Polish Wedding Traditions: From Arrangements to After Parties!
Ding Dong! There, you just received an invitation to attend your long-time pal’s wedding ceremony. But wait, you have no idea about Polish wedding tradition and you don’t know what exactly the words “slub” and “wesele” mentioned on your card means at all. Well, no need to worry because you are at the right place at the right time. We are going to save you from embarrassment and will give you a complete hindsight into wedding traditions in Poland in this article.
Before unraveling the interesting facts about Polish weddings ceremony traditions, why not get back to your invitation card and see what’s in there? Hold on to this information because you are going to need it. If you have received a card in which the word “slub” is mentioned, don’t expect a booze-filled party, dress up nice because you will be sitting with among formal and official friends of the bride and groom, so play it nice! However, if it says “slub” and “wesele”, man you just got luckier because you are invited to a full-on party! And here’s the very first among many interesting things about a Polish wedding ceremony that the invitation card is full of unwelcoming surprises! We caught you off-guard, didn’t we?
The Pre-Wedding Hassle in Polish Wedding Tradition
Irrespective of how progressive you get, if your parents are devout Catholics, your wedding will take place in a church. The Polish tradition is imbued with traditional values and Poles take pride in exercising their traditional rituals.
It all starts with a nicely arranged function to which they call Oswiadczyny, known to the rest of the traditions as the “Engagement”. Unlike many engagement traditions across the globe, the Polish engagement ceremony is meant for the in-laws to actually meet and greet each other for the very first time. This is a small gathering comprising the closest friends of the bride and groom. The union of the young couple is cherished and their friends propose their toasts by choosing really nice words as per the Polish wedding toast traditions. After receiving the blessings from their godparents, the engagement party comes to an end.
Good & Bad Omens:
Every traditionally nurtured culture in the world has its own list of prophecies and the same goes for the Polish culture. In fact, the omens associated with this culture are quite interesting to read about:
- While walking down the aisle, the bride mustn't trip over her veil as it will be considered a bad omen. That’s the reason why the bride’s attendant is carefully handling
- The next omen-check is that the bride never wears open-toed shoes because fortune and wealth will pass through the toes and she will live a miserable life.
- The bride is discouraged to wear original pearls because the pearls reflect that the bride won’t ever be lucky.
Such superstitions have always been associated with the Polish culture and these seem to be true since no one till now has opposed these concepts.
The after-engagement party is also a short one in which the friends circle around the bride and take turns to dance with her while singing out loud. It’s a worth watching scene because Poles literally know both ends of throwing a really amazing party.
Soon after the engagement party ends, both the families start sending out invitations to their near and dear ones in an obligatory manner. The best man and the bride's maid are the first ones to receive the invitation followed by the godparents and eventually the rest of the friend's list receives their invitation cards.
Bachelor Party! How Can We Forget?
The very last nuptial in the pre-wedding phase is the bachelor and bachelorette party. The groom’s friends take out their buddy to a whole day filled with fun and amusing activities. It can be to a pub, a bar or even a restaurant. As for the bride, her friends either plan a short lunch and the rest of the day is planned at any one of her friends’ homes where they gossip together and watch movies and stuff.
To sum up, the pre-wedding phase is full of fun, zeal, and enthusiasm followed by sleepovers extending up to 10 - 12 hours!
The Bread, Salt & Vodka: Polish Wedding Tradition on Display!
Of the many wedding traditions in Poland, when you see the bread and salt ceremony, consider the official part of the wedding has started. It’s a highly significant symbolic gesture, in which the bride and groom are presented with bread and salt with their names engraved on the bread. In Polish culture, the bread and salt represent “no hunger” and “difficulties” respectively. The couple is blessed while presenting this combo so that both may never experience misery and salt is to give them a symbolic gesture of difficulties in life. It also represents that no matter what, staying together through thick and thin will strengthen the bond of marriage.
Soon after, the Vodka session breaks out and the wedding guests intermingle and dance to several melodious tunes played by polka bands who make the wedding even more enjoyable.
Time for Polish Wedding Folklore Songs & Exquisite Cuisine
The Bread and Salt ceremony concludes and there erupts a charismatic tune which boosts the adrenaline of all the guests. Guess what, this specific song is one of the oldest and most melodious folklore known as “Sto Lat”, translated as “100 years”. No matter whether you are having a Harry Potter themed wedding or a totally traditional one, the importance of folklore singing won’t diminish at all. The brief summary of this sonnet would be:
We want this amazing bond of marriage between the bride and groom
to last till eternity and we wish this bond to grow stronger with every
passing second for over a hundred years.
You shouldn’t think there are no delicious meals on these events. Let’s unearth another fun fact which is if you think the wedding meal you just had was quite unfulfilling, just wait for a couple of hours and you will be served with much more then you were the last time.
The meal plan comprises hot appetizers including honey braised chicken wings, smoked turkey breast, perfectly made sandwiches, soups of different nature and so much more. Next, you will be getting your hands dirty and a mouth full of grilled meat, roasted chicken, pork loin, ribs, baked or smoked fish and bread. Wait, there is this big cake ceremony in which the young couple cuts the cake which is huge enough to fill up everyone’s bowls. Who’d think that Vodka won’t be there to fill your mouths with its lush taste? Of course, it will be flowing freely throughout the night!
Bride & Groom Dance: A Delightful Wedding Ceremony Scene!
Once everyone is done with their meals, the dance party resumes. This time, it’s the couple which is surrounded by family and friends in the middle who keep on waltzing around in the hall. Amidst this whole scene, the bride and groom are mostly asked to kiss each other while making alien-face and guests also try to get a kiss from the bride which is a symbol of good luck.
The first dance just after the meal is pretty challenging for the couple because the booze and the heavy lunch/dinner makes both a little dizzy and this is the time when guests are expecting a little drama!
Lookout! The Lucky Bouquet is in the Air!
Polish wedding ceremony traditions are full of such events which are mostly ignored in British or American Catholic weddings. Such customs are observed pretty seriously in Polish weddings and they keep a check on it. Take the famous bouquet tossing ceremony in which the bride tosses the bouquet. All her unmarried girlfriends rush to catch it and the one who gets it is supposed to be the lucky one and should be marrying after the bride. A little change in events at a Polish wedding is, the groom’s tie is also considered kept at a well-hid place and the guy who finds it first is the one who wins.
By now, you might have gotten an idea that how lively, funny and exotic is the Polish wedding tradition. It’s a perfect blend of decent traditional norms and modern day’s shenanigans which makes it a perfect event for people of ages alike. Now, all you need is a couple of good suits, and off you go to attend your buddy’s ceremony because you will regret missing every single second.