Spanish-Swedish wedding

As you all know by now, we are getting married in Spain and mainly according to Spanish traditions. We will try to keep as many Swedish traditions as possible, even if it's a bit tricky. To make you familiar with the different traditions, we will explain them shortly on this page. Please read it through carefully in order to be able to interact as much as possible.

Dress code

In Spain the dress code is suits for the men - with tie - and long dresses for the women. The bride will carry a wedding gown, although the ceremony is in the city hall instead of in the church, and the bridegroom will wear a tuxedo.

 

Ceremony

The ceremony will take place in the city hall in Langreo and according to Spanish traditions the bridegroom arrives with his mother ("madrina" for this occasion) and shortly afterwards, the bride with her father ("padrino" for this occasion). The whole ceremony is conducted in Spanish - there is just no other possibility yet in Spain ... If your Spanish is a bit "rusty", you can try to make out when we say "sí, quiero", which means "yes, I do" .

Wedding party, languages and speeches

At the dinner we will try to place everyone close to somebody who speaks a common language. It will be tough though, since the Spaniards mostly don't speak any English at all, but maybe it will be better after some wine.

Some of the most important things at a Swedish wedding are the speeches. First, the father of the bride will make a speech, then the father of the bridegroom. Afterwards, anyone how wants to make a contribution; make a speech, tell a joke or reveal something embarrassing about the bridal couple, sing a bit, well, anything that isn't longer than 5 minutes - we have to have time to eat as well -  is welcome to do so. Just have a word with one of the "toastmasters", Iván or Linda. Try to keep it in English if possible.

The Spanish main theme at weddings is eating - a lot! Plenty of good food and drinks will be served, but first some "canapés" (various "tapas") until the couple has arrived. After the dinner there will be dancing and "barra libre", drinks for everyone. 

Toasting

Toasting is normally not so important at a Spanish wedding, but it is very important at a Swedish wedding. After every speech there is a toast - skĺl!! The Spanish people don't have this tradition, but they often shout "Vivan los novios" ("Long live the couple"), and then the rest shout "Vivan" and then we all toast with raised glasses. In Spain people are a bit superstitious and believe that toasting with water brings bad luck, so try to fill your glass with something else. For the Swedish toasts - raise your glass looking your "table partner" (the person on your right if you are a man, and the one to your left if you are a woman) into the eyes, then look the person on your other side into the eyes, then the person in front of you into the eyes, and then you can drink. After toasting, it's the reverse sequence.

Wedding gifts

In Sweden there is generally a table where the guests can put the gifts for the couple. In Spain the gifts are mainly economical - an envelope with money. We will not have a table for the present, since we don't want our guests to have to travel with bulky gifts, nor do we have the possibility to travel home with them ourselves. Please see the "Wedding list" for more details .