Religious Wedding Traditions

A stunning illustration of the many religious rituals that make wedding celebrations spiritual occasions.

  readers, friends, and editors all contributed photos to this gallery of religious wedding rituals. Open the gallery to learn about a diverse array of wedding traditions, from adorning a Muslim or Hindu bride's hands and feet with mehndi to signing a Christian wedding contract to binding the couple's hands together during a Pagan handfasting.

 Muslim Mendhi

Although it is not required under Muslim law, many Muslim brides participate in the tradition of adorning their hands and feet with a henna tattoo called mendhi. Dilshad Ali shows her hands, which were decorated two days before her wedding with artistic designs meant to evoke a sense of beauty and celebration. Wedding mendhi often goes up the legs and arms as well as covering the feet and hands.

 

Unity Candle

Derek and Lindsay Osterhoudt light their "unity candle," a Christian tradition where the couple uses individual lighted candles to kindle a single, larger candle. The ritual symbolizes the two families that are brought together when two people marry.

Ketubah Signing

Holly and Rob Rossi sign their ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract, just prior to their wedding ceremony. The contract, written in Hebrew, is adorned with artwork and signed by witnesses. It states that theirs is a Jewish marriage. Some Jewish couples sign a ketubah that is written in Aramaic.

 Jumping the Broom

At both African American and Pagan weddings, many couples "jump the broom" at the end of the ceremony. For African Americans, the ritual hearkens back to the fact that slaves in America were not permitted to marry, so they devised the symbolic gesture of jumping over a broom to signify marriage. The ritual also has meanings ranging from "sweeping away" the single life to evoking a sense of hearth and home.

Dance of Isaiah

Emily Lowe and her husband Rob walk three times around their church's center table in an Orthodox Christian ceremony called the "Dance of Isaiah." The three-part walk symbolizes the Trinity, as well as God's presence in their marriage. The couple also wears connected olive branch crowns, a reference to Christ's martyrdom. The crowns symbolize that the couple as individuals "die" as they give themselves entirely to their spouse.

Kanyadaan

The parents of Aparita Bhandari perform the Hindu kanyadaan ceremony at her wedding to Rajesh Duggal. In this emotional ceremony, the parents pour water to symbolize giving their daughter to her new husband.

Chuppah

Michael Kress and Stephanie Nussbaum Kress stand beneath their chuppah, or traditional Jewish wedding canopy. The canopy represents, among other things, the new Jewish home the couple is creating through their marriage. Michael wears a kittel, the groom's traditional white linen cloak.

Catholic Mass

A Roman Catholic priest gives Tim and Naomi Naughton a traditional blessing as they kneel at their wedding after the exchange of vows and rings.

Jalwa

Dilshad and Mir T. Ali participate in a Muslim "mirror ceremony" called the Jalwa. This custom hearkens back to the tradition of strict arranged marriages, when couples used a mirror to look at each other before the wedding and thus fulfill the Muslim legal obligation for brides and grooms to see each other at least once and to consent to the marriage before the acutal ceremony. To honor that old tradition, Dilshad and Mir look at each other in the mirror.

Mikveh

Traditionally, Jewish women immerse in a mikveh, or ritual bath, before their weddings. Brides recite prayers and dunk themselves two or three times in a pool of treated water that is "kissed" by natural rainwater or water from a moving stream. The pre-wedding immersion symbolizes the transformation from single life to marriage. Many observant women continue this tradition throughout their lives, with monthly immersions around their menstrual cycles.

Christian Wedding Contract

Protestants who marry in their church often sign a decorative certificate of Christian marriage. Separate from the civil marriage license, the document affirms the religious commitment the couple has made.

Christian Wedding Contract

Protestants who marry in their church often sign a decorative certificate of Christian marriage. Separate from the civil marriage license, the document affirms the religious commitment the couple has made.

Hindu Mendhi

Aparita Bhandari shows her hands, which have been adorned with henna in a Hindu cultural ceremony called mendhi. This ceremony is done a few days before the wedding, when the bride's female family and friends get together for a festive evening featuring singing and dancing while the bride is decorated with the intricate and beautiful designs. In this photo, Aparita also wears a traditional Hindu flower garland, which she exchanged with her new husband in a gesture of acceptance and welcome.

Handfasting

Tansy Brooks and Christopher Hylands were wed in a Pagan ceremony called "handfasting." The custom originates with the tradition of shaking hands over a contract. At a Pagan wedding, the couple's hands are bound together, often with lovely colored ribbons and cords, to symbolize their union.

Outdoor Episcopal Ceremony

In this 1974 ceremony in a wooded setting, Gary Mathewes and Frederica Green (wearing a crown of flowers) were married by an Episcopal priest. Their outdoor wedding is not typical for Episcopal ceremonies, which traditionally take place inside churches.

Korean and Irish Traditions

This Korean bride and second-generation Irish-American groom combined their two heritages in their wedding, which took place in Dublin. While dressed in traditional Korean "court" costumes, the groom lays flowers in his bride's path, evoking an old English tradition that the bride's path through life should be one of ease and grace, as though strewn with flowers

Hindu Garlands

Aparita Bhandari and Rajesh Duggal perform the Hindu jaimala ritual, where the bride and groom adorn each other with garlands. The ritual, which is done in a spirit of great joy and fun, is a welcoming gesture that begins the wedding ceremony.