Canada is a multi-ethnic country with populations of British, French, Indigenous, Inuit, Chinese, and a small number of other European and Asian immigrants. These ethnic groups all possess their own traditional customs and practices, which is also reflected in their weddings, making Canada a country with diverse and colorful wedding traditions.
Shopping
Most British and French Canadians are Catholic or Protestant, and their wedding customs share many similarities with other Western Christian countries. Most young Canadians place great importance on weddings, always striving to make them warm, grand, colorful, and memorable, often beginning preparations several months or even a year in advance. In recent years, government departments at various levels in Canada have established a network of wedding consultation agencies across the country. Couples planning to marry can seek free wedding shopping advice at malls, restaurants, hotels, and even city halls. If the consultants are satisfied, they can purchase items on the spot with the guidance of a shopping assistant, often accompanied by free home delivery services. Wedding supply exhibitions are held annually in various regions, which are always bustling with activity.
Wedding Processions
Young Canadian men and women prefer to hold weddings between May and September, especially in July, and most ceremonies are scheduled for Saturdays. During this period, on weekends, the melodious "Wedding March" can be heard from churches across Canadian towns and cities from morning until night. The wedding processions of the bride and groom move slowly, with onlookers offering warm applause and laughter, and passing vehicles honking their horns in celebration, immersing the entire region in a joyous atmosphere. Because so many couples choose to marry during the same period, churches become exceptionally busy, so all preparations must be finalized three or four months in advance. Canadians love fresh flowers, and the flowers at their weddings are very exquisite; churches, banquet halls, and bridal chambers are decorated with roses, orchids, and lilies, which are colorful and fragrant, making the procurement of fresh flowers an important task.
The wedding ceremony is held in a church, and the content is largely similar to that in many other Western countries. The rings exchanged by the Canadian newlyweds are engraved on the inside with their respective initials and the wedding date, which both parties cherish as a permanent memento. After the church ceremony, the newlyweds ride in a decorated wedding car through bustling areas, followed by a visit to a scenic park or landmark for wedding photos.
Canadian wedding banquets are generally held in the evening, starting with an informal cocktail party, followed by a formal cold and hot buffet, creating a warm and grand atmosphere. Canadian newlyweds also have the custom of going on a honeymoon. Due to Canada's long winters, those with better financial means often prefer to vacation in the Caribbean islands or Florida in the United States to enjoy the sun, beaches, and waves. Those with more modest incomes often travel to domestic scenic spots, such as the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, Banff in the Rocky Mountains, or Lake Louise.
Chief
The weddings of Canadian Indigenous people are rich in ethnic color. The wedding location is usually chosen in a public building in an Indigenous community, typically a large wooden house. When the wedding is held, friends, relatives, neighbors, and villagers gather in the wooden house, sitting on the floor and exchanging greetings. Men, women, and children wear traditional clothing that is novel in style and brightly colored. Although Indigenous people are cheerful by nature, the wedding occasion appears very quiet, and even conversations are conducted in soft tones.
The wedding is officiated by the Chief and two elders. When they arrive at the scene, everyone pays their respects. The Chief wears traditional clothing, with tall feathers on his head symbolizing authority. The Chief sits in the center of the hall, with the two elders sitting on his left and right; they are the oldest people in the area, with gray-white hair braided into long plaits hanging over their shoulders. The bride and groom, dressed in traditional white deerskin clothing, kneel opposite the Chief. Adult men sit around the Chief, the elders, and the couple, while women and children sit on the outer perimeter, with knives, forks, plates, and bowls placed in front of each person.
As the ceremony begins, the Chief faces the sky and raises his hands, and the entire room falls silent. He lights mugwort, and as a plume of fragrant blue smoke rises, the Chief prays to the spirits in his native language to bless the couple. After the Chief finishes, the elders on his left and right speak and sing, their voices bold and rugged. After the prayer, the Chief takes a long-stemmed pipe, lights it with the mugwort, holds it horizontally in front of his chest, turns from left to right, and takes a few puffs. He then passes the pipe to the elder on his left, who repeats the action before passing it to the elder on the right, and then it is passed to the groom, the bride, and the guests. According to Indigenous tradition, the pipe symbolizes peace, and smoking it signifies friendship. After everyone present has smoked, four young people bring in a large barrel of soup. The bride and groom first serve a bowl to the Chief and the elders, and the Chief then divides the soup into five or six small buckets, which are then distributed to everyone present. According to traditional Indigenous custom, the groom must try to hunt a deer before the wedding, and the venison is cooked with wild rice to make a soup to be shared at the wedding. According to ancient custom, Indigenous weddings should also feature roasted bison when eating corn cakes, but since the bison is now a protected animal, many people substitute it with American "KFC fried chicken" at their weddings. In this way, Indigenous weddings maintain their own ethnic traditions while being influenced by Western culture. After the banquet, the Chief and elders depart, and people go to an open space to dance the traditional Indigenous Sun Dance to the beat of drums throughout the night.
"Bride Snatching"
The Inuit living in northern Canada still practice the ancient custom of "bride snatching." The Inuit value sincere affection and do not place much emphasis on the formalities of marriage. When a young man and woman fall in love and their relationship develops to a certain point, the man builds a house for the woman's family or gives the woman a set of warm clothing. Once the woman's family members move into the house or the woman puts on the clothes, the marital relationship is considered established. Inuit weddings are mostly held in the depths of winter because the heavy snow blocks the doors during this time, making it impossible to go out fishing or hunting. On the day of the wedding, the man hides near the woman's house, and when the opportunity arises, he "snatches" the girl away. The girl naturally knows the young man is freezing outside, and to test his loyalty, she intentionally stays deep inside the house, making it difficult for him to "snatch" her. A clever young man always uses a ruse to lure the girl out of the house to achieve his goal of "snatching" her. If the wedding is held in the summer, the young man can sneak into the woman's house and pull the girl away; the girl pretends to resist, the family pretends not to see, and eventually, the girl's cries fade into the distance. Inuit weddings are exceptionally simple; the bride and groom bow to the family elders, parents, siblings, and friends, everyone eats a meal of fish, drinks a bowl of fish soup, dances to their heart's content, and the wedding concludes as the guests depart.