Lithuania is a country with a rich tradition going back over centuries. Many aspects of culture remain unchanged, including the traditional wedding.

The wedding is arranged by a matchmaker. In recent times the prospective bride and groom usually know each other beforehand but the matchmaker is still hired to negotiate the terms of the marriage and the dowry.

On the morning of her wedding day the bride says a tearful farewell to her family and her childhood home. She then rides to the home of her future husband, preceded by the kraitveziai or dowry drivers who transport her trousseau to her new home. The bride enters the home of her groom and places a red towel on the hearth near the stove to appease the spirits of the house. She also ties sashes to various points around the house and presents her new in laws with fabric, towels and sashes.

The wedding ceremony now begins with the bride entering the church accompanied by her maids of honor. The bride is dressed in the traditional headdress which marks her passage from girlhood to adulthood. This ritual is performed by the brides married friends and sisters.

The ceremony is followed by a reception in which the newly weds are fed wine, bread and salt to signify the joy, sorrow and toil they must endure during their life together.

On the eighth day after the wedding the bride visits her childhood home in a ritual called atgriztai. She is received as an honored guest because she now belongs to another home and family