A Portuguese couple’s wedding invitation traditionally carries both
the bride’s and the groom’s addresses, since it is customary to live with one’s
parents until married. All wedding gifts are traditionally sent to the Bride’s
house, and put on display to be admired by relatives and close friends who come
to visit. On those occasions, tradition calls for a cup of tea and a piece of
cake to be served. Since Portugal is a very conservative country, with a large Roman
Catholic population, bachelor and bachelorette parties have always been rather
innocent consisting mostly of friends and relatives getting together for
food and drinks. It is customary for the oldest members of the Bride and Groom’s
community to attend the Groom’s stag party, where he bids farewell to his
single life and his single friends.
Wedding Rituals
 The big moment for the Groom would take place at the church, since he
could not see his Bride until she entered the Church. The Bride’s big moment,
however, would start as soon as she left her home. Tradition -- closely upheld
in small villages and communities calls for the Bride to walk to church with
her wedding party, closely followed by the wedding guests. Portuguese wedding ceremonies usually consist of a Roman Catholic
mass, where traditionally the priest would bind the couple’s hands with his
stole, or call for the Bride and Groom to exchange rings, and then cover the
couple with his stole, to unite and protect them. As the newlyweds exit the
church, friends and relatives customarily throw bonbons and flowers, in lieu of
tossing rice. In Portugal, many weddings used to be small and restricted to direct
family, while others would be larger affairs where friends and relatives would
all lend a hand in planning and organizing all the details of the wedding
festivities. In Canada, Portuguese communities have been influence by other
cultures and old customs are beginning to change. A new tradition involves serving the infamous ‘Seafood Plates’ or a ‘Seafood
Buffet’. Portuguese people interviewed, such as Mr. Albino Silva, Chef at Chiado
Fine Dining, and Ms. Maria do Carmo Nogueira from the Portuguese Trade and
Tourism Commission, tend to disagree with this new extravagant custom. In
Portugal, weddings have always been fashioned after European traditions, where
food is abundant but not extravagant.
Portugal is renowned for its wine, and the Romans used to associate the
country with Bacchus, their God of Wine and Feasts. Popular wines include Vinho
Verde, Vinho Alvarinho, Vinho do Douro, and Vinho da Bairrada, as well as sweet
Port and Madeira wine, and wedding guests indulge in frequent toasts to the
happy couple. Wedding receptions typically do not have a firm schedule: parties can
last long into the night, and it is not unusual for breakfast to be served.
Meal structure allows for free time between courses, giving guests a chance to
dance and build up an appetite! Portuguese wedding guests,
traditionally, are served only what the hosts can afford. Many families chose
to prepare their own food, trusting that all dishes they prepare themselves
will always be the very best. Farmers and people from small villages would
traditionally serve their own chickens and pigs, as well as fresh-grown
tomatoes and potatoes. Each region of Portugal has its own traditional dishes.
Codfish is a favourite throughout the country, and it is said that there are
over 365 ways to prepare it.
 Portuguese wedding receptions usually take place at a private
home or, more commonly, these days, at a restaurant. They typically involve
traditional music and a lot of dancing, while guests exchange stories about the
Bride and Groom. The ancient custom of passing the Bride's shoe around to all
the guests, to receive monetary donations that will help the couple set up
their new home, is still maintained today, and guests eagerly join the
festivities and participate in this ritual. Traditionally, there will also be a
money dance, where the Bride’s shoe is passed around the dance floor, as young
-- and not so young -- men pay for the privilege of dancing with the Bride. Another important part of the reception is called ‘Copo d’ Agua’ (cup
of water.) During this ritual, the Bride and Groom go from table to table to
spend time with their guests, and ensure that everyone is having a good time
and enjoying their meal; a champagne toast is offered as the newlyweds cut
their wedding cake, and offer the first slice to a single
friend, to bring them luck. The Bride then customarily throwsher bouquet into
an eagerly awaiting group of single girls.
Post Wedding Rituals
It is traditional for the newlyweds to leave the party before the end,
to spend their first night together. This is not as easy as it sounds: the
newlyweds must escape and avoid all the games played by their guests. Their
exit turns into a huge competition, where the guests will try to stop the
couple from leaving by playing small and innocent pranks such as hiding their
luggage, taking their car away, or putting them under the spotlight all night
long. If they are lucky, the Bride and Groom will manage to leave the party
without being spotted, and get to enjoy their first night together -- alone. The following day, traditionally, the new couple will visit all of
their guests to personally thank each and every one of them for attending their
wedding, and sharing the most important day of their lives. |
In ancient times, the Portuguese wedding was used
to marry simply to build a family. Given that the parents decided on all
details regarding the wedding including the selection of the Groom and the
Bride love was not necessarily the main reason for marriage. Everything involved an agreement between families. The Bride’s family would
be responsible for the hosting of all the parties, while the Groom’s family
would be responsible for giving a large gift to the newlyweds usually a
house. Nowadays, even though there are many traditional and conservative
families, marriage is a synonym with a promise of mutual love that will last as
long as both parties shall live. In days past, the Bride’s family would hold the engagement party.
Tradition called for the Groom to send a friend or a relative to ask the
prospective Bride’s father for permission to ask for the daughter’s hand in
marriage. Often, the Groom’s father performed this task. If the Bride’s father
agreed, the young man could formally ask for the girl’s hand in marriage, and
having thus received the father’s blessing, the wedding was allowed to take
place. An ancient tradition -- long abandoned -- called for the prospective
Bride to pretend to be a cow that needed to be recognized by its owner, her
soon-to-be husband, before the wedding celebrations could begin. Considering that the majority of people in Portugal are Roman Catholic, a
mass would follow the engagement. After this mass, close relatives would be invited
to a small reception. The Bride would choose a ‘Madrinha’ -- a Maid of Honour
-- and the Groom would choose a ‘Padrinho’ -- a Best Man. In some cases, two
couples would be chosen to fill those roles. 
