Blending Religions, Traditions, and Languages
There are a million things to think about when planning a wedding. From the traditions, to the ceremony, to the reception, there are many different choices and questions that just seem to be endless. As a few know, I am having a Mexican-American wedding. My fiancé is 100% Mexican and so is his family. I have learned so much and have learned to love everything about Mexican culture. However, there are many differences between Mexican and American weddings.
For our wedding, we have decided to make everything 50/50. This means we are making our ceremony in half Spanish and half English, we are having half Spanish and half English music, we are having both Mexican and American traditions in our ceremony, and we are combining Catholic and Methodist religions equally. This makes everything just a little harder, but a lot more worth it.
For our ceremony, we are having the Pastor from my church (I am Methodist) come to another Methodist church and we invited a Catholic Priest who speaks only Spanish to come to the same church. They are both performing the service and are going to take turns in doing it in Spanish and English. For example, we are having a sand ceremony that represents our unity for an American tradition, and we are doing a rosary and lasso ceremony that represents our unity for a Mexican and Catholic tradition.
The reception is where most things are the same except for a few. For example, in Mexico, it is a tradition to have the bride and groom stand up on chairs while two people hold on to them to make sure they don't fall. The groom holds the brides veil in an arch and everyone dances in a line around them (usually to the beat of "The Bunny Hop"). In America, it is a tradition to have a bouquet and garter toss.
Overall, it has been a fun and interesting experience planning a Mexican-American wedding. We have certainly ran into some challenges, but it has been and will be well worth it in the end.
For our wedding, we have decided to make everything 50/50. This means we are making our ceremony in half Spanish and half English, we are having half Spanish and half English music, we are having both Mexican and American traditions in our ceremony, and we are combining Catholic and Methodist religions equally. This makes everything just a little harder, but a lot more worth it.
For our ceremony, we are having the Pastor from my church (I am Methodist) come to another Methodist church and we invited a Catholic Priest who speaks only Spanish to come to the same church. They are both performing the service and are going to take turns in doing it in Spanish and English. For example, we are having a sand ceremony that represents our unity for an American tradition, and we are doing a rosary and lasso ceremony that represents our unity for a Mexican and Catholic tradition.
The reception is where most things are the same except for a few. For example, in Mexico, it is a tradition to have the bride and groom stand up on chairs while two people hold on to them to make sure they don't fall. The groom holds the brides veil in an arch and everyone dances in a line around them (usually to the beat of "The Bunny Hop"). In America, it is a tradition to have a bouquet and garter toss.
Overall, it has been a fun and interesting experience planning a Mexican-American wedding. We have certainly ran into some challenges, but it has been and will be well worth it in the end.
Kortney, it sounds like you have a beautiful wedding planned! I wish you happiness for the future and hope your day is amazing! This ceremony seems important to you and I am glad that you have been able to combine the best of both cultures. Thank you for sharing about what will happen at the ceremony. I had never heard of some of the traditions that you wrote about, specifically the one with the dance to the beat of "The Bunny Hop". Have fun on your special day!
ReplyDeleteWow! Congratulations! It sounds like your wedding is going to be a lot of fun. I had never really thought about how weddings may be drastically different in different cultures. My mom is Methodist and my step-dad is Catholic, so we had to mix the ceremony a little bit but it wasn't anything too difficult. It's so awesome to see you guys are blending your wedding. It sounds like it's going to be a beautiful ceremony!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so fun! I'm glad you were able to incorporate both sides of the family equally! It was nice to get to learn some of the Mexican wedding traditions! I hope you have a great and memorable wedding!
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