Polish Wedding Traditions - Odds and Ends

Polish Wedding Traditions - Odds and Ends

May 14th, 2010 @ 6:25 pm by Mrs. Pudding
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Whew! It took me longer than the anticipated week to write up the most important Polish wedding traditions. I hope that you enjoyed reading them, and that you learned something about the Polish culture! To wrap up, I just wanted to draw your attention to some of the different traditions that have been mentioned on the ’Bee before, thanks to the Avocados and the Sea Breezes!

Breezy wrote about the Poprawiny, or “the do-over”: the day after the wedding extravaganza (I told you Polish weddings were three day affairs). I love her family’s addition of a shot of vodka and a shot of water to the “Bread and Salt” tradition (like a true Polka, I like anything with a little addition of wodka). She also wrote about an interesting way to celebrate one’s 1st wedding anniversary.

Mrs. Avocado wrote about “The Bedding Down” and her awesome wedding party pulled it off perfectly! She was also showered with coins upon exiting the temple.

And don’t forget to review one of my favorite traditions that I wrote about a while ago: stealing the bride’s shoe!

OK, now it’s your turn. Tell me about your cultural wedding traditions!

(Extra points for those with French Canadian wedding traditions, since Mr. Pudding is 1/2 French Canadian and I would love to incorporate something from his culture in our wedding.)

Tags: cultural, traditions, vermont |

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9 Responses to “Polish Wedding Traditions - Odds and Ends”

Guest

Photographer

Great stuff!

We get to see all of it every week at the polish weddings that we shoot. Great traditions.

We love the country table with “bimber” (moonshine) that some wedding do have.

Wedding photographers at fredfox.com

5/14/10 @ 7:13 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Pug (message) 3,753 posts, Honey bee

between the three of you bees, weddingbee is a veritable gold mine of info about polish wedding traditions–love it! in korea there’s something about chucking dates and chestnuts at the bride and seeing how many she catches in her skirt, as it will predict how many children she will have.

we didn’t do that at our wedding.

5/14/10 @ 8:07 pm (reply)

Member

tea (message) 7,288 posts, Bee Keeper

@Mrs. Pug: we’ll be doing that at mine. my mom asked me what i would do if i caught dates [i'm on record as saying how i want boys only] and i told her i was going to toss them back. she was very amused. now i’m scared she’ll toss nothing but dates.

i would. lol.

5/15/10 @ 2:35 am (reply)

Member

Miss International (message) 326 posts, Helper bee

My wedding will be half Polish half German. I just wondered if you will be doing the Bogoslawienstwo (”the Bessing”) - I won’t because I want FI to see me for first time in the church that day.

5/15/10 @ 2:47 am (reply)

Member

cecullaton (message) 627 posts, Busy bee

I had just typed up a nice long answer… and it disappeared hahah!! so now the condensed form: (It largely depends on where he is from, as to which French Canadian traditions apply… mine are all from Northern Ontario Francophone community!

1. buck and Doe, stag and Doe (yes, Many Americans find it tacky but it is a big tradition for Canadians, especially French Canadians. It is a fundraiser held for the bride and groom in the months leading up to the wedding.
2. Drole Stockage Danse: the funny sock dance. The unmarried brothers and sisters of the bride and groom dance with large, ugly or funny looking socks on, to a traditional French folk song. The guests throw loonies (1 dollar coins) at the siblings. The funnier or more outrageous the dance, the more coins are thrown. The money is given to the bride and groom.
3. flowers to Mary: during a French catholic ceremony, the bride collects individual flowers from the significant women in her life and her FI’s life (mothers, sisters, grandmothers) and places them at the statue of Mary, asking for a blesssing to be a good wife and mother. Alternately, some brides somply place their bouquet there for the blessing. The flowers are left there.
4. The Quaker contract: Similar to a jewish tradition I can’t remember the name of, the quaker contract is drawn up before the wedding, usually with wording something like this “On xxx date in xxx town, Left Hand of Dorkness and burundi took each other by the hand, promising to be unto each other a faithful and loving husband and wife, in plenty and want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and health as long as we both shall live. In celebration of the bonds of friendship, love and marriage, we hereunto set our hands….And we, their friends and loved ones gathered here, as witnesses and in support of their union, hereunto set our hands…” and every guest at the wedding signs on the document, either on lines, or just around the wording. It is then framed and placed in the home to remind the bride and groom of all the people they can turn to in times of need that will support their relationship.

sorry it’s sitll so long… I’m planning my own Francophone wedding hahah!! Good luck!!

5/15/10 @ 10:37 am (reply)

Guest

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5/16/10 @ 1:27 am (reply)

Bee

Miss Locket (message) 2,837 posts, Sugar bee

so weird that your guys is french-canadian and you are polish (that’s what my mom’s parents were)…I am a mutt of polish, french-canadian and peruvian…the FI is irish and german…I don’t know what traditions will be fitting yet, but I would like to incorporate my fathers latin heritage.

5/17/10 @ 11:23 am (reply)