Danish Wedding

The main reason for the trip to Copenhagen was really to attend the wedding of a lovely couple named Christa and Miguel. 

The ceremony was held in the most ornate church I've ever seen, the Trinitatis Kirke (Trinity Church) which is at the annex of the famous Rundetaarn (Round Tower), originally built as an observatory by King Christian IV between 1637 and 1642. 

Unfortunately, we didn't manage to tour the observatory, which is famous for the magnificent views of the city as well its unique interior architecture but the church alone was already very beautiful. 

The walls were draped in renaissance gold ornaments and armies of angel statues. 

The ceremony was lead by a female priest (I'm unsure if this is the right term to use?) and was held in Danish. The bride wore a beautiful bustier gown and was radiating as her father walked her down the aisle. All the guests who had flown in from various parts of the world - Singapore, Italy, England - tried our best to follow the hymns throughout the ceremony but were somehow sparked into infectious giggles halfway through the ceremony! We really didn't mean to (sorry Christa!) but for some strange reason a wave of giggles spread across the vibrating pews and we were in red knots trying to stifle our laughter. 

It was unfortunate that the rains were pouring down on us as we walked from the church to the reception at Vartov but once we were all dry and warm indoors, the champagne begun flowing and mingling was in order. 

We sat down to an intimate dinner of no more than 40 guests. (In Singapore, wedding receptions usually serve anywhere from 200 to 2000 people!) The food was delicious and thoughtfully matched with appropriate wines. 

My favourite part about celebrating Christa and Miguel's union was participating in the Danish wedding traditions!

Apparently, whenever the groom left the room, the male guests would gather in a line and take turns to kiss the bride! The same was true whenever the bride left the room! It was so fun that I think I want to incorporate this in my wedding, just for the sheer fun of it. 

Another tradition we witnessed was the bride and groom having to dance a waltz before midnight. All the guests gathered around the couple as the danced and slowly inched closer, crowding the couple so they could not move. At that point, the men took hostage of Miguel, removed his shoes and cut the ends of his socks! Apparently, the girls were meant to cut the bride's veil into pieces but smart Christa didn't wear one to the reception. 

Various wedding traditions can be similar - like fathers walking brides down the aisle - or completely unique and being at Christa and Miguel's wedding prompted me to google for other interesting wedding traditions! My favourite local custom is still the Chinese Tea Ceremony, especially the part when the groom and his mates will have to do all sorts of crazy things in a bid to see and collect his bride. The next portion where the couple serves tea to their parents is one I highly regard as well. I remember crying bucketloads the day my best friend had to serve tea to her parents, as well as her grand parents who proudly flew all the way from Philippines to see their granddaughter get married. 

Choosing a date for the wedding is one of the utmost important things to do when planning. Here are a couple of traditional rhymes to help you decide:

Monday for wealth
Tuesday for health
Wednesday the best day of all
Thursday for losses
Friday for crosses
Saturday for no luck at all

Married when the year is new, he'll be loving, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, You wed nor dread your fate.
If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know.
Marry in April when you can, Joy for Maiden and for Man.
Marry in the month of May, and you'll surely rue the day.
Marry when June roses grow, over land and sea you'll go.
Those who in July do wed, must labour for their daily bred.
Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see
Marry in September's shrine, your living will be rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember.
When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.

Men planning to propose to their brides on a budget can take a page from the Welsh book of marriage proposals and present their brides to be with a spoon carved out from wood, which the woman has to wear around her neck with a ribbon, as a sign of their engagement! How's that for dodging having to pay thousands of dollars for a diamond ring?

You can also save yourself a massive hangover by doing what the Germans do; instead of holding hen and stag nights, they celebrate by bringing old crockery to throw outside the couple's house. It is believed that broken crockery bring good luck and the more pieces shattered, the more luck the bride and groom will have. Cleaning up would be a feat though!

In Australia, the bride tries for good luck by carrying a horseshoe over their arms.

And instead of throwing a bridal bouquet, single ladies in Peru participate in an activity where a charm is hidden in between the layers of the wedding cake. Strings of ribbon stick out of the cake but only one is tied onto the charm. The woman who pulls on the ribbon with the charm is the one to marry next. 

Tomorrow, more on our day trip to Sweden!