In Denmark, the throwing of rice is a symbol of fertility and so ensuring the newlywed couple are showered in rice as they leave their wedding ceremony is a way of hopefully seeing them blessed with the gift of children. Due to rice not being sustainable for nature, we will be using Olive Leaves.
At the wedding party, if the groom needs to leave the room for any reason, it is a MUST that all the men will go kiss the bride! And the same if the bride leaves the room – all the women in the room will hurry to go and kiss the groom! If the guests start to bang their knives and forks on the table, the newlyweds have to kiss each other – but they must do this standing on their chairs! If the guests start to stamp their feet on the floor, the newlyweds must kiss, but this time under the table!!
The men closest to the groom will pick up the groom at the end of the first dance, take off his shoes and cut the toes off his socks. This symobilises the huge responsibility of the groom entering married life. He is no longer a young single boy. He is now a married man!