Planning a wedding is complicated, but adding different cultural customs, religions and other formalities takes these complexities to a new level. With multicultural weddings in the U.S. on the rise, it’s more likely that couples from different religious and cultural backgrounds will face unique challenges putting together a wedding. Having an experienced multicultural wedding planner who can help combine two cultures in a wedding is a huge plus for couples who want a wedding that honors their culture, yet lets them celebrate in their own style.
5 Tips to Design a Multicultural Wedding
The most important aspect in planning a multicultural wedding is how to respectfully incorporate the most important traditions and religious aspects – while still making the wedding your own. Here are five tips on how to create a multicultural wedding that will respect and honor the vital traditions of both partners, make the two families happy – and still be the type of wedding the bridal couple dreams of.
1. Research Both Family’s Customs & Traditions
It’s always important to conduct diligent research to determine what customs are important to your partner. If possible, a consultation with the bridal couple’s family will help you fill in the details about the traditions and unfamiliar customs that should be incorporated from both sides.
While it’s not always necessary to honor all the customs and traditions in one wedding, talk with your partner about the important aspects that their family will appreciate being included.
Remember that you can always plan two separate weddings if some cultural and religious aspects are too vital to ignore, and can’t be combined at a single ceremony.
2. Pick the Right Venue for Your Multicultural Wedding
A good venue is a key factor in the success of any wedding. You need a wedding venue that aligns with your expectations and can accommodate the cultural traditions you want to include. For instance, religious wedding ceremonies are better conducted in a church setting in many religions.
Similarly, consider the wedding packages provided by the venue and how they may impact your wedding. Some venues only offer standard wedding packages with no room for introducing new ideas. A highly restrictive wedding venue many not be the best option for some weddings that involve unfamiliar customs.
3. Consider Hiring an Experienced Wedding Planner for Your Multicultural Wedding
A wedding planner can act as both a source of ideas and a confidant. They can be a great asset in planning your multicultural wedding due to their vast experience with many different types of families, and many different types of weddings. If possible, consider a wedding planner with prior knowledge in organizing blended events and who has previously executed multicultural weddings.
A multicultural wedding planner can serve as an ally to both sides of the family and protect crucial traditions and religious aspects to help both parties understand what can and what cannot work, and offer practical solutions that respect each family’s traditions.
4. Get Pre-Marital Counseling
A wedding is an important event of your life meant to legally unite you with your chosen partner forever. Having a wedding ceremony that both partners enjoy and welcome is a critical first step to a marriage. For some couples to be fully prepared for what’s ahead, a multicultural wedding may benefit from
- pre-marital counseling from a legal expert to open the lines of communications in a prenuptial agreement
- a religious leader to explain a religion’s child rearing expectations
- a marriage counselor to help negotiate stressful decisions
The wedding ceremony is lifetime memory. For a multicultural marriage to flourish, couples need agreement and respect on various cultural and religious issues. Crucial topics such as religion and childrearing and finances should be clear u avoid trouble in the future.
5. Personalize Every Aspect of Your Wedding
When combining two cultures in a wedding, not all traditions will be feasible or even important. It’s your responsibility to determine what traditions are important to the bridal couple, and to personalize the wedding by choosing customs that matter to you the most.
For some couples, it is important not to let one cultural aspect outshine another. An experienced wedding planner can help you merge your two styles and traditions and to discard customs that are not important, while building your own new traditions and fusing your two cultures.
Do you need help planning your multicultural wedding?
South Florida is a multicultural region that attracts people from all over the United States, and all over the world. Creating a personalized wedding that embraces the most important traditions and religious aspects of each partner, and ensuring that both cultures shine is respectful and a show of love.
Ann Hess Events designs multicultural weddings in South Florida. Book a consultation today to design the wedding of your dreams.
