Wedding Blog

There's a lot of different ways weddings are celebrated here (just like in any other country), but there’s several ways Chileans incorporate some tradition into their special days. Some use traditional music, clothes, dance, food, drinks, or the basic horse ride in "Victoria". I’m not planning on adding all of those to our wedding, but I thought I should share them.

I have something old - a vintage broach turned hair clip.

I have something new - (well, many somethings, actually :), take your pick)

I’m lacking something borrowed,

and maybe something blue - (I have a pair of blue VS ’bridal’ undies that I will probably wear)

Obviously, I Googled ’something borrowed’ to figure out what I should be looking for, and got this:

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When Mr. Joey and I were talking about the ceremony way back when, I asked him if he was interested in incorporating a few Filipino traditions into the regular Catholic ceremony. He was game for it and was excited to spice things up a little. We checked with our priest and he said as long as they were cultural, a few added elements to the ceremony…

I was perusing Dear Abby (yet again…shameless!) & the topic of asking your girlfriend’s parents for “permission” to marry their daughter was heating up!

The reader responses were all over the board, of course. Some stated that they were independent women who have been succeeding on their own & would be downright insulted if their fiance asked her parents first. That to me is a bit ridiculous……

So far, I’ve shown you a lot of my little DIY projects and talked a lot about where our wedding will be, why it is the way it is, and what we’re going through emotionally. But you haven’t seen a lot of what I’ll be wearing besides my shoes. And since the bride’s outfit is always one of my favorite parts of any wedding I…

I’ve already shared my something old and my something borrowed, so now it’s time for my something blue.

My something blue is the garter FMIL Joey wore at her wedding. Her Aunt made it for her. It’s very simple and very light blue.

We weren’t sure we were going to do a garter toss, but when FMIL gave me the blue garter, I knew we had to. She wasn’t…

Mr. S and I met with our minister this weekend to begin discussing the type of ceremony we might like. The next time we meet we’ll really get into the details, but this meeting was to get us thinking about what is important to us.

In the car on the way to church, we discussed how we didn’t want a unity candle because it didn’t really…

“Find something borrowed.”

This pesky three-word sentence has been staring back at me from our to-do list for several months. The line once included “old”, “new”, and “blue” as well, but I’ve edited out these adjectives as each item joined my ensemble.

(source)

You’ve already read about our loft location drama, and how I had worked hard to find a ceremony site that was within walking distance of our original reception site at the Soho Loft because I didn’t want to have to deal with trying to transport guests between neighborhoods in NYC. So we booked the Kraine Theatre for the ceremony. Then we had to move our…

OK, OK, I’m late. I promised to post about my next something way back in May but then never got around to it. I have no excuses. You’ve seen my something borrowed, so now, here’s my something old…

My something old is really old. It’s the oldest anything in my family and besides my engagement ring, the one thing I cherish the most (people not included).

The…

Why not incorporate culture and food right into the ceremony? Here’s a description of the tasting of the four elements:

In a ritual adapted from a Yoruba tradition, the bride and groom taste four flavors that represent different emotions within a relationship. The four flavors typically used are sour (lemon), bitter (vinegar), hot (cayenne), and sweet (honey). By tasting each of the flavors, the couple symbolically…

(source)

In my research, I came across the African libation ceremony, which honors ancestors. I love the idea of honoring the past, while looking forward to the future. Here is a brief description of the premise of the libation ceremony:

Many African-American couples incorporate a libation ceremony into their weddings as a way to honor their African ancestors. Holy water, or alcohol, is poured onto the ground…

(source)

While many people of African descent may not incorporate African/African-American elements into every aspect of their weddings, there are many small things that brides can do to add a little cultural flair. I hope to highlight some in the next few days.

Since Mr. Swan and I are an interracial couple, I am not sure whether we’ll incorporate many of these traditions into our wedding. While…

Dear dissertation committee:

I regret to inform you that I did not get much done on my dissertation this semester. Lest you think I have just been sitting at home watching “The Real Housewives of New York City”, I would like to let you know that I wrote a book; I’ve titled it “my wedding program”.

Will that count toward the completion of my degree?

Sincerely yours,

Ms. Hot Cocoa

Photo…