If you want a Hawaiian wedding, you’re probably green with envy over those lucky pacific-islanders enjoying the splash of blue waves while sipping coconut juice at hand readily awaiting for that day. But don’t forlorn, your dream wedding can still come true. You can have your Hawaiian wedding without having to spend a fortune by literally exchanging your vows there.
Hawaiian weddings are laden with traditions showing respect for the family, ancestors and culture. Following these customs is believed to ensure luck, prosperity and happiness for the bridal couple. Here are the steps to make one memorable Hawaiian wedding to last you a lifetime.
STEP 1: Make room for some variation. Most Hawaiian weddings include a variety of Christian and Protestant traditions in the ceremony. Also plan to include in the ceremony a mix of Hawaiian and English customs. Allowing variation adds interest and color to the event.
STEP 2: Choose an appropriate attire for the bride. The bride should wear a long, usually white or depending on the motiff, and formal dress called a 'holoku.' In place of a veil, a garland of flowers known as 'haku lei’ hangs around her head. Her bouquet can either be of orchids or of wild lilies.
STEP 3: Select an appropriate attire for the groom. For the groom, choose a white shirt with long sleeves paired with white pants. Wrap his waist with a long sash which is typically red but may also follow the motiff of the wedding.
STEP 4: Purchase garlands Be sure that you both have maile leis or garlands that are made using sweet smelling green leaves hanging around your neck. This is a symbol for "aloha" and how the early settlrs of Hawaii communicated with their environment.
STEP 5: Adorn the garlands. For the lei of the bride, it should be woven with white jasmine or pikake. Meanwhile, the groom's lei should be adorned with ilima. An ilima is a flower that has very thin and brightly colored petals.
STEP 6: Order garlands for family members. Aside from ordering for yourselves, do also provide beautiful leis for the soon mothers-in-law. It is highly recommendable to order three-stranded pikake.
STEP 7: Have a conch ready and designate someone to blow the shell. It is a unique Hawaiian tradition to hear the sound of a conch for three times before the start of the ceremony. This signifies that the Lord is present in the ceremony.
STEP 8: Mix customs and traditions of different cultures in the wedding. Since Hawaii is a melting pot for various cultures. Try to incorporate Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino wedding traditions that reflect the rich diverse cultures found in Hawaii. For example, you may encourage some guests to wear the kimono of the Japanese or have japanese inspired wedding tables at the reception. You may also consider adding fireworks after the ceremony which is believed by the Chinese to drive out bad spirits and invite good luck and fortune.
STEP 9: Do the Pandango. Although not originally part of the Hawaiian heritage Pandango is a Filipino custom often present in at most Hawaiian weddings. The plan is to have money pinned on the clothes of the newly weds While the bride and groom are enjoying their first dance. Sponsors and other guests tape and wrap money around the bride and groom as long as the music is playing. The couple keeps dancing until all their guests had a made their wishes of good tidings for the couple.
STEP 10: Make origami. Borrowing another custom from another culture, prepare one thousand and one origami cranes made out of foil before the wedding. The long life span of a crane symbolizes happiness, good fortune, good luck, longevity, peace and faithfulness within the marriage.
STEP 11: Do not forget to order your wedding cake. Instead of using a regular flour, the main ingredient used should be wheat flour. The wheat represents the beginning of the couples' married life.
STEP 12: The couple should cut together the first slice of the cake. Cutting the cake together shows the commitment of each other to partake in whatever road and in whatever challenges their marriage takes them. Then the couple gives each other a bite of cake to show that they will continue love and honor each other.
Here are other tips to make your Hawaiian wedding memorable.
• Although it may seem funny and to some sweet, mashing the cake on your partner’s face is generally considered distasteful.
• To have a spectacular effect, hire a professional to frame and mount the cranes for guest to have something to admire.
• Consider serving, tropical fruits for desert and include seafood in the menu.
• Arrange for a band or a collection of instrumental Hawaiian music.
Every culture follows its own customs and practices. Whether it’s about celebrating birthdays or simply decorating homes, culture commands a great influence on how things are turned. This is very true to those who came from a Greek lineage. While there will always be some similarities of traditions in some cultures, there are still major differences in the customs followed in a Greek wedding that make it unique. So, What makes a Greek wedding distinctive from all other weddings?
Let us go through the different moments of a Greek wedding to determine how it is different from all other weddings celebrated in other parts of the world.
The Engagement. Exchanging engagement rings between a couple in front of family and friends as witnesses is considered as binding as a wedding. Then, the engagement is usually followed by by a celebration.
The Dowry. The concept of a dowry may not be uniquely Greek and may seem antiquated to other cultures, but it is still being followed by Greeks. It is usually the bride's mother that prepares the dowry by collecting household wares such as linens, curtains, etc. The items collected as dowry help the bride to set up what she and her husband would need for their house.
The Wedding Date. Almost after the engagement, the couple plans a date for the wedding. Most weddings in Greece are usually held on a Sunday. There are no restrictions on which day to marry except on some particular dates. Most of these days fall on the country’s religious holidays like some days during Lent and the Christmas season.
The Attire. A traditional wedding veil of yellow or red, which represents fire, is commonly worn by the bride. These brightly colored veils are believed to protect the bride from evil spirits and demons.
Part of a Greek bride’s wear is a lump of sugar she must carry on her wedding day to ensure that she will have a sweet life. She may also carry ivy as a symbol of endless love.
Before the Wedding. A few days before the wedding which usually falls on Wednesday, relatives visit the bride's house to watch a boy and a girl sieving the flour. Silence is observed through the duration of the process until enough flour has been sieved. Then those who are watching throw coins into the sieve as they yell their wishes of good luck.
Two days after, the bride’s mother places a cooper pan in a sack. As the bride continues filling it and perhaps other sacks with her belongings, visitors place coins together with her things. This ceremony is known as ‘filling of the sacks’.
Meanwhile, the groom gives away bottles of wine to his relatives and friends together with a letter inviting them to attend the wedding. The father of the bride also sends wind for his friends and relatives. By Saturday, the bride walks around the village to invite her friends and give them sweets.
The Beginning of the Wedding. The procession begins at the house of the groom where the wedding flag is located. Then the wedding flag bearer goes in front to lead everyone over to the house of the bride. Then the would-be mother-in-law serves the groom some herbs and wine for his lapel. As soon as he drinks the wine, the bride leaves the house and goes to the church clinging on the arm of her father while the rest follows her to the church.
Wedding Rings. The rings used for the engagement are the same rings that would be used for the wedding rings. These rings blessed by the priest twice. The first s during the couples' official engagement. The second is when the priest blesses the rings and as the couple wears the rings from their left ring finger to their right hand at the wedding ceremony.
Crowns. While the ceremony takes place, The couple are crowned with thin crowns, or “stefana”. Their crowns are connected by a single stranded white ribbon. This is to signify the glory and honor that is being bestowed on them by God. This also symbolizes their unity as a couple and indicates the pair’s “rule” over their household.
Other Greek wedding traditions. Although, these traditions are no longer widely practiced during weddings, they are still interesting traces of the rich Greek heritage.
• Rolling a baby on the marital bed is believed to encourage fertility.
• Throwing of money onto the marital bed also symbolizes luck and fortune for the couple.
• Pinning of money onto the bride and also the groom at the wedding reception is not solely Greek but is a tradition that invites fortune to rest on them..
If you have the chance to witness a Greek wedding, never hesitate to attend and be enthralled by the lavish traditions and symbols that depicts the kind of value Greeks bestow on love and marriage.
This website uses cookies that are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the privacy policy. By accepting this OR scrolling this page OR continuing to browse, you agree to our Privacy Policy