Weddings around the world

A bridesmaid adds final touches to the make up of a Bulgarian Pomak bride at her wedding ceremony in the Rhodope Mountains village of Ribnovo, Bulgaria, Nov. 19, 2006.

The people of this mountain village are famous for performing their unique wedding ceremonies in wintertime only.

Israel

A Jewish bride dances with her grandfather, the Rabbi of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish group, Tholdot Avraham Yizhak Hasidic, during her wedding in Mea Shearim, an ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem, Aug. 28, 2012.

During the Mitzva Tanz dance ritual members of the community and family dance in front of the bride at the end of the wedding ceremony.

Russia

Oktyabrskaya railway company's employees welcome a newly-married couple, Alexey and Adeline Aleskiny, in front of a wedding train, in the railway station in St. Petersburg, Russia,April 18, 2007.

In Russia, it is traditional to offer bread and salt to a newlywed couple as a symbol of health and prosperity.

China

Groom Zhang Wei and his bride Wang Hui attend their traditional Chinese wedding ceremony in Nanjing Province, China, April 28, 2007.

Traditional wedding dresses in China are red, a symbol of luck and wealth.

Turkey

Kurdish men dance during a wedding ceremony at Yekmal village in the mountains of Hakkari, Turkey, June 24, 2012.

Uzbekistan

An Uzbek girl attends a wedding, where traditional carpets adorn the tables and walls in the Oykabura village in the Fergana Valley region in the central Asian country of Uzbekistan, Aug. 13, 2006.

Sudan

Sudanese men play traditional wind instruments locally called an "al-Waza" in Khartoum, April 14, 2008. These wind instruments are used during wedding and other celebrations.

Serbia

A groom leads his bride on a horse during a traditional wedding ceremony in Guca, Serbia during the Guca Trumpet festival, the world's largest brass music event, Aug. 10, 2003.

India

Wedding guests dance as they accompany a wedding procession on in New Delhi, India, Nov. 23, 2011.

India's wedding season peaks from late October to early December each year as couples choose to wed in these auspicious months. The Indian wedding traditionally starts with a procession, which sees the groom riding or drawn by a carriage with a white horse, escorted by close family and friends, a brass band and a mobile lighting crew powered by a diesel generator. Guests in attendance dance and celebrate through the streets, showering the groom with rupee notes, until they arrive to the final destination of the wedding.

Romania

Ana Maria, daughter of the self-proclaimed "King of the Gypsies," Cioaba Florin, is seen here before her wedding in Sibiu, Romania, Sept. 27 2003.

Ana Maria was 14-years-old at the time of her wedding and her groom was 15. It is common in Romani, or "Gypsy" culture for women to marry at a young age.

Nepal

A Nepalese bride and a groom are helped by a priest to perform their wedding rituals according to Nepalese Hindu traditions on the occasion of Basant Panchami in Kathmandu, Jan. 26, 2004.

It is believed that a couple that marries on Basant Panchami will lead a happy life.

Palestine

Palestinian groom Zakariya Sada, wearing a suit covered with banknotes offered as wedding gifts, is escorted by dancing relatives and friends down the main street of his village during his marriage celebration July 7, 2007 in the northern West Bank village of Jatt.

Gifts of cash at weddings are part of a local tradition in the Palestinian territories.

South Africa

South African President Jacob Zuma, left, sings and dances with his bride, Tobeka Madiba, right, at their traditional Zulu wedding ceremony in Nkandla, South Africa, Jan. 4, 2010.

The couple danced in an open field at Zuma's homestead in Nkandla, a village deep in the countryside of KwaZulu-Natal province.

Mexico

"Bride's atole" (a hot maize drink) is offered beside a basket containing three different types of corn at the Mole Fair in San Pedro Atocpan, near Mexico City's inner limits, Oct. 1, 2007.

A tradition of the town says that the bride has to serve the "atole" to all her guests on the day of her wedding.

South Korea

A traditional royal wedding being performed at Unhyeon Palace in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 23, 2003.

For traditional Korean weddings, the bride and groom wear colorful outfits called Hollyebok.

Germany

Child "groom" Maurice kisses his "bride" Lenka during a traditional Sorbian "birds wedding", Jan. 25, 2008 at a kindergarten in Cottbus, eastern Germany.

Children of Sorbian origin traditionally celebrate the symbolic wedding to greet the upcoming end of the winter. The Sorbs are a Slavic minority living in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg.