How to Have a Multicultural Wedding
When a couple is planning a wedding that represents different cultural backgrounds, several aspects of the ceremony and related events must be considered. A wedding should reflect the values, customs and traditions that are most important to the bride, groom and their families. With some careful planning and input from both sides, your wedding can combine the most-valued aspects of both families' cultural and religious backgrounds.
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Instructions
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Planning
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Consider the cultural values of both the bride and groom when planning for the ceremony and reception. Make a list of the most-important cultural aspects of both wedding parties.
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Find a church, synagogue, mosque or other religious building for your ceremony. Check the rules of using a religious center, as many require special guidelines and regulations for use. Consider a nondenominational building or natural setting -- such as a park or beach -- if you cannot agree on a religious site.
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Communicate with one another the types of service and vows necessary to accommodate both belief systems. Consider a priest, rabbi, minister or nondenominational officiant that will satisfy the bride, groom and both families. Talk to the officiant about your ideas for the ceremony, and gain insight from him for further tips and considerations.
Ceremony
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Find a way to incorporate physical cultural items into the wedding ceremony. Choose attire that blends both cultures, such as a Jewish groom wearing a yarmulke in the ceremony or a Spanish woman wearing a black wedding dress and veil.
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Use a unity candle for Christian or nondenominational ceremonies as a visual symbol of the joining of two separate people. Pour two jars of sand together into one large pillar as an alternate symbol of two lives joining.
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Recite vows that reflect both cultural and religious beliefs, if necessary. Incorporate further traditions in the ceremony, such as jumping over a broom handle or laying flowers for the Virgin Mary.
Reception
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Use the party following the ceremony -- the reception -- as an opportunity to further involve cultural traditions. Incorporate any activities that will further satisfy the various cultures of family and friends in attendance.
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Serve food and drinks that represent the different cultures at the reception, such as traditional Jewish, Indian, Italian, Asian or Greek foods. Avoid foods and drinks that either family's culture or religion forbids.
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Add any activities that are traditions of the different cultures represented at the reception, such as breaking glass or plates or lifting the bride and groom on chairs.
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References
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