18 Wedding Traditions And Statistics Of The Unusual Kind

Sometimes it’s crazy when we hear about lavish weddings or heart tugging love stories finally ending up at the altar. But have you ever thought about wedding traditions and statistics from all over the world? Some may be strange, but some of the numbers may completely surprise you. Here are 18 statistics and traditions that you may just find amazing.

1. Did you know that the average cost of wedding photography in America back in 1999 was about $1,000, while in 2008 the average cost was $2,500?
2. For some, getting married in Europe and America is still important, but with the dollar slow (Europe) and weddings expensive (America), many might seek value. Mexico and the Caribbean currently have the best value for your dollar for your wedding ceremony.
3. In the olden days, the typical age for a woman to get engaged was 21 years old. She would live at home and her mother would be the one to plan most of the wedding. In modern times, the engaged woman is older and often has more of her own money.
4. The wedding cake for Queen Victoria’s wedding weighed in at 300 pounds.
5. In order to deter and confuse evil spirits, a new couple in Albania must follow the wedding night rituals. Their wedding tradition goes on for three days and three nights as the new bride will need to resist her new husband’s attacks on the family duty performances.
6. Istanbul, Turkey averages the second most weddings each year at 92,000.
7. The amount of weddings worldwide is approximately $115,000 each day, which means that over 40 million weddings take place each year. The countries of China, Indonesia, Malaysia and India, average the most.
8. It was reported in 2006 by the China News Agency, that in China alone about 26,000 couples get hitched on a daily basis, which means that about nine million weddings took place per year. The average cost paid per wedding was $19,000.
9. A Japanese Census taken in 2005 showed that 714,000 brides spent on their wedding an average of $70,000 each. In addition, 25% of Japanese brides showed they got married in Guam, which allowed them to save about 60% of what they would have been charged had they married in Japan.
10. As with most countries, the couple pays a registration fee so they can register for their wedding. On the small island of Java, they do the same, but, unlike other countries, they do not take money as form of payment. They expect to be paid with 25 rat tails to be given to the local administration.
11. In Bali, if you attend the meal time reception after the wedding, chances are you will only see women as the men are in another location resting. It is the men that prepared the large feast so they will rest while the women eat.
12. The known record for being the best man the most often is held by a man from Malaysia with over 1000 weddings where he served as best man.
13. Located next to New Guinea is Trombrian Island, those that want to get married there need to sing with their future spouse of the same plate, all while in front of other tribe members. Once the singing has commenced, the couple is considered married.
14. In Samoa, the bridal dress is usually made from a mulberry tree’s bark.
15. The Ethiopian tribe Surma, has a custom where the young girl will remove her lower teeth, pierce her lip and have a clay disc inserted. She will keep it there for a specific amount of time prior to her wedding. As time goes on, the disc is removed and a larger plate in diameter in inserted. By the time the wedding arrives, the larger the disc, the more her dowry is worth. The size of the disc is a symbol of the amount of drive level of wealth her family has.
16. In Namibia, the bride wears a “ecora,” which is a veil. The ecora is made out of goat skin that has been rubbed with grease, tar and red ocher.
17. In Kenya, it is custom for the groom to wear women’s clothes for the first month after the wedding ends. This way he will really understand how difficult it is being a woman.
18. According to the Australian registry, over 118,000 marriages were registered in 2008 showing a 2.1% in