The month of May usually heralds the return of British wedding season, where the sounds of 'I do' can be heard ringing across the country. Hats and gift sorted, you can generally look forward to a good feed – made up of soups, roasts, veg and rich fruit cake.
But in today’s rapidly migrating and integrating global nomad society, you might find yourself RSVP-ing to a Swedish, Sri Lankan or even South American wedding at some point. 4Food found out how the rest of the world caters for their congregation
Starters, mains and dessert, followed by cake, that's the order of things we've come to expect. Not so at many other weddings.
An Indian wedding, attended last summer by 4Food, involved five days of feasting and drinking before the couple had even exchanged vows. Guests then roused themselves for more merrymaking on the actual Big Day. The hosts outdid themselves with both pre and post-wedding service sweets at the temple itself, followed by just-arrived-at-the-reception-venue nibbles. The wedding buffet involved rounds upon rounds of exquisite curries and side dishes, where after guests tucked into mouth-watering traditional desserts such as ras malai (sugary balls of paneer soaked in creamy milk). Once the dancing died down it was all back to the groom's house in the early hours for yet more food and drink. Astoundingly a barbecue then took place the following day, hosted by the bride's family (luckily for our waistlines, it was for immediate family only).
Wedding herring
In the other extreme, a Swedish wedding feast is said to be heavier on booze than feast. Amid accordion playing and Swedish folk tunes, a bridesmaid known to 4Food was served a basic plate of pickled herring washed down with a 250ml bottle of neat schnapps, swigged straight from the bottle. It was 12 noon. Needless to say the party soon got started and before long the aforementioned bridesmaid was doing the limbo while a hoard of moustached uncles stamped their feet and chanted.
Another wedding, this time in Budapest, was reported to have less dance floor action. The main meal was a spinach dumpling concoction; 4Food's mole said it ‘tasted pretty good’ but after wolfing two or three down she felt like she'd swallowed an anvil - and the rest of the night was spent clutching her belly and groaning like she was in the first stages of labour. The other guests reacted similarly, leaving the dance floor empty all night.
Cutting the cake is usually a focal point of a British wedding celebration. Fruit cake covered in a hard white marzipan, usually topped with figurines (him & hers, or more recently, him & him or her & her), is what we've come to expect.
But further south in warmer climes, South African weddings regularly feature ice-cream wedding cakes or a creamy-topped carrot cake (try our carrot cake recipe) and melk terts – custard tarts dusted with cinnamon, usually served as a tea time treat among the Afrikaans community. Novelty cake tops include the bride and groom in swimming cossies and the like.
In Norway, the traditional wedding cake is made from bread topped with cream, cheese and syrup. And the traditional Italian wedding cake is made from biscuits. Cuppa with your cake, anyone?
Pink and white sugared almonds in a meshed bag, jealously guarded for months by flower girls and child guests, is symbolic of 80's weddings here in Britain.
Across the pond, however, our US cousins are said to take a less fussy approach to wedding favours. A recent wedding attended by an associate of 4Food received a small black favour box lined with white tissue paper - containing two Oreo cookies. Just two. One can only presume the falling dollar seems to have really hit the wedding market where it hurts.
Onion soup - not exactly on your wedding list
The British 'honeymoon' has been said to originate from a time when the father of the bride gave the groom a moon's (month's) worth of mead (alcoholic beverage made from honey) before the bride and groom left after the ceremony.
The French, however, are said to have another liquid honeymoon tradition. Picture the scene – you and your new bride head for the bridal suite, eyes only for each other. You both slip into 'something more comfortable' – when you receive a knock at the door from family members bearing onion soup. Yes, according to tradition, members of a French family will visit the newlyweds in their marital bedroom with a bowl of this much-loved local soup. Sure to keep things hot in the bedroom, but less ideally, heavy on the passion-killing onion breath.
Wedding cake talk given you a lust for baked goods and confectionary? Try our delicious cake recipes.
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