Swedish Wedding Traditions and Customs

An old and adorable Swedish custom is for the bride to carry coins in her shoes. One silver coin in her left shoe from her father, and one gold coin in her right from her mother are used to ensure that she will never go without.

Traditionally a Swedish bride will wear three bands, one for her engagement, one for marriage, and one for motherhood, she will also wear a tiara to symbolize her virgin status, although in the past these tiaras were actually crowns made of myrtle leaves.

The bride's bouquet was typically made of the strongest smelling flowers to ward off trolls and other evil creatures.

During the wedding, the bride and groom typically entered the church together and the head of the household was determined by whoever stepped over the threshold first or said "I do" the loudest.

During the reception, if the groom leaves the room for any reason, other men are allowed to kiss the bride, and vice versa. Also during the reception any guest that wants to give a speech is allowed to at any time, but traditionally both the father of the bride and the father of the groom were expected to make a speech first.

The meal consisted of a smorgasbord, which was essentially a mix of several foods with fish served before the meat and hot foods served before cold foods and drinking songs would be sung.

In the Skane region, dinner was followed by the cake called a spettekaka (a spit cake). The cake is made by drizzling batter over a spit to create a lacey two to three feet confection.