What makes a wedding Brazilian
Brazilian wedding traditions, and how to bring them to your Rio wedding
Bem-casados, brigadeiros, a crowd of padrinhos at the altar and a party that goes late. Seven traditions your guests will talk about, explained — and how we include them when you get married here.
Explained
Seven Brazilian wedding traditions
Bem-casado
The “well-married” cake
Two small, soft sponge rounds filled with doce de leite, dusted with sugar and wrapped one by one, often with a ribbon. Guests take one home at the end of the night, and the name says why: a wish that the couple will be well married.
Brigadeiros and the sweets table
A table of sweets, not just a cake
Brigadeiros — chocolate and condensed milk rolled into small truffles — and other fine sweets are laid out in hundreds, each in its own paper case, on a table dressed with flowers. In Brazil the sweets table is one of the most photographed moments of the party.
Padrinhos
Several couples at the altar
Instead of a best man and a maid of honour, Brazilian couples usually invite several couples of padrinhos — family and close friends — who walk in and stand beside them during the ceremony.
The ring on the right hand
Engaged on the right, married on the left
Brazilian couples usually wear their wedding bands on the right hand while engaged, and move them to the left hand at the ceremony.
The groom’s tie
Selling the tie
At many parties the groom’s tie is cut into small pieces and offered to the guests, who give something in return; the money goes to the couple, often for the honeymoon.
Names on the bride’s shoe
Who marries next
Single friends write their names on the sole of the bride’s shoe before the ceremony. By the end of the night, the name most worn away is said to be the next to marry.
A party that goes late
Dancing into the night
A Brazilian wedding party is long, and the dance floor fills early. Late in the night a warm caldinho, a small cup of thick soup, often comes out to keep everyone going. Here, the party itself runs 5 hours.
At the party
The ones guests remember
If you choose only one, choose the sweets. A table of brigadeiros and fine sweets, and a bem-casado for every guest to take home, are the easiest traditions to bring into a wedding from abroad, and the ones your guests will talk about on the flight back.
We plan them with you, together with the rest of the weekend: welcome drinks, the wedding and an after party, with an English-speaking planner and coordinator at every event.
Straight answers
Questions about Brazilian weddings
What finger do Brazilians wear their wedding ring on?
The ring finger, as in most countries, but the hand changes: Brazilian couples usually wear the band on the right hand while engaged and move it to the left at the wedding.
What is a bem-casado?
A small wedding cake made of two soft sponge rounds filled with doce de leite, wrapped individually and given to guests at the end of the party. The name means “well married”.
Can we include Brazilian traditions if we are not Brazilian?
Yes, and many couples coming from abroad choose a few: bem-casados and a sweets table are the easiest to add, and your guests will remember them. We plan them with you as part of the wedding.
Do you plan destination weddings in Rio?
Yes. Our three-day package — welcome drinks, the wedding and an after party, with an English-speaking planner and coordinator at every event — is priced in US dollars, from US$ 40,000 (60 guests).
Written by Thatiane Pacobahyba, of the Além do Sonho Eventos team.Updated on .
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