Austrian Marriage Traditions and Customs

Austria, a land with the soaring snow topped mountains, deep forests, alpine meadows and fairy tale castles is a paradise for the classic Austrian weddings. Austrian marriage presents a more formal picture where various rituals are practiced. When a suitable partner is found, friends and relatives of the boy would visit the girl’s house. If they saw a blind man, a pregnant lady or a monk on the way, it was considered a bad luck and they discontinued their journey. However, if they saw a goat, pigeon or a wolf, it was considered good luck for a wedding in Austria.
A life partner with the same family status, background and qualification was considered eligible. Marriage with a guy whose name begins with the same letter as that of girl’s was considered to be bad for the future of the marriage. If a girl writes her new name before marriage using the sir name of her prospective husband, it was a bad omen.

Traditional Austrian marriages were celebrated with great fervor and gaiety. The association was considered auspicious as it bound not only the boy and girl, but also provided the union of two families. Many days before the wedding, various types of preparations were made. Marriage provided an opportunity for the gathering of friends, family members and relatives.

Similarly, a bride should not stitch her wedding dress. Even a bride wearing her bridal attire before her wedding day was considered unlucky. Similarly, a groom must not see her bride in the wedding dress before the wedding ceremony. Often the brides leave some unstitched work on the bridal dress so that it can be done only when the outfit was to be worn.

Veil was considered the inseparable part of the bridal costume. It warded off evil spirits. Generally, red and white flowers were avoided to be used on the occasion because they were believed to represent blood and bandages.

Often the flower chosen by the groom for his buttonhole should be of the same color as the flower in the bride’s bouquet. This signified his undying love for the bride. The groom represented himself as knight with armour.

When the bride was to leave her house for the wedding venue , her last look in the mirror was considered to bring good luck. However, if she happened to return back again to look in the mirror, it was considered to be a bad omen. Often the bride maids were attired in the same outfit as that of the bride. It was probably done to mislead the evil spirits and protect the bride from their bad intentions.

Seeing a chimney sweep on the way toward the marriage venue was considered lucky. Spiders, black cats and rainbows were lucky.

Bad weather on the wedding day was considered auspicious for the marriage. Cloudy sky or thunder predicted turbulent relationships. Rains were however considered good in some cultures. Snow signified happiness and fertility in the marriage.

It was believed that a partner who made a first purchase after the marriage would rule the family relations. The brides were often too smart as they would purchase a pin or something from their maids.