In some countries, traditions are stronger than in others, including wedding traditions. So, even in the 21st century, many couples choose to have a traditional wedding ceremony and follow centuries-old rules and customs. And that’s great because a traditional wedding can be truly spectacular and beautiful, and wedding photos are marvelous. But still, we’re living in the 2020s, so a lot of people have a dilemma – to have a traditional or modern Western-style wedding? How to combine old traditions and a contemporary lifestyle? Or how to combine traditions of two different cultures if the bride and groom are of different origins?
Let’s try to find solutions to all these questions.
If you like both modern wedding trends and old wedding traditions, why not combine all that in a beautiful eclectic ceremony? These days, everything eclectic (a combination of different styles, ideas, approaches, etc) is very fashionable, and you can see it everywhere. You can easily mix modern and authentic wedding rituals or customs and create a very personalized ceremony for the two of you.
What do you need to do first? Sit together with your honey and write down all wedding traditions important for you that you would like to incorporate in your marriage ceremony. And then, choose from the list those you like the most and both agree to have. The number of such activities depends on your taste and your wedding timeline. To honor your culture, you can have just a few traditional rituals or customs, you don’t have to perform the whole wedding according to the old rules. A Western-style wedding with some cultural elements usually looks even better than an ordinary impersonal wedding ceremony.
What cultural elements can you use for wedding?
Wedding attire
It can be your wedding attire. By the way, it’s totally normal if the bride and groom are dressed in different styles if they come from different countries or ethnic groups. For example, you can find tons of wedding photos online with a bride in Indian sari and a groom in European suit or a groom in Native American outfit and a bride in a modern white wedding dress, and so on.
Newlyweds from Pakistan
There are couples that wear stylized contemporary wedding attire with some traditional elements or accessories.
Or you both can wear authentic wedding outfits of the country native to one of you. There are even pictures on which we see an African-American woman wearing a Japanese wedding kimono because she’s marrying a Japanese groom or a white man wearing indigenous wedding clothing of his bride’s tradition – and that looks lovely, even if a bit unusual. So, don’t be afraid to experiment with your wedding look if you want it to be more traditional.
By the way, many couples wear folk wedding attire for the marriage ceremony and change into something contemporary for the reception.
Traditional wedding rituals
You can incorporate one or several traditional wedding rituals during your modern wedding ceremony to honor your culture and ancestors. In every country, there are specific wedding rituals performed by the locals for centuries or even thousands of years. Find out which are typical for your community or even family and use them.
Wedding unity ceremony called “unity knot”
You can search our website to see what interesting wedding rituals we already have to offer you. Here’s an example of a similar search: http://weddingsallovertheworld.com/component/search/?searchword=wedding%20ritual&ordering=newest&searchphrase=exact&limit=50.
If you are of different origins, you can incorporate wedding rituals of both your cultures to show that you will respect who your partner is and what traditions he or she follows.
Traditional religious ceremony
Your actual marriage ceremony can be performed in a religious style – a church wedding or a similar ceremony (according to which religion you identify yourself with). For some countries, it is very important to have a traditional religious wedding ceremony. And the reception can be more informal and contemporary.
Folk music
You can invite a live band of folk musicians instead of an ordinary wedding dj or band. For example, in Australia, it’s very common to play their unique folk musical instruments at wedding receptions. A lot of people, especially the older generation, prefer folk music to modern pop or rock. If you also like traditional music, why not use it during your wedding?
First wedding dance
Maybe you love to dance and want to perform one of the traditional folk dances dressed in traditional costumes as your first dance as a married couple. Go for it! It will look magnificent and will cheer the wedding guests.
A wedding is a rather complicated event, it consists of many rituals and activities, so you can make it as personalized as you want, change whatever you want, incorporate those traditions you like, etc. Don’t be afraid to make your wedding just the way you both want it to be. This is your day and if you decide to have a traditional or themed or tiny or elope wedding, that’s your right. The main thing is to have a wedding that suits both you and your honey and will make great memories for you to treasure.
