Sudan, the Neur tribe swears a marriage isn’t truly complete unless the wife has two healthy kids. If the bride refuses to agree to having two children? The groom can legally divorce her without any big dispute. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
TOP 4. The Kissing Free-for-All
Sweden has a flirty (and low-key chaotic) wedding tradition that shocks most people. Whenever the bride or groom steps away briefly to use the bathroom, their partner gets swarmed with kisses! If the groom dips out, every guy at the reception scores a chance to smooch the bride. If the bride steps out? Every woman gets a sweet peck from the groom. Now that’s a party trick!
TOP 3. The Grossest Post-Wedding Drink
In France, wedding guests love to pull a *doozy* of a prank on newlyweds right after the ceremony. They round up gross stuff like leftover food scraps and random trash, dump it all in a toilet, then force the couple to chug the mixture. These days, they usually swap trash for chocolate (small mercies!), but it’s still a brown liquid scooped from a toilet. Hard pass—no thank you!
TOP 2. The Straw Boys
This weird yet awesome tradition hails from Ireland’s County Leitrim and County Mayo, passed down for generations. Nine young guys—dubbed “Straw Boys” because they rock straw costumes to stand out—crash the bride’s house the night before the wedding. They dance it up with the bride (and any other ladies in the house) to get the pre-wedding joy flowing.
TOP 1. No Smiling Allowed!
In the Republic of the Congo, here’s the ultimate way to ruin a wedding: hire a comedian. Why? Because marriage is seen as a super serious, lifelong commitment—so the bride and groom can’t crack a single smile during the entire ceremony. Total mood killer—we can’t imagine holding back our grins on our big day!
