Your Guide to Swedish Wedding Traditions and Customs

If you are headed to Sweden for a destination wedding or are engaged and looking to honor you or your partner's Swedish roots, there are a couple of Swedish wedding traditions that you can incorporate into your wedding day and festivities to create the most meaningful celebration for you and your loved ones.

To better understand the Swedish wedding customs you may consider incorporating into your big day, we spoke with wedding planner and event designer Fanny Staaf of fannystaafevents.se, event planner Mariella Rietschel of WeddingPlanner Stockholm and Page Neal and Anna Bario, co-founders of jewelry company Bario Neal about these traditions and how you can make them your own.

Swedish Prewedding Traditions

Even before the big day rolls around, there are a few prewedding traditions (and one superstition) to be aware of.

1. Wearing Red Superstition

Although not a formal Swedish tradition, it was believed amongst many Swedes that "wearing red as a lady was earlier associated with having had an affair with the groom," says Rietschel. "Nowadays I would say wearing red would open up for at least one joke regarding this but no one would actually think it did happen."

2. Attire

Grooms usually wear black suits or tuxedos, notes Rietschel. As for Swedish brides, they typically wear white wedding dresses. Additionally, if a couple is married at a Swedish church, "sometimes the church owns a tiara that you get to use if you get married there," adds Staaf.

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3. Rings

When it comes to engagement rings and wedding rings, "they [Swedish people] usually opt for a smooth, simple gold wedding band for the engagement and a more elaborate diamond wedding ring to mark the occasion of their marriage. (The opposite of what most Western traditions practice). Though more recently in Sweden, couples are opting to both wear two rings - an engagement band and a wedding ring, usually with stones," notes Bario and Neal.

"At the engagement, the tradition says the bride and groom exchange rings which are often plain eternity gold rings," says Rietschel. "At the marriage, the bride will get her second ring often with stones. However, nowadays this is widely changed and more and more couples perform the 'American' way of one ring at the engagement and two at the ceremony," adds Rietschel.

Swedish Wedding Ceremony Traditions

From how the ceremony procession will take place to what kind of music you can expert, here are the Swedish traditions commonly included in a wedding ceremony.

4. Processional

The wedding ceremony processional of traditional weddings in Sweden look different than many in the United States as the bride and groom enter together as opposed to the bride with her father. "The bride and groom enter first and together. Then the wedding party consisting of the groomsman, bridesmaid and flower children enter behind the couple. Many priests forbid the father of the bride to walk down the aisle with the bride even though many Swedish couples would like to perform this Anglo-Saxon procession. It is not considered liberal and contemporary to 'give away' your daughter as the woman should enter the marriage with free will, thus the woman and man should enter together," explains Rietschel.

5. Music

Depending on whether or not a couple chooses to have a church wedding or a civil marriage will dictate the traditional events that may occur. "A civil marriage either in the city hall or at for example a reception venue will take approximately five minutes for the actual legal parts. Here the couple is free to arrange for the ceremony as they would like. However no religious aspects can be involved if you have a civil officiant there," says Rietschel.

If a couple opts for a church wedding, it tends to be more eventful with music playing a large role, especially in Christian Lutheran ceremonies with "entering music/procession, two hymns sung by the guests, one or two solo songs by invited singer/musicians/live band and exit music (recessional). The solo songs can be a song that is very special for the couple and helps personalize the ceremony," explains Rietschel.

Swedish Wedding Reception Traditions

The festive traditions and rituals don't stop once the couple says "I do." We're taking a peek at traditional rituals and customs associated with Swedish wedding receptions.

6. Bridal Toast

The start of the wedding reception usually almost always consists of a bridal toast. "There is always a mingling with champagne and the start of this is the 'brudskål' (bridal toast) that usually one of the dads makes when the couple enters," says Staaf. However, this speech is usually made by the bride's father.

7. Reception Menu

Food is a key component of a Swedish wedding. Oftentimes a three-course meal is served. "A fish starter can often be served; such as a Skagen toast or a bleak roe toast. Often meat for main; veal or elk or reindeer," explains Rietschel.

A berry-based or fruity seasonal dessert made with wild strawberries, Swedish strawberries, or cloudberries is also common add both Graaf and Rietschel.

8. Toastmaster

A Toastmaster plays one of the most pivotal roles in Swedish weddings. "As Swedish weddings have a tradition of many wedding speeches during the dinner, we need someone to introduce these speakers in a fun and exciting way. A wedding dinner is normally around four to four and a half hours long and can include as many as 15-20 speakers. The Toastmaster's role is to guide the guests through the entire wedding; gather the guests for a large group photo, invite for the transportation offered between the church wedding and the reception, invite them to dinner, introduce all the speakers and also announce the first dance. As a wedding planner I guide the Toastmaster(s) and help them through the entire day/evening," says Rietschel.