Latvia Brides are attired in white flowing gowns completed with a veil. The veil is passed to the next in line of marriage. Jewelery forms an integral part of a brides dress. Latvian bride’s jewelery may be in the form of cubic zirconia necklace, rhinestone pearl earrings, tiaras, and vow rings. Flowers also are an integral part of a bride’s make up.
Latvia brides wear this white wedding dress with a veil till midnight. The veil is removed by the women members at the reception and pass it on to the next sister who would marry next. The bride then puts on her cap and becomes ‘the wife’. Often, the bride is kidnapped by the groomsmen to be released on the payment of a ransom by the groom. The ransom is in the form of song, dance and drinks.
In another custom Latvia brides write down their sins on stone pebbles and throw them into the water before marriage. It essentially means transferring ones sins to the stones and then atone them by throwing into the water thereby destroying them.
Brides in Latvia together with their newly married grooms follow a tradition of locking padlocks. In this Latvian tradition ( originally Russian) the couple is required to lock a padlock in the railings of a bridge or fence and throw the keys into water. The now unbreakable lock signifies an unbreakable married life.
National Anthem of Latvia
