Weddingbee Blog

So that, my lovelies, is my dear friend Stephanie, who also happens to be our officiant. She’s a pretty awesome pregnant lady, right?

A few weeks ago I had the honor and privilege of attending the Seemanthum Ceremony for her (and her wonderful husband Suneel’s) future baby girl. Wait ‘til you get a load of the pics below—because that baby is gonna be one pretty little thing! Anyhow, back to the subject at hand—a seem-a-whatta??

A Seemantham Ceremony. According to my invitation:

In Sanskrit, Seemantham means the hair parting just above the eyebrow. Sri Lakshmi, the embodiment of Prosperity resides there. When a woman delivers a child, she manifests Lakshmi. In this ceremony we seek blessings for the safe delivery of the child and the good health of the mother and child.

So, it’s a baby blessing folks. A baby blessing with fire, chanting, and a special paste made by the priest and then shoved up Steph’s right nostril. Seriously—I have pictures! (But don’t worry Steph, after posting that first one, you’re off the hook for a while!)

At the same time we were participating in the Seemantham on the temple steps, there was some sort of children’s festival happening inside and so children in brightly colored Indian clothing carrying kites and other toys were everywhere. The air was permeated with a cacophony of little voices, shrieks and laughter, which seemed to me the perfect accompaniment to a ritual seeking blessings for future munchkins.

The whole experience got me thinking about the importance of culture & tradition in our lives and the comfort, joy, and community it can foster. Then again, “tradition” is often used to justify such abhorrent practices as slavery, to keep women in the kitchen, and to deny this little Stripe her right to legally wed. It ain’t all sunshine and unicorns people.

I haven’t really given much thought to tradition in the past and the wedding we’re planning is pretty nontraditional by any count—two-girls, two-dresses, a historical museum, a taco truck, and a bar crawl. The fact that our wedding is adding up to be nontraditional isn’t really intentional, though—it just happens that our taste doesn’t really fall into the parameters of “typical wedding tradition” AND we don’t have any really strong family traditions to follow. The our-lack-of-traditional-taste coupled with no-family-traditions-or-expectations may seem like a dream come true, especially for those of you with overbearing mothers (or mother in laws), but I’m not so sure anymore.

A part of me wishes that we had a few tried and true traditions—ones that we found personally meaningful, to incorporate into our day. Traditions to strengthen community among our family and friends and that we can pass along to our own children.

What about you? Are you overwhelmed by the amount of tradition you’re expected to incorporate into your day, or are you like us, desperately trying to find a few wedding traditions that resonate with you, while forging ahead and creating your own unique traditions?