The First Dance

So here's another post about cultural perks when it comes to weddings. In my home country, the first dance is just that: the first dance. The bride and groom choose a song, which will be "their" song and by dancing to it after dinner, they open the dance floor to the other guests. In Denmark, the first dance is more elaborate.... 

First of: it has a name: "Brudevals" (literally "Bridal Waltz") 

Second of: it is a specific Waltz....! 

Third of: there are rules!

1. The dance needs to take place before midnight, or else, bad luck will be brought upon the married couple. The bride and groom start dancing, surrounded by the guests who clap there hands to the rhythm. Well demonstrated here by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark:

(Source)

2. As the music plays, the guests get closer and closer to the dancing couple:

(Source)

3. When the couple is completely enclosed by the crowd, the men grab the groom, take off his shoes and cut off the top of his socks with a pair of scissors, while the women cut the bride's veil into pieces (though I doubt that Crown Princess Mary's fine antique veil even remotely came into contact with any scissors!). The tradition (ahem, read superstition) explains these happenings as the following:

- cutting the bride's veil: this brings the bride happiness to her marriage.

- cutting the groom's socks: this will prevent him from cheating on his wife, because he won't dare take his shoes off in front of any other woman and show his ugly toes.

Now I'm not against traditions, I even think some are cute (like the favor thingy), but I do have a slight problem to follow some of them when I'm soooo against their meaning. And I'm not a traditions-bound kind of gal. You might have guessed that already if you've read my post about  the father giving away his daughter.... the same goes for the Bridal Waltz: cut my hubby's socks to prevent him from cheating on me.... on my wedding day? Really?? Not liking the idea so much. 

I mean, I do not have anything against people who follow the traditions to a T (and there are MANY traditions in Denmark), but I'm just not the kind of person who will do something just because it's tradition. To me, traditions always have a meaning, and I'll only follow them if I can agree with them at least to some extent. 

So we have decided to do our first dance (which is a cute tradition) to a song that is not a Waltz and that we'll have chosen because of its meaning to us, and we'll simply hope that our guests will honor our decision. 

(Source)

Mazel tov!