While each religion and nationality tends to have its own well-established
traditions, it's become increasingly common for couples of mixed
backgrounds and ancestry to marry, even in countries that consider
themselves conservative. Indeed, interracial marriages are on the
rise, which leads to a growing desire for weddings with a multicultural
feel.
Chances are at any multicultural wedding that each family's traditions
are both wonderful in themselves and hold a great deal of importance,
so it's important to plan a wedding that celebrates both rather
than spotlighting one culture and neglecting the other.
Even if the couple themselves has no strong
feelings about having their heritage represented, it's important
to consider the feelings of family members. Yes, it's true
that the wedding is for the couple and should be planned according
to their preferences, but not at the risk of hurting or even alienating
family members who might be taken aback to see their cultural traditions
missing from the ceremony and reception.
One of the easiest way to approach a multicultural wedding is to
let one culture and dominate the ceremony, and the other take over
the reception. For example, if the bride's culture takes pride of
place at the ceremony, you could give the groom's culture equal
weight by selecting food, entertainment, toasts and traditions at
the reception to honor his cultural background.
Still, at the ceremony, it's a good idea to ensure that the wedding
attire, vows, music, décor and procedures stick as closely
as they can to the cultures of both bride and groom whenever possible.
When the two cultures are extremely different, it's not uncommon
to see couples holding two separate ceremonies.
While the preceding idea of having one culture
control the ceremony and the other the reception is one way of handling
a multicultural wedding, many couples choose to blend both traditions
together instead. While this can be difficult and sometimes
lead to excess family input, it may ultimately work best, because
neither family feels left out of a major ceremonial event.
There are innumerable ways to blend to two different traditions
into one wedding ceremony. For example, you could have the bride
and groom don the traditional attire of one heritage, while proceeding
down the aisle to traditional music from the other. Another take
on this idea is to have the bride dress according to her heritage,
and the groom according to his, symbolizing the union of two cultures
as well as that of two individuals. In fact, you can take this even
farther by having the bride and groom dress in each other's cultural
attire, symbolizing their total willingness to embrace the other's
traditions.
Naturally, you can also blend cultures at the reception in many
simple ways. The most obvious is to mix traditions in the food and
entertainment, serving a buffet-style dinner that's sure to please
both families. If you have a big budget for entertainment, you could
even hire two bands, one that specializes in the bride's ethnic
music and one to honor the groom. This can not only bring the families
together in a visceral way, but also ensure that the music never
stops. Many live bands take a number of breaks between sets, whereas
two live bands can alternate sets so the entertainment never dies
down.
If the budget doesn't stretch that far, though, you might want
to hire a band that plays the music of one culture, then hire dancers
to represent the other.
Although they're never simple, multicultural weddings are on the
rise. As interracial couples marry in increasing numbers, they find
an increasing need for thoughtful ways of blending two cultures
in a way that their guests can cherish and enjoy. Although the wedding
is ultimately for the couple, each couples should nonetheless take
care that neither family takes offense from the festivities, and
that both cultures receive the respect and honor they're due.
hi there. what ideas do you have for a couple who met online. i was thinking of incorporating little cardboard computers or mousepads or something of the sort as favors….does that sound corny? LOL!
Please don’t worry……..
I am American and my husband is Hindu….
I followed my heart and prayed for wisdom….
This is your life and your love….
I am 20 years older than my husband so age has no face….
Please just pray and put it out of your hands…..
Look forward to being with your soon to be wonderful husband… I know that it will be a joyful walk together…
An adventure that you’ll enjoy for years to come…
Best of Gods Blessings……..
Sincerely……….
im getting married:P but i have a problem:(( my fieonce is a Hindu.. and im an American. i dont even know where to begin planning or how im going to combine the many traditions of both cultures… my fieonce had grown up in India, and i grew up in the U.S. Our cultures are so different… i have already decided to wear a sari instead of the traditional wedding gown. But im so confused that i dont know what to do. My fieonce and i have never met face to face yet, but he is comming to the U.S. next year to be with me and get a new job. We planned to have the wedding as soon as possible, but the announcement of our engagement hasnt been made to my family…. yet… they would not let me marry him if they knew that he is seven years older than i am, from a different country and of a different religion than me. If you could help me to know where to start i would be ever so gratefull.