Wedding!
On August 25, 2012 Kevin and I got to experience a nice Swedish Wedding! Our friends and roommates from last season living in Italy, Anna from Sweden and Matt from Canada, got married in Femsjö, Sweden at Femsjö Church! Femsjö is located in Southern Sweden less than an hour out of Halmstad.
Upon going to the wedding Kevin and I picked out a card! We had no idea what they said lol but we picked a pretty one!
The one lane road we drove on for about 30 K to the church!
Guests walking in to Femsjö Church!
The Ceremony
It was very interesting learning the traditions of a Swedish Wedding.
First of all the wedding in Sweden is typically held in the afternoon at a church that is close to home. The brud and brudgum (bride and groom) Typically walk down the aisle together, it is not a tradition for the father of the bride to give her away. Swedes keep it simple. The wedding party is typically a simplistic entourage of one maid of honor and one best man. In this case they decided to have no wedding party. They had beautiful violinist playing as they walked down the aisle. The ceremony seemed to be very quick compared to American weddings only lasting about 30 minutes. Everyone (guests included) sang a song together in Swedish and then everyone sang together in english. It was very cute when they gave each other their vows, Matt delivered his to Anna in Swedish and Anna delivered hers to Matt in English. Directly after the ceremony the couple was greeted by their family and friends outside the church and uncooked rice was thrown on them. A lot of pictures were then taken outside the church with the bride and groom, including a group picture of everyone who attended the ceremony, Just like we do in America.
Looking good baby! ;)
<3
Anna & Matt's wedding program they designed themselves using Pablo Picasso's Dove's of Peace!
The Violinist!
Here they come!
Swedish song everyone sang together!
Pictures with the parents!
Anna and I!
The guys! Back together again!
So nice to see them again!
Kevin and I!
Anna and her sister Karin!
The Reception
After the ceremony we all followed each other in our vehicles to where the reception took place. In the front lawn a Swedish flag was raised. Champagne is immediately served to all the guests and everyone waited in the foyer or outside for the bride and groom to arrive, where it was recommended to sign the guest book. Once they arrived a toast was given outside, where pictures were taken with each guest and the bride and groom before entering the dining room. When entering the dining room the seating arrangements were scattered randomly to get each guest to meet new people. It was a very internationally diverse group of people who attended this wedding, as Anna has studied in an international program for her masters degree. They had each guest stand up and say their name and where they were from. Anna's friend was keeping a list and it was cool to see that their were guests from 20 different countries, including United States, Canada, Sweden, Brazil, Italy, Taiwan, Australia, Norway, Nigeria, Jamaica... To remember a few lol
Slavo trying to hang the Swedish Flag!
Kevin helping out!
Centerpiece!
The Toasts
During the dinner there is a toast master who organizes all the speeches. In this case it was Anna's Sister, Karin, speaking in Swedish and Matt's sister, Kristin, speaking in English. In a Swedish wedding anyone is welcome to give a speech you just let the toastmaster know. Speeches usually last over the entire dinner. In this case every speech was announced twice in Swedish and in English. Starting with the brides parents and then the grooms. Anna's parents did more of a roast, which is a very Canadian wedding tradition. In Canadian weddings they roast the bride and groom by announcing embarrassing stories.
The Food
When first seated we had our appetizer already served, Gravlax, a swedish tradition of thinly sliced cured salmon on bread with a spread, cucumbers, tomatoes, seasonings, and lemon. It was very delicious! Gravlax received its name because it was originally made by fisherman who fermented their salted salmon by burying it in the sand above the high tide line. Grav is a scandinavian word meaning "grave" and lax means "salmon". It's a Swedish tradition to have a buffet line for the main course of the meal. It was wide variety of food or a "schmorgesborg" which is a scandinavian buffet. Everything was served cold. The buffet included- falukorv (swedish sausage), cheese, bread, salad, Swedish meatballs, smoked salmon, cooked salmon, pork loin, sliced turkey, quiches, pies, tarts, potatoes... In Sweden they serve something called smörgåstårta, a sandwich cake, which in this case it was a whipped salmon mixture on pumpernickel bread. The champagne and wine served was all from Vigna Angeli in Italy, we helped the happy couple pick it out last year when we were all living together in Italy and went wine tasting at the vineyard!
Look Familiar! ;)
Kissing Traditions
Just like an American wedding they tap the glass with their knife or fork to get the bride and groom to kiss, while also stomping their feet! But there is another kissing tradition in Sweden that was a bit shocking to learn about... If the groom left the room for any reason than any man in the room was free to kiss the bride and vice versa if the bride left the room any woman could kiss the groom!
"Snapsvisor"
A traditional Swedish wedding folk song common in pretty much every Swedish celebration! At the Swedish wedding dinner they serve snaps (vodka) and belt out a song with it when every glass is full!
Other Traditions
Swedish people don't typically have a diamond engagement ring. They have simple bands they receive for engagement, for marriage, and a third for motherhood.
Its inappropriate to wear black, red, or white to a swedish wedding. Black is insulting and red symbolizes that you have been with the groom.
In Sweden the lucky bride keeps her bouquet, they have no tradition of throwing it.
The one who wears the pants in the relationship will shout "I do" the loudest.
An old Swedish tradition- the bride receives a sliver coin from her father to put in her left shoe and one gold coin from her mother to put in right shoe to symbolize she will never go without.
Another age-old tradition is for the bride to wear a garland of myrtle leaves around her head (a symbol of innocence).
Swedish Word of the Day:
äktenskap (pronounced "ekta-skap") meaning marriage
PEACE & LOVE,
Kevin & Amanda
