Mixing Cultural Traditions in Weddings


by Bridget Mora - Date: 2010-03-29 - Word Count: 493 Share This!

Every bride and groom come together with their own unique culture and heritage. It might be ethnic, religious, or regional, but just as a marriage is the union of two into one, so can a wedding be the perfect mix of both people's traditions. These are some suggestions on how to successfully mix different cultural traditions into one beautiful wedding.

A good place to begin is by identifying which customs are most important to the bride and groom. From there, you can find ways to include the highlights of each culture, thereby honoring what is distinctive and special about each. Some of the main elements to discuss are: wedding ceremony, decorations, food, music, and special rituals. Then the bride and groom can pick through them to begin building their wedding.

The décor is often a good place to introduce a cultural motif. For instance, a bride whose parents hail from China might wish to choose red as her primary color, since it is the lucky color for Chinese weddings. A general Asian decorating scheme can be designed around the color red, paper lanterns, and the double happiness symbol, yet it would leave plenty of room to bring in elements of the groom's heritage without competing.

Jewelry is an important wedding element in many cultures, and would be an excellent way to honor your heritage. In Persian tradition, the groom's family showers fabulous gifts of bridal jewelry upon the lucky bride. In India, the bride's family provides her with a multitude of gold bridal jewelry gifts to take her on the journey to becoming a married woman. For an Irish bride or groom, the claddagh ring or a Celtic knot wedding band would be very meaningful. These are all lovely customs which can very easily be blended into a wedding, even if the bride and groom do not share the same heritage.

Food is probably the number one way to blend cultural traditions in a wedding. After all, we might not all speak the same language, but food is an important part of celebrations in every place around the world. Now that food stations are so commonplace, it is quite manageable to mix various ethnic dishes along with more standard American wedding fare. You can easily have a pasta station next to one serving knishes, and no one will even bat an eyelash. Plus, your guests will be treated to a fantastic cross-cultural dinner.

Many cultures have special wedding rituals, which could be wonderful to include in a multi-cultural wedding. Let's say that the groom's family is from India and the bride is Jewish. Perhaps they could have an inter-denominational ceremony under a beautiful Chuppah. The day before the wedding, the groom's family could hold a henna ceremony for the bride. By introducing some of the most significant customs from each family, the bride and groom will not only have their own special traditions included in the wedding, but will learn more about their future spouse's heritage as well.


Bridget Mora writes for Silverland Jewelry about weddings, customs, and etiquette. At http://silverlandjewelry.com/, we have an elegant collection of bridal jewelry gifts to suit any taste and budget. As our gift to you, all jewelry orders over $99 receive complimentary shipping.n
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