Our Multicultural Wedding

As I mentioned before, Mr. Hydrangea and I come from very different backgrounds and cultures. He's a first generation Mexican-American, so the Hispanic traditions are still very prominent in his family celebrations. Last year, we were both in the bridal party for his sister's wedding, so I got to experience their wedding traditions first hand...even down to the Mass in Spanish.

We will be having our Mass in English but I want to have at least one reading in Spanish as a nod to both his family and to his culture. There are quite a few other traditions that we will be keeping in the mass, including: the arras, lassos, padrinos, presenting of the Bible, etc.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Mexican wedding traditions, here are some explanations of the ones that will be performed during our ceremony:

The Lasso

(photo from weddingcd.net)

A large cord, or rosary, is placed around the couple after they exchange vows. Someone particularly special to the bride/groom (such as Godparents, grandparents, etc.) places the lasso around the groom’s shoulders, and then the bride’s shoulders. The lasso is worn for the remainder of the ceremony. This tradition is performed to show the love that will bind the couple together for the rest of their lives.

Arras

(photo from jmckinley.com)

The arras are 13 coins that are given to the groom by his padrinos (Godparents, or someone special that has been selected to give these on the day of the wedding). The coins are a symbol of trust, and also that the groom promises to take support his family. The groom takes the arras and places them into the hands of his bride.

Other Traditions

During the ceremony, we are also given pillows on which to kneel, a Bible and the wedding rings are handed to the priest by someone special that we have chosen.

I would love to be able to give you all an even better description of all of the traditions, but this is only what I know of, thus far. We have yet to pick out the items that we will be using for each portion of the ceremony, so, as we do, I’m sure I will be enlightened further as to the significance of each tradition. This is Mr. Hydrangea’s major task for the wedding. He is going to be choosing who will be involved in the wedding for these traditions. Because it is not my culture to do these things, I felt it was important that Mr. H’s family be chosen to perform each tradition.

Have any of you had to incorporate traditions and/or religions that you were not previously educated about? And, please, if any of you are familiar with Hispanic customs, please feel free to further elaborate on the awesome traditions that are performed during the Mass!