Your wedding day’s theme will set the stage and guide every aesthetic decision from this crucial point onwards. Because of this, it can be quite daunting to choose a theme. Does the same old boring white wedding make you yawn? Now, there are numerous wedding styles you can adapt, and you have the freedom to follow your heart literally!
Viking theme
If you and your partner have a wild side, you may want to opt for a Viking wedding tradition. Keep in mind, Viking rituals are rather elaborate. In the Viking culture, marriage was the heart of the family structure. Because of this, the wedding ritual tends to be intricate. It is up to you whether to follow the ceremony thoroughly or follow the Viking decorative elements. In Viking lore, the patterns before the wedding are necessary to earn the blessings of the gods. It is a crucial step in a single person’s becoming a parent and continuing the great Vikings’ bloodline.
The Viking tradition dictates that the groom presents the bride with an ancestral sword. It is kept for any sons they may have in the union. In return, the bride gifts her future husband a sword from her ancestors, which symbolizes the father’s transfer of protection to the husband. Similar to modern times, the couple also exchanges rings.
The setting of the Viking theme wedding date can delay the ceremony itself
The date of a Viking theme wedding follows a complicated process. Traditionally, weddings were held on a Friday. It is the most sacred day in the Norse religion. Frigga, the goddess of marriage, is the ruler of this day. It is typical for weddings to last a week and family and friends travel to the wedding location. Winter weddings were considered impractical at that time because it is impossible to travel long distances.
Other considerations during the wedding ceremony itself include appropriate accommodations and acquiring the food and drink for all the guests during the duration of the ceremony. A special brew should be drunk by the bride and groom as part of the ritual.
All of these preparations sometimes result in an extremely long time to prepare for the wedding. Although most ceremonies can occur within a year once negotiations are all settled, there are instances where there is a three-year waiting period for Vikings in ancient Iceland. Their frequent trips to Norway made it challenging for them to pin down the best date for everyone involved in the ceremony.
Viking theme wedding
The bride and groom are stripped of their former selves
In the days near the wedding date, both bride and grooms were separated. This ritual was required to give up their former selves before entering into their new life together. It was a symbolic ritual. For the bride, it meant stripping off the former clothing and other accessories and symbols of her single life, such as her kransen. The kransen is a type of belt worn by Scandinavian women.
