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W Polsce jest tradycja, że obrączkę nosi się na serdecznym palcu prawej dłoni. A wzięła się ona z Powstań: Listopadowego i Styczniowego. Przed nimi kobiety i mężczyźni nosili obrączki ślubne na lewej dłoni, zaś wdowcy i wdowy na prawej dłoni. Jednak podczas powstań mężatki, na znak solidarności z wdowami poległych powstańców przekładały swoje obrączki na prawą dłoń. Od tego czasu w Polsce obrączkę nosi się na prawej dłoni. In Poland, there is a tradition that the wedding ring is worn on the heart finger of the right hand. It originates from the November and January Uprisings. Before the November and January Uprisings, women and men wore their wedding rings on their left hand, while widows and widowers wore their wedding rings on their right hand. However, during the uprisings, married women put their wedding rings on their right hand as a sign of solidarity with the widows of fallen insurgents. Since then, in Poland, the wedding ring has been worn on the right hand. P.S. Welon symbolizuje błonę dziewiczą Panny Młodej. Zatem bicie Pana Młodego po rękach, kiedy próbuje zdjąć welon, symbolizuje obronę czystości kobiety. Zaś zdjęcie krawatu (żartobliwie nazywanego "zwis męski, ozdobny:) bądź muszki symbolizuje jego "pierwszy raz". The veil symbolises the bride's hymen. Thus, the beating of the groom's hands when he tries to remove the veil symbolises the defence of a woman's purity. And the removal of the tie (jokingly referred to as a "man's ornamental tie:) or bow tie symbolises his "first time". P.S. 2 Na wideo widzimy dziewczyny z wiankami na głowach. Słowianie na dziewczęcą niewinność mówili "ma wianek" (czyli ma błonę dziewiczą, nie kochała się jeszcze z mężczyzną). Więc kiedy chłopiec uwiódł dziewczynę w Noc Kupały i miał z nią "kontakt", już potem nie mogła założyć wianka na głowę. The video shows girls with garlands on their heads. The Slavs referred to a girl's innocence as 'she has a garland' (meaning she has a hymen, she has not yet made love to a man). So when a boy seduced a girl on the Kupala Night and had "contact" with her, she could no longer put a garland on her head afterwards.

Wedding traditions are very dependant on the region and local culture of the families of the newlyweds.

On September 2, I attended my niece's wedding. Before entering the wedding hall, the bride and groom are welcomed with bread specially baked for this occasion and salt so that they never run out of food. And in 2 glasses there is water and vodka. Whoever chooses vodka will be in charge of the family😁. There was so much food, hot dishes, cold plates of cakes, cookies, desserts that you couldn't eat. Dances and songs, entertainment for the guests, hosts. This is a Polish wedding, a wonderful time of everything for the guests, these Polish traditions are wonderful.🎂🎂🥰

Best Polish weddings are the one that is in the village under the gazebo or special tent with live music and 3 days of celebration for 250 guests 😊

Wedding ceremonies are very similar in the UK and in Poland, but wedding events in Poland are richer, full of food, buffet, unlimited drinks, etc. In Poland the new spouses organize everything and they paid the costs for everyone. When I was in England for a wedding, I was surprised I felt like I was having an everyday dinner in a restaurant and I had to pay for that at the and. In Poland, the party lasts until the morning of the next day, and often even for two days. When I was in the UK, the party ended at midnight where it started at 5 p.m. We playing a lot funny different game's/tournaments on wedding party .In England I didn't experience something like that.

In American weddings, I was always surprised that the bride was accompanied by her father. In Polish weddings, future spouses enter together without rhythmic steps to the rhythm of organ music. Mendelson's march appears after the wedding, when the spouses leave the church or office.

I remember that after leaving the church, the guests threw small coins and the bride and groom had to collect them all so that they would never run out of money. When returning home, the neighbors organized the so-called gates across the road. We had to stop, thank them for their wishes and give them a bottle of wedding vodka. There was often a person employed who organized various funny games for the guests, e.g. you had to dance, and when the music suddenly ended you had to take a vacant chair, and there was always one chair less than the participants. At midnight, apart from throwing the wreath and the bow tie, there were various "games", e.g. the bride had to put a raw egg from one leg of the groom's pants and remove the unbroken egg with the other leg. Of course, the groom had these pants on all the time.

We had our wedding 10 years ago and had a couple of unusual and fairly new things at that time: we asked for gifts for a local orphanage instead of the flowers and we started our wedding with Polonez Oginskiego which was danced by all guests.

12:20 In Poland it's tradition to welcome the bride and groom with salt and bread. Bread symbolizes the abundance in which they will live and salt symbolizes strong love (salt was used for food preservation) ;)

When couples ask for a pet food it's usually for local animal shelters :) Sometimes people ask also for school supplies and then give them to orphanages or other charity organizations :)

Rob , get yourself friends from Poland that u know gonna be getting married in Poland , specially from South of Poland and South West and go for a wedding. Its gonna be a an evening for you in which u ate more then u ever could and drink and danced more then u would ever expect

Everyone is welcomed with a glass of champagne, and the newlyweds' glasses were tied with decorative tape. After greetings to the bride and groom, everyone drank champagne and the bride and groom threw the tied glasses behind them for good luck.

Regarding the young couple greeting: Bread is a symbol of well being so that their family never starve (be hungry in their life), salt is a symbol so that their life will be full of flavor (colorful), two shots of vodka and water is folkloric tradition - whoever takes vodka will be Alpha/head in the marriage.

Drogi panie. Torty weselne kiedyś były naprawdę pyszne. To teraz nastała moda na placki przekladane kremami bez smaku. Teraz liczy się wygląd. Smak jest na ostatnim miejscu. Te zwyczaje przyszly z zachodu dzięki glupawym programom kulinarnym. W malych cukierniach z tradycjami torty są prawdziwe i bardzo smaczne 😊

In Poland, there are at least 4 hot dishes to eat during a wedding and the wedding lasts about 10-12 hours. plus cold dishes on the table to choose from. There is usually a peasant's table with various flavors of moonshine, as well as local sausages and cold cuts, and of course, pickled cucumbers.

Pet food after the wedding, the bride and groom donate to a local animal shelter. Sometimes the bride and groom wish to support some charity organization.

Ślub w kościele nie jest długi, przysięga, obrączki, błogosławieństwo, tylko oprócz ślubu jest też msza święta, w której młodzi i goście uczestniczą, w intencji młodych małżonków.

You have to experience traditional polish wedding Rob. I'm From polish mountain so my wedding was 400+ people, lasted for two weeks as tradition says wedding starts week before and finishes week after. You have few servings of cooked food but between you have cold plater, so sausage, ham, pickles. Don't forget Rob, you dance, laugh, eat and drink from beginning to the very end, and then you getting goody bag for you to take like cakes, sausage and things like that, including alcohol. All I can say mate, I hope that you get chance to experience it before you could only see it on video or as theatre play.

Well, the number of guests definitely depends on the couple, but in general the rural areas have bigger families so there might be more people invited. Besides a lot of times the invitations for not married people will say they can bring a "company" aka their boyfriend or girlfriend so that makes the numbers go up. It's also the reason people mentioned to get to know the couple because you might go to the wedding as the "company" person and you might not even know the soon-to-married. When it comes to food, on all the weddings I went to there was always big dinner and throughout the night the servers would bring up to 4 other warm meals like soups, stews etc. Sometimes even ice cream desert beside the cake itself. There is also a big self-service table with other pastries, salads, bread and meats and big thermoses for making coffee or tea yourself. Alcohol and other beverages like juices, wines, water and vodka will be always on the guest tables and someone goes around checking if they're running out and replacing bottles when needed. The custom of throwing the veil and tie at midnight is called "oczepiny". It also can consist of some funny games for the couple. And btw, the people who caught the veil and tie are obliged to have a "first dance" together while wearing said veil & tie. It can be a bit awkward sometimes with the pairings but it's all in a good fun (I once had to dance with a teenage cousin of the groom, it was funny). I have seen some couples actually try to catch the things together to show they might be married next for real. The thing with bread & salt before reception is a traditional Polish way of welcoming someone, if you ever get welcomed like that here it's a the biggest honor. And the shots with water and vodka custom: the one who gets vodka will be the true "head of the household". Later also the official toast happens and then the bride & groom throw their glasses behind themselves. They later have to clean it together and the more broken pieces they find the more happy years together they will have. There's also few other traditions not mentioned in the video which you might encounter especially in the countryside. Before the wedding itself, the groom arrives to the bride's home. The gate to the home might be decorated with flowers and balloons. There they both get blessed by their parents. And later together they go to church. After the ceremony on the way to reception local people might stop the cars on the way, cutting off the road with tapes and ask for "payment to pass". It just means they either want vodka (if they are adults) or they want candies (if they are kids). It might be regional but it can happen so it's better to be prepared LOL. And the most important thing: sometimes the reception lasts 2 days. Meaning there is a second party the next day, starting in the afternoon. It's usually way more casual and not necessarily at the same place as the main reception. Some people do them at home in the gardens. But because of it if the married couple wants to have guest both days and they know people need a place to stay and sleep so they book a guesthouse for them. There's also usually a bus with a driver booked who can take the drunk guests from the reception to the guesthouse. But of course it all costs A LOT of money so not everyone will have that. Sorry for the very long comment bit I hope I explained most things.

In the video nobody has mentioned the "poprawiny" which is the second day of partying. Held on Sunday, usually shorter than the main party. There's still lots of food and drinking there, as well as some dancing (for the most relentless guests). Although, it might have changed over the years. I haven't been to a proper Polish wedding in over 15 years (or more).

As they mentioned in the film, now the bride and groom usually indicate in their invitations that instead of flowers, they ask for books, teddy bears or animal food, which they then donate to the children's homes or animal shelters. Because flowers wither quickly and are only suitable for throwing away, which is also considered as wasting money, and in this way they can also be used for a "noble cause".

Bread and salt represents the two staples of life. It is a traditional gesture of welcome and thus included in greeting guests in formal settings.

The guy talking about up to 400 guests is a "Góral" - a mountaineer (EDIT: or rather a Highlander, I am not sure of the correct terminology here), and, traditionally, they are shepherd people. He is talking about inviting the whole village to the wedding. It was like that also in other parts of Poland but in earlier centuries. The book titled "Pan Tadeusz" (loosely translated as Lord Tadeusz) by Adam Mickiewicz has a depiction of a traditional Polish wedding of the upper class.

There's not mentioned about poprawiny. Poprawiny is continuation of wedding party on the next day.

What a funny coincidence that you posted this video on the exact day of my parents' 25th wedding anniversary! It's true, Polish weddings vary a lot from region to region. Here in Northern Poland we have a tradition called "polterabend" or "tłuczenie butelek". The bride and groom invite their friends and close family usually to the bride's place to drink, have some cake and most importantly - to break bottles, jars and other pieces of glassware they brought with them. We'd throw them against a wall or stacked stones/bricks and it's meant to bring good luck to the future spouses. This may be unusual for people from other regions. The last wedding I've been to was my cousin's. They had a church wedding as (still) many Polish couples and then the reception began traditionally with bread and salt, then a toast, dinner with a lot of food, there were buffets north with savoury and sweet stuff, they didn't hire a band but rather a DJ and he was brilliant, the way he organised multiple games and competitions was jest hilarious. The tradition of oczepiny (removing bride's veil) at midnight is still a must-be part of a wedding and it's connected with many games and other traditions, for example each female guest dances with the groom having paid the bride some cash and vice versa. Throwing the veil and the bowtie - a must-be. The reception began around 17:00 and lasted until 5:00. That's typical. We had vodka, wine, whisky etc so everyone could choose. The next day (Sunday) was "poprawiny" which is a meeting of wedding guests usually in the same place for lunch (you need to get rid of all these leftovers), some softer drinks like beer and of course dancing. There are some traditions that stay and some that change.

There is quite often continuation of reception the next day after actuall reception and its called "poprawiny". Usually it lasts to lunch /to the afternoon.

Weddings for 200-300 people usually take place in villages, especially in highlander villages. The highlanders party for two days. I've been to weddings like this and had a really good time. I was also at a Polish-English wedding for about 100 people. 1/3 of the guests were from Great Britain and I remember that they were positively surprised by how everything looked. Everyone had a great time, but I'm sorry to say that the British are not good at drinking vodka.😁🤣

Where I used to live the wedding last 3 days. Started Friday afternoon where lots of neighbours was visiting the groom. They was coming with empty bottles and smashing them just before front doors shouting one wish for each bottle for groom and Bride. Each neighbour when finish has been invited to have few shots of vodka. On second day just before trip to the church groom and Bride was getting a blessing from each of the parents. When the column of the cars was going to the church and after local people was making Gates in the middle of the road to stop Bride and groom and wish them all the best in exchange Bride and groom was giving them bottle of vodka or sweet depends of the locals age. On party wedding after midnight, after cake, after having new Bride and groom(throwing veil and bow tie to the crowd) guests was having few funny games that everybody was laughing about. On the 3rd day guests was coming back for dinner and dance.

In Poland same sex marriages are not allowed. Weddings are expensive and everything for the guests is provided, I mean food and drinks, there is no "breakfast" and "evening" reception - it is one big long party where you have multiple dishes of food served to you all the time. And alcohol just the same. In return guests are expected to give the newlyweds some presents, sometimes quite costly ones, I would say equivalent of £150-200 would be minimum these days (but I might be wrong, perhaps it is more now). And Polish wedding cake is totally different than British, it is really really good.

In this video they speak about nowadays, american like type of wedding, not the old tradicional polish wedding.

O matko nikt nie powiedział o oczepinach. Przecież wszyscy na to czekają!

I live in England now, but when I was at a Polish wedding back in the day it was definitely around 200 people.

Niech ktoś zaprosi Roberta, to sie sam przekona 😂

19:33 I remember I was on my friend wedding. We were having fun up to 5AM and 8AM we had breakfast hah.

I don't think it was mentioned, but every polish wedding party also has what we call "poprawiny" ("correcting party" would probably be the closest translation). Old Polish weddings usually lasted a couple of days and that stayed a norm even to this day because it's unusual to have a wedding that lasts only one day. So the very next day the guests come back for at least one "poprawiny" to have fun again, the only change is usually the clothes being switched to something more comfortable, even the bride often switches to a non-white dress. Sometimes the atmosphere is so nice and the guests are getting along so well that they come back even for a third party day, such as was the case on my parents' wedding (the band already left but some of the guests were my dad's friends back from when he was in a band himself and so they kept playing for everyone). Also about the meeting prior to the wedding, what they meant is that sometimes you might be familiar with one of the spouses but not the other, e.g. you've known the groom for ages but haven't met the bride. So it sounds reasonable to arrange at least one meeting before the wedding to get more familiar with the other side in a more casual setting. And I'd say bigger weddings (like the 300 mentioned there) are usually reserved for countryside communities since these tend to be very close and most people know each other, so it'd be weird not to invite everyone familiar with you or your family, sometimes even a friend of a friend of a friend.

gates, gates, gates. How can we not mention gates? it's a tradition in the countryside, when a young couple and their guests go to church, people (neighbors, friends, someone you know - but was not invited to the wedding) block the road and make some funny shows, e.g. pretend that there is a car accident and only the injured can be saved bottles of vodka or there is a fake robbery and cowboys kidnap the first best man and you have to pay the ransom with vodka or they organize some barbecues, concerts, etc. in the middle of the road and of course you have to give them vodka to get them off the road, then you and the guests and the bride and groom could get to the church on time. In my village, it is still common to place such a decoration in front of the bride's house. Due to such traditions, the groom is guarded by the bridesmaids and in order for the groomsmen to be able to take him to the bride's house, they must be given sweets, wine and sweet alcohol, and on the bride's doorstep there is a table with glasses and men from the woman's family (brothers, cousins, uncles) of course wants you to buy vodka, if it's not enough, an ugly guy comes out dressed as a bride and the bride's brothers say that for 10 bottles of vodka, that's the only bride they can give you as a wife. If you're curious, type "brama weselna" on KZfaq and you'll see what I mean.

U mnie na weselu było 250 osób, wszyscy tańczyli i pili przy polskiej muzyce, Rob to fakt. U nas tak jest. To młodzi decydują ile osób chcą zaprosić

These people with violins are highlanders. They are special. They have weddings for the whole village. No matter if this is family or not 😊

Jak najbardziej, na polskich weselach serwuje się obiad składajacy się z przystawki, dania głównego deseru... Zimna płyta, kącik słodkości to dodatki, do Dania głównego. Są podawane zarówno dania ciepłe i zimne.

zapomniał o jednym to jedyna okazja kiedy para nie tylko spożywa eucharystię ale pije z kielicha bardzo ważny aspekt .

Ring - right hand Greeting before the reception -> the bride and groom can choose between a glass of water and a glass of vodka. The bride makes the choice first. Tradition says that whoever chooses vodka will rule in the relationship. They throw empty glasses behind them over their right shoulder. The more pieces of broken glass, the more luck awaits them. The throwing of the veil and bow tie is usually followed by wedding games. Gifts - everyone used to bring flowers, now many couples ask for wine, books or lottery tickets. Sometimes they ask for pet food or toys to donate to orphanages - the idea is to share happiness with others, instead of receiving many bouquets of flowers.

Cześć Rob, Ten film jest całkiem prawdziwy. Ja miałem na weselu w 1992 roku 200 osób w sobotę. W niedzielę na poprawiny przyszło 90. Miałem 200 butelek wódki. 30 zostało. Prawie dwa lata musiałem dopijać. 😂 Witają na sali chlebem i solą. Chleb w Polsce to świętość. Jeśli kawałek Ci upadnie na podłogę musisz podnieść i pocałować. A czemu sól? Nie mam pojęcia. Może Wieliczka. W średniowieczu sól była droga jak złoto. Polskie wesele musi być na bogato. Stół nie może być pusty nawet na minutę. Goście też się spinają żeby kopertę wypchać. Hmm, każda para dziś daje średnio tysiaka. Razy Sto par, jest sto tysięcy. Impreza się zwraca. 👌

I think you are right that nowadays Polish weddings held in cities and in the countryside differ strongly from each other. However, most of them have at least elements of the old customs. These customs are unique and often have hidden meanings. In Poland, the bride throws a veil (a symbol of innocence), not flowers, this custom is known as "capping". In the old days, she would get a bonnet on her head - as a sign of marriage. You can find a description of the wedding customs (e.g. brama - a gate) here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j99yi65-07beiWQ.html&ab_channel=PolishFoodies

They didn’t say about disco polo. This music plays most of the time on weddings. Disco polo is a music no one listens but everyone knows the lyrics and have the most fun dancing to it

When you go to the wedding of your partner's family member you had never seen, then you do not know that person. Only straight people can get married here in Poland.

There is also such a thing as a " weeding gates" The gate is usually created on the street by people who were not invited to the party, like neighbors, co-workers, etc. The construction of the gate depends on your imagination, for example, you put a rope, a few cars or a table on the street (usually not crowded) and do not let the newlyweds leave until they pay you. The couple pays with bottles of vodka and if they pay you enough, you can let them go 😂

Pet food is for pet shelters. The polish adaptation of charity instead of flowers.

The thing about these flowers is that Polish weddings are usually huge, so the young couple received tons of flowers, they stood in buckets everywhere and really didn't make anyone happy considering the quantity and its died within a few days. So, instead of "killing" and waste cut flowers, young people increasingly ask for flowers in pots, books that they can enjoy for years, or dog/cat food, which they then donate to local animal shelters. May their happy day also become a happy day for someone else. :))

Bringing animal food is intended to support shelters. Instead of paying for flowers that wither, guests buy animal food, which after the wedding goes to the shelter chosen by the couple, thus helping animals in shelters. I think this is a great initiative.

Ta pierwsza wypowiedź to jakiś żart co ona mówi wogule, pierwsze słyszę aby przed ślubem iść z młodymi na kawę aby się poznać

The 300 people weddings are actualy traditional. They are rare theese days. They mostly take place in a field. With decoration. Maybe not field but on a rented open space. As i said its rare and i never bren on one but thats what i know.

26:12 there is a logic behind it. Instead of spending money on flowers that will die soon you may be asked for charity donation chosen by the couple (animal shelter, orphanage, any other foundation ...) - you bring money or thing (like dog food). The other option is something that will live longer than flowers and is about the same price (book, bottle of wine....)

Rob - even if you are living in big city you can find in the surrounding suburbs\vilages special places to rent for weddings.

Basically the tradition of welcoming the newlyweds with the bread and salt is done to ensure wealth, happiness and eternal love. Often after the consumption of a piece of bread with salt there are also 2 shots of vodka or 1 with vodka and 1 with water. In the second case the wife chooses her shot first and there's this belief that who had to drink vodka will be the dominant one in the relationship. After that they throw the glasses backward over their right shoulder. The pieces should symbolize the years they will spend together. If the glass doesn't shatter the groomsman/the best man has to break it with his foot. There's actually A LOT more traditions like this

I hope that someone will invite you for polish wedding so you will be able to experience it on your own skin 😅

Hi Rob, I am Polish eoman married to a Brit living on London ") we met in Warsaw 14 years ago where he worked. I have been to quite few English weddings and of course Polsish weddings and our wedding was at the golf course in the beautiful marquee. We had church wedding but I did that as it was important to my dad not to me tbh. English weddings Re so so different. Polish weddings are definitely more flash. What shocked me you speparate guests like some come to church some to dinner some to evening. In Poland that would never worked and would be considered rude. Yes you can in invite some just to church like neighbours some distant colleagues etc. But there is no segregation dinner and later party as food ad polish wedding is non stopnserved. Yku have 3 course meal always old buffet whoke night and sweet buffet nowdays they are very fancy. You have willage stand sometimes. And warm food is served through the nigh. We had toast pig on ours to chef shows English guest were shocked amount of food we had. Same with alcohol free all night we had a cocktail bar and whiskey and brandy and cigar bar, plenty of italian wine and vodka too. Party last untill 5 am in the morning. Sometimes you have 2nd say of the party too. In past wedding was always minimum of 2 days but now not as much. You pay for your guests hotel rooms and transport fdom and to the hotel from the wedding venue. Wedding cake is not like an English cake which was another surprise to me how bad it was. Wedding cake in poland can me anything you want and can be delicious mine was beauituf tiramisu flavour and cookies and cream italian style sponge. Party as I said usualy lasts whole night with plenty of food and drinking for guests. Our English guests till this day said there will be no other wedding like ours. And I have to agree. English wedding just not the same. I was shocked how little food, and drink for free is offered to guests, how fast they finish. You need to go to someone who have really good swanky wedding in Poland! Greetings from London ps. I live in big city in poland. And yes food is served in poland . A lot of served food and a lot buffet a lot of everything.

Every wedding is different, a lot depends on the preferences of the bride and groom, the wedding date and the number of guests.

We do wear wedding rings on the right hand. We used to do it on the left, like most of Europe, and the rigth hand was for widows and widowers. During the german and russian occupation people started wearing their wedding rings on the right hand as a sign of mourning and it eventually lost that meaning and stayed as a new tradition.

Polish weddings last 2 days, my cousin's wedding with a Brit of Greek origin (very wealthy man) in London lasted 2 hours.

The thing with a bread and a salt. Back in the days, right after being marriend in the church, all village people were going through their village up to the groom's house carrying bride's dowry. It was the moment when girl was offically leaving her home and joining groom's household. In there were waiting groom's parents (with that bread and salt) and when groom and bride arrived, new in-laws welcomed newlyweds to their home. It was the symbol of accaptance and blessing from parents. About vodka... In last years, there is less and less vodka drank at parties. We used to dink it a lot, because there were no other options. Nowadays it is present at different types of parties, but usually people prefer colorful drinks, beers, wine, shots and ect. Of course, people still drink it, but more flavour-pleasant options are getting popular with each year. Nonetheless keep in mind that usually within rural areas there are still massive amounts of vodka drunk, there's usually no coctail bars or wine there. And yea we also have hog roast (fortunally it is an option and only some wedding have it). There is usually "sweet table" standing somewhere with different kinds of sweets and chocolate fountain. And sometimes there is also different quite big stand with different snack in form of cheeses, meats and similar stuff, to grab a bite whenever you want. With the dog food. Usually you go to the wedding with 2 presents - one main (usually money) and one small (back then - flowers). But flowers are problematic (they quickly die and it's a hussle to move them from wedding venue and take care of them). So instead of flowers people started to asking for something more practical (like books) OR something to donate later (like pet accessories for shelter or money for specific person in need). And to one thing in beggining. If there's no church wedding, only reception, then guests are invited there to witness it, as it is recognized as the most important event. (During Covid, when it was forbidden to invite guest, there was usually a live streaming online, so guests can witness it at least in that way.) Also, reception and party are usually the same day, because guests are attending both. Hope it helps. :) AND OF COURSE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. 😂😂😂 During wedding party usually there is a moment when DJ/ band starts to play famous polish song Rudy się żeni (Ginger is getting married). It's a song where guys are singing that their buddy is getting married - you just have to check out the lyrics. 😂 When this song is playing everyone sing every "Rudy się żeni" part, but instead of "Rudy" they sing groom's name. Also it pretty popular, that during this song all the young and strong men will catch a groom and together toss him up in the air multiple times as high and as long as they can do it. It doesn't have any meaning, but at this point I think we can call it a tradition. Just a moment to celebrate groom's end of bachelor's life. :D

Dla Katolików Ślub jest jednym z sakramentów.... resztę dowiedz się sam :)

W Polsce niekoniecznie była tradycja pierścionkó zaręczynowych, kogo ze starszego pokolenia bym nie pytała, nikt nie miał, do nas przyszła ta moda z zachodu, bo widzieliśmy to na filmach i dużo zagranicznych zwyczajów wprowadza się u nas np. rzucanie kwiatami, a pytania dziennikarki dziwne jakby nigdy na śłubie nie była

2:36 arguably, you might only know one of them well. It's been a case for me when I've got invited to good friends wedding, but I only knew his bride from the looks cause she wasn't big on going out into public spaces or parties. 8:54 wedding size definitely vary a lot. All depends on how big families of both are, how big are their friend groups, do they share friends or not, etc... I've been to relatively small weddings with only like 20-30 people. Now those guys that speak about 300 people looks like they are from a more traditional place in Poland, maybe some kind of village that has enourmous families. Pretty common in mountain regions too. 16:43 kind of accurate. It's literally a couples choice what they want to have on the table. I'd say a dinner a norm as are the different food platters. But it also highly depends on restaurant/cathering choice and their offer. It does differ by region, but even in the same city you can encounter many different wedding receptions. 23:38 that's a news for me, I've only seen standard bouquet throw in Poland. Nor I've seen the bride wearing veils over the course of the day. 25:50 funny enough one pair I know wanted the animal feed, cause they are both really big animal lovers, so they got all that to the shelter afterwads

The biggest wedding I ever attended was in 1990 in small village. Not sure how many people was there but at least 300. The menu consisted mainly of various types of fish, but there were also soups: borscht, tripe, żurek. I got really drunk and danced rock 'n' roll on the table. The other weddings were quite similar and always was a 'next day party' called in Polish 'poprawiny'. Our own wedding was very modest. There were only the closest family and friends, about 20 people. We didn't rent a hall, but just went to the restaurant for dinner.

At all the weddings I've been to in 15-18 years it looked similar. The bride and groom were greeted with bread and salt by their parents (or moms) drink vodka and water, then everyone drinks champagne. Next the bride and groom throw the glasses behind them to break, for good luck. There is a lot of food at the wedding. The bride and groom choose a wedding hall or restaurant and select a food package. It is very important to confirm arrival at the party because the bride and groom pay for each person The package usually includes a main dinner i.e. soup and main dish and 2 to 4 hot meals served every 2 to 4h until 2-3am (soup, bigos, meat, fish, stew etc) On the table are cold snacks like sliced ham and meat, various salads, herring, pate in pieces, meat rolls. There are also cakes, fruits, cold drink and vodka and wine A wedding cake is served between hot meals. The services also serves dessert( if it is included in the packed) and hot drink (tea and coffee) The wedding party ends by 4-5 am A very popular wedding option is the bar and service. Mix of alcohols and drinks are served. At a low cost, the bride and groom organize a table with mix of alcohol and cold drinks and there are recipes for drinks the second option very popular is a sweet tables with cakes and desserts, chocolate fountains with fruits, etc The bride and groom give a invitation minimum of 3 months before the wedding. Guests can decide if they go only to the ceremony or also to the party. Guests set a budget for gifts (money) and to buy new clothing. this is also expensive for guests so many family members do not come to the party

Rob....I'm seriously worried about you, brother, your head will explode after all this Polish learning

Hello. I have been to many weddings in my life. In southern Poland, weddings are very lavish!! Especially one from 40 years ago which was in the mountains next to the wedding house, dancing in the barn. People ate, drank and had fun for 2 days + half of the village. next to the wedding. Today, there are beautiful venues with all the fancy amenities, all possible varieties of alcohol to choose from, a great orchestra and special games. I dare say that Polish weddings are the best events in the world. There is a proverb, "Sit up and bet yourself." Poles are like that.

Kto widzial film pt."Cztery wesela i pogrzeb " to ma obraz wesela w UK.

And when the guests were very tired in the morning, nothing tastes better than crunchy croquettes and spicy borscht to drink.

You should check "Vigo's Dad" content, guy from Dominican Republic, there is a lot of quite accurate things about Poland. BTW: Hope you enjoy trip to Australia :)

The traditional Polish Mountain weddings are quite celebrative. That is what they were talking about.

I've been to many weddings and it really depends on the bride and groom what it looks like :D It used to be a tradition that the parents of the bride and groom paid for the wedding and then there were actually a lot of guests because the parents also invited their friends. Now couples decide to finance it themselves and therefore there are fewer guests. As for alcohol - I've been to a few non-alcoholic weddings, so it's not always there, but when couples decide to have an alcoholic wedding, there's usually vodka, wine, sometimes whiskey, and sometimes beer. And various tinctures! As for gifts instead of flowers - couples simply don't want to waste flowers, of which they would receive a lot, so on the invitations they specify that guests should bring something more practical instead of flowers - such as books, lotto coupons, or animal food that the bride and groom will donate to the shelter. I think this specific gesture is very cool :) I was at a wedding where the bride and groom wanted to accept money for charity instead of flowers.

at 11.50 you' ve misunderstood. They are welcomed with 2 glasses. There is water in one of them and vodka in the other, so you can see who got vodka on their faces.He couldn't explain the meaning of the tradition.

In close to mountains ( region of Poland) people invite this 200 260 300 people on wedding.

to są targi i oni tam mówili o polskim weselu ale w mieście jak dla mnie w porównaniu do wesela na wsi nie ma prawie nic wspólnego. jedyne co było wspulne to alkochol tort i wsumie tyle

Last year I went to my cousin's wedding. It was the first time when I had a chance to meet and talk to his fiancee, so it's not so obvious that you know both bride and groom :)

In United States Polish Highlander weddings have 500-700 people on average. My niece had 650 and it was beautiful.

So the shot of vodka and water is very funny and interesting. By tradition when newly wed come to place where reception is taking place, they are welcomed by parents and presented with bread, salt, one shot of vodka and one shot of water. Firstly The Bride chooses the shot, Groom takes the other. By tradition the one who got vodka will be deciding in the marriage, while the one who got water will be obedient. Just an old Polish superstition :)

Welcoming the groom and bride by the parents with bread and salt is a very old (pagan) tradition. Bread is symbol of wealth (as it was hard to get one at that time) and salt was used as a preservative. The whole welcoming ceremony is a wish of long lasting wealth. Next they drink a shot and throw glasses behind them - breaking a glass is supposed to bring luck. The last step is to sweep broken glass - the one from the couple that pick the broom and do the cleaning will be listening the commands of the other one in the marriage.

The dog food thing stems from the tradistion that as a guest (to a weding or any other important celebration) you do not come emptyhanded. It was always custom to bring a token gift: most often flowers. This tradition is engraved in the older generetions so much that It makes people feel weird not to bring something. Because gifts are now beeing replaced by cash (that in a strange way does not count in a mind of a polish person as an apropriate gift, probably because it is inpersonal and a bit transactional) people started replacing the traditional gifting of flowers and an envelope with something less wastefull. If 20 aunts and uncles really have to bring 'something' (apart from the cash) to not feal rude let it be something usefull, thus books or wine for the couple OR if the couple wants to give back a little to the comunity, they sometimes ask to bring food for animals that is later gifted to a shelter or toys that are then gifted to an orphanage. Basically it's something weird born threw a process of changing some sweet but a bit wastefull traditions. I hope this rambling was at least partially informative.

I`ve only been to weddings in the willage, so it is normal to mee to have warm food every 1.5-2h, last meal at 3AM? A big roasted pig arrives ad midnight and IMPORTANT - the person who gets wodka not water when you arrive to the venue is the person that will be the decision maker in the house/relationship ^^

One more thing regarding welcoming bride and groom with salt, bread and vodka. It is always served by mothers from the both sides, and bride's mom ask bride "co wybierasz, chleb sól czy pana młodego?" / "What are you choosing, bread, salt or groom?" And there are few options to respond, I personally selected "pana młodego i miłość jego na chleb i trochę soli dorobimy sie powoli" // "I choose groom and his love, for bread and Salt we will work together" (something like that). And then bride and groom are eating piece of bread with pincht of Salt and drinking from two glasses - in one is vodka, in second water. The one with vodka will be head of new family :D after drinking, glasses are throwed away behind newily married so that glass can breake, it is some kind of good omen giving good luck to bride and groom for their new start. Glasses are usually tight up together with small ribbon.

Wedding and engagement rings are worn on right hand ring finger :)

Welcoming the young couple with bread and salt, as well as vodka and water, is a very old tradition - the bread is supposed to symbolize abundance and prosperity (in Poland, bread has always been sacred), so that there is no shortage of bread in their home :) Vodka and water are checking who will rule in the house, whoever drinks vodka will be the head of the family, then the glasses are broken for good luck

I guess no one mentioned the wonderful wedding tradition called oczepiny - games and activities only for adults that take place after midnight. It's great fun. 😁

Pet food is provided on a charity basis because after the wedding the bride and groom take it to an animal shelter. :)

Sacrament of matrimony is about love .

Okay, so i'm kinda ready to write something about our wedding since the memory is still quite fresh (being married a little over 3 months) soo... We did get married in a church, and it's called "ślub konkordatowy". As i've read the polish law doesn't see only religous marriage as "real" marriage so there we have that "ślub konkordatowy" which is basically both - civil and religious one. All "papers" are signed in the church and then priest sends these to right office where the marriage is registered in law. We were our wedding rings on our right hands. When it comes to arriving at the place of wedding party (wesele) we're often are welcomed by our parents with bread and salt (that's tradition) and it's to wish young married couple to always have bread to it and additions to it. The thing with water and vodka is to determine which one will "lead" the marriage. In our example we both had water (so i guess we'll be not-so-spicy partners :D) We had around 60 people on our wedding party (including children, so around 40-50 adults) Only close family. We had 5 hot meals served around 2-3 hours one after another and few side dishes all the time. And instead hiring a band we chose "wodzirej" (not sure if the word bellwether is the right one) basically a man with his own music/sound equipment, lightning and (in our case) guitar. His role was to make sure everyone had fun and he did. Also quite popular at polish wedding parties is "wiejski stół" which is country table. Originally full of home-made bread, lard and meat products, sometimes smoked fish or bear/deer meat products and ofc looots of home-made alcohol. When it comes to wedding cake, we had amazing one in taste and very simple in presentation (i'm sure i was very far from Bridezilla), it was covered in milkyway mass which tend to harden when cooled. Really awesome and tasty stuff. For more sweet things, my family's friends prepared more different cakes to make sure there was enough. We also bought few. Hope that answered few questions :)

26:17 The reason is that the flowers will end up in the trash in a few days, and the newlyweds take the dog/cat food to an animal shelter and give it as a gift.

My aunt's wedding lasted 3 days and day before wedding we (whole family) were breaking the glass and plates on the street before grandma's house 😂

Today people are more aware. And they don't want to waste money for flowers. They rather ask to spend that money to help e.g. homeless animal shelters, or to help sick children. So dog food or pet supply is accurate. A new couple gives such gifts to a shelter or aid foundation. It's a nice touch from my opinion.

Your doing a great job my friend 🇵🇱💪

Polish weddings are very big. You need to invite whole family and friends (also with their partners), so sometimes you dont know the groom or bride 😂. Usually its 90-150 people. We have 50-60 people and everybody say "what a small wedding" 😂. We wear wedding ring on a right hand. They are usually made of yellow gold. There is a lot of food. Soup (rosół), dinner (meat, fish), salads, supper, and in the night another soup (probably barszcz) and meat like whole pig. Also desserts, cake and pies. We usually drink vodka and we sing "a teraz idziemy na jednego" and we drink vodka .We also sing "gorzko gorzko" and bride and groom need to kiss. Also we drink wine. Disco polo music is a must 😂 but also we play diffrent music. There are many traditional elements like bread, salt and vodka, first dance, thanking to the parents, cake. After midnight there are some special games for guest and bride and groom. It is starting from thowing wedding veil (women) and tie (men). The party ends usually at 5 a.m. And many people have "poprawiny" next day at 12 a.m when you drink and eat what was left from the first day. Presents are usually money and flowers or vine/lottery tickets/books.

I will also add that tradition is tradition, but sometimes I went to weddings that were thematic, e.g. everyone looked like from a gangster movie, there was a car in that style, etc., but of course some customs do not change, such as taking the bride in her arms, cutting the cake together , wedding games, although of course, as mentioned here - a wedding in the city looks different than in other regions, e.g. in the mountains, this can be seen, for example, in clothes, music, customs

1) If you have wather - you will easy life, vodka - a lot cry. We had wather and wather. If you are hungry, vodka is very bad idea. 2) Fat eating is very important, when you like vodka ;)

Weddings don't have to be expensive, especially when you live in a countryside and you have hundreds of neighbors helping you make all the food, from things you all grew and harvested by yourselves. You decorate a barn or firehouse - which is actually quite common. Everybody serves themselve. You party for 2 days with entire neighborhood and families, but no money spent.

On our wedding we asked for school things for kids instead of flowers and wine. Then everything was given to a local orphanage. Of course we were given extra quite a lot of wine and flowers.

26:13 Dog food or books and sometimes children toys as a gift for the newly wed that is probably for charity. Even flowers almost always go to the church.

Highlanders in Poland tends to organize those huge weddings. This is super big event. Normally it is on average 100 people. There are people who loves to have a lot of people and then you can hit 200. IMO pointless because that are people usually invited by parents and young ones do not know. That is “traditional” wedding paid by parents and church is must have.