Wedding Traditions

Norwegian grooms typically wears a hand-made suit made of wool called a bundas. This suit consists of a white silk shirt, a vest and topcoat, short pants, and stockings that go up to the calf. There are many colorful designs covering the bundas, each design unique to the place the groom was born or where his relatives are from. It is believed that the bundas makes the groom look like a Norwegian prince. Also wearing a bundas is the groomsmen and best man. The bundas come in many colors to make for a colorful event.

The bride wears a white or silver gown with a silver or silver and gold crown. Bangles in the shape of spoons dangle from the crown and makes a tinkling noise when the bride moves her head. It is believed that this sound wards off evil spirits, and during the reception the bride dances and the tinkling of her crown will scare off any evil spirits that try to inhabit her. Additionally, the bridesmaids wear dresses similar to the bride’s, further confusing the evil spirits.

Similar to US weddings, the bride and groom exchange rings and kiss to make their unity official. They believe that the round ring represents never-ending love and the kiss represents the exchange of a portion of each other’s souls.
Music is a very important part of a Norwegian wedding. The traditional song is "Come to the Wedding," and accordion music is played as the bride and groom exit the church.

After the wedding is a large reception. There are a lot of speeches in which the family and friends of the couple wish them luck and happiness. At the reception, one of two cakes are typical- the blokaker cake, which is a layer cake, or a brudlaupskling wedding cake, which is a flour cake covered with a mixture of cheese, cream, and syrup.

Finally, after the wedding, two small fir trees are planted on either side of the door of the couple’s home as a symbol of children to come.

http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com