Getting married in South Tyrol

Traditions still play a significant role in weddings in South Tyrol. Many customs are also known elsewhere – especially in the German-speaking and rural areas. Here are some examples:

• Wedding invitations: The engaged couple delivers the wedding invitation personally. In many cases, they bring a bridal schnapps and linger with the invited guests, so that distributing the wedding invitations may be quite time-consuming.
• Stag night: Before the wedding, the best man/friends of the bride and groom organize a stag night – often as a surprise. How this is celebrated depends entirely on the circle of friends: It can be a relaxing beauty day in a wellness hotel as well as party trip a lasting several days.
• Wake up on the wedding morning: The bride and groom usually do not spend the night before the wedding in the same house. They are often woken up early in the morning by their friends, sometimes with firecrackers. The friends then only leave again after they have had breakfast.
• Motorcade: After the wedding ceremony, the wedding party drives to the next station honking loudly.
• "Klause": The way to the aperitif/wedding reception can be blocked again and again by the so-called "Klausen". There the bride and groom usually have to solve funny tasks before they are allowed to drive on.
• Bride kidnapping: During the wedding reception it can happen that the bride is kidnapped. Groom and bride's male attendant have to look for her in the inns in the vicinity and pay the bills that the kidnappers have left open.