It’s always interesting to see what others are doing when it comes to weddings + engagements, so we thought it would be a little fun to open up the idea of engagements and photography to other countries for this post!

For a minute, let’s travel the world to see how engagement culture and celebrations differ from those here in Pittsburgh — sometimes, no matter where you are, some of the tried-and-true traditions are ones experienced across people of many lands.

Engagement Traditions around the world

It’s easy to recall how a traditional western engagement goes — someone on bended knee, handing over a ring and celebrating with happiness! But around the world, there are many different traditions to celebrate this time — check out some of these popular concepts;

Japan 

For the Japanese, you aren’t really engaged if the couple hasn’t had a ceremony called Yunio, which is Japanese for engagement. In this engagement, the couple is expected to exchange a set of nine gifts with each other. These gifts are wrapped in rice paper and are symbolic gifts for wishing the couple’s longevity, wealth and well wishes. A photographer is usually present to capture this special time. Here’s an even more interesting part of a Japanese wedding after they exchange the nine presents — the groom also presents the bride’s family with betrothal gifts!

Thailand

In the Thai culture, an official engagement is considered after a Thong Mun ceremony is celebrated between the couple. Thong Mun is not just decided by the couples but is negotiated or talked about with the family members of the bride in advance. Thong Mun means gold engagement and according to the Thai tradition the Groom is supposed to be presenting the Bride with gold presents. Thailand holidays are one of the best travel experiences and beautiful to capture in engagement pictures!

Scotland

One of the most interesting engagement traditions is that of the Scottish people. In Scotland, men wanting to marry is put through different steps or paces, by the bride’s father. This is traditionally called a Speerin which requires the prospective groom to accomplish a range of tasks or hurdles set by the father. A tactical yet definitely fun filled engagement this is and requires the photographer to be ready during the ongoing tasks — a fun way to look back on memories!

No matter which type of engagement you plan on having, whether in the city of Pittsburgh or in any of the surrounding neighborhoods of the city, I’m happy to capture the emotions and love. Contact me to learn more about Pittsburgh engagement photography!