Weddings uniting a bride and groom from different cultures are occurring more frequently these days. Couples are finding love and trying to find a way to join their cultures for their wedding. Here are five tips on how to have a wedding combining your cultures:
Different Kinds of Food
The gateway to any culture is the food that makes that culture memorable and unique. One way to combine your cultures is to have a menu that incorporates both into your menu — a culture fusion. Some foods are common across multiple cultures, so consider looking at the two and finding the foods that are common to both. Another idea is to have one culture be fully represented at your rehearsal dinner, or day after brunch, and have the other represented in the wedding meal.
Have Different Kinds of Music
Music is another way to represent both cultures at your wedding and reception. The couple can take turns adding pertinent songs to the DJ playlist, or providing them to the live band (sufficiently before the date so the band has time to learn them if not on their set list). Music comes in shapes and sizes, so you can have up beat songs to get guests on the dance floor, and ballads for slow dances.
Have Both Cultures Represented in the Ceremony
On a more personal note, and as an example of a truly multicultural ceremony, my parents were married under a chuppah in a Catholic church, officiated by both a priest and a rabbi. Part of the ceremony was in Hebrew, and part of the ceremony was in English. My father broke the glass, a known Jewish tradition, and one side of the church said congratulations while the other side yelled “Mazel tov.” Language and traditions are things that bring two cultures together.
Find an Officiant Comfortable With an Interfaith Ceremony
Some officiants might not be familiar with, or feel comfortable leading or taking part in a ceremony which involves more than one faith. Ask the officiant if they’re okay with performing it in the way you want; if they say no, try to work with them to find a common ground. Failing that, turn to friends for recommendations to find an accommodating officiant.
Explain the Traditions To Your Guests
The easiest way to explain the traditions to your guests are through your ceremony program. In addition to including the ceremony order and readings, you can include the descriptions and history of the traditions used to make your wedding special. Your officiant(s) should be able to help you write the descriptions.
A wedding combining cultures is more about discussing how you want to have your wedding, and how much of your cultures you want represented. Check out our collection of wedding dresses and other blog posts for more tips.