A wedding is a ceremony of two people who want to celebrate their love and one of the most important days of their lives, so being there for them and getting involved in their wedding traditions can be fun, especially when they can put you in a weird situation.

However, this big day comes with a lot of superstitions and customs that vary from culture to culture and make weddings a little more special. Some of these strange traditions have been around for decades and are no longer seen, while others are new, but they have managed to conquer people’s souls and gradually become popular.

In general, these bizarre wedding traditions are created on the basis of superstitions and people believe in them because they consider that they will bring them good luck and blessing. In people’s opinion, it’s important to follow these customs if you want to be happy forever with your soul mate, even though some of them are really ridiculous, such as not using the bathroom for three days after the wedding or gaining some extra weight before the big day.

That being said, here are the strangest wedding traditions from all around the world. Read on to find out more info!

Beating the groom’s feet

There is a special tradition in South Korea that involves beating the groom’s feet before he can leave with his soul mate. This ritual should be performed by his groomsmen or other family members. So, they have to take off the groom’s shoes and socks and beat his feet with a stick or a dried fish. Well, we have to admit that it sounds really gross, right?

However, this tradition is meant to test the groom’s character, strength and bravery. Of course, this is not an act of punishment, because its purpose is to make people laugh and enjoy the day. In fact, South Koreans believe that this ritual prepares the groom for a new chapter in his life and makes him responsible at the same time.

The bride should be fat to be considered more attractive

As the saying goes ‘the beauty lies in the eye of the beholder’ and the indicators of beauty differ from culture to culture. For example, in some Asian countries, skinny girls are considered more beautiful than those who are overweight. But in Mauritania, a country in Northwest Africa, the bigger a girl is, the more attractive she is considered.

Thus, there is a tradition in Mauritania, called Leblouh, according to which parents should send their young daughters to fat camps to gain weight. They have to eat a lot of food to gain extra weight and some of them are forced to do so.

In general, Mauritanian girls consume up to 16,000 calories per day and the idea of this custom is that the size of the girl is directly proportional to the space and love that she occupies in her husband’s heart. Moreover, some people believe that a fat body indicates a rich family because it means that they have money to buy food and eat everything they want. In addition, the man chooses his potential wife based on her weight.

The couple is covered in food and other substances

One of the most important things that should be chosen carefully at a wedding is the food because if the food isn’t good, your guests won’t feel comfortable and some of them will criticize the whole event – or at least this is a misconception found in many European countries, namely that they evaluate the wedding based on the food quality. However, it seems that wedding food is also important in Scotland, but in another sense, namely that it should be used to cover the couples’ bodies.

So, the Blackening is a Scottish wedding tradition performed a few days before the wedding ceremony. The family and friends of the couple organize this event and cover their bodies in food and other various substances, such as juice, eggs, dead fish, milk, flour and so on, and then the bride and groom have to parade through their community to promote their show. The point is to be seen by as many people as possible. This traditional custom symbolizes the hardship of their marriage and also brings good luck.

After this awkward show, the future bride and groom must be prepared for marriage, especially for the difficult times that can test their relationship.

Every bride should cry at the wedding ceremony

The Tujia people of China have a strange custom when it comes to their wedding ceremony, namely that every bride has to cry. It is believed that this traditional Chinese custom helps future brides to express their gratitude, love and respect toward their family, especially their parents. Unfortunately, when the bride doesn’t manage to cry during the ceremony, their guests will consider her a poorly educated girl.

According to some Tujia women, brides should practice their crying a few months before the wedding ceremony. They spend on average about an hour each night crying and after 10 days of training, all the women in the family join them and practice together. Of course, this weeping tradition symbolizes the happiness of starting a new life with their soul mate and these are tears of joy.

Not using the toilet for three days after the wedding

If you have reached this point in the article and you thought that these traditions so far have been strange, well, wait and see what awaits you now!

There is a tradition found among the Tidong people of Borneo (Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia) according to which the bride and groom are forbidden to use the toilet for three days after the wedding ceremony. To be more specific, they shouldn’t meet their needs for three days in a row, because otherwise, their marriage will be destroyed.

That being said, it seems that couples who use the toilet during this period of time are more likely to have bad luck and be infidel, cheated on, or even suffer the death of their children. They are watched by other people who offer them a poor diet. Nevertheless, they can return to normal life after these three days.

The couple has to execute a baby chick

At some weddings there is a tradition in which the bride and groom hold onto a knife together and cut the wedding cake, then they share the cake slices with the guests. It seems that this tradition can be found even among the Daur people of Chine and part of Inner Mongolia, but they use a baby chicken instead of the wedding cake and then they dissect it and inspect its organs. Well, we have to admit that it sounds terrible and is one of the weirdest traditions in the world.

That’s not all! As I said before, after the process of dissection, they analyze the organs and if the liver is healthy, the future bride and groom are allowed to plan the wedding ceremony. If the liver isn’t healthy, they will have bad luck and may rethink their wedding date. Nonetheless, they have to repeat the process until they find a healthy baby chick.

The “cursed” brides had to marry a banana tree first

The truth is that there are many people who believe in astrological compatibility and they choose their partner according to their zodiac sign, but in some parts of India, things have been a little too exaggerated. For example, if the bride is born in a specific month that is considered “Mars-bearing”, it means that she is cursed. People believed that cursed brides were responsible for the early deaths of their future husbands.

So, to break this curse and help her create a beautiful and ‘clean’ marriage, the bride-to-be had to marry a banana tree first. After this process, someone had to destroy the tree as well as the curse. Even though this tradition is still performed these days, it has meanwhile become officially illegal, as it can affect women’s rights.

The groom must transform a piece of wood into spoons

Transforming a piece of wood into a spoon is a common courtship tradition found in Wales. According to this custom, a young man who wanted to conquer the soul and heart of a girl had to take a single piece of wood and transform it into a beautiful spoon. After this creative process, the man had to give this gift to the woman that he liked as a sign that he is interested in her.

If she accepts the spoon, it means that they will start a new relationship. In some cases, the spoon is similar to the traditional wedding ring and symbolizes the fact that the husband won’t let his wife go hungry. However, this tradition is still performed in Wales as well as in other parts of Europe, but you don’t have to spend a lot of time to create a spoon, because you can simply buy them.