Peruvian traditions

Re: Peruvian traditions

• martha783 member

  

  November 2010 edited December 2011

  I'm assuming you live in the States?
  
  We live in Peru and we will have a dual-wedding (Peru/States).  Depending on how religious your fi's family is, they may or may not want to follow Peruvian traditions. They are not particularly "strange." Let's see...most Peruvians are Catholic and here that means lots of drinking/dancing the reception and that it usually starts 2 hours late and lasts until 4am...not traditions you want to adopt, probably! Other than that... usually weddings/receptions are in the same place and ceremonies are long if they are traditional catholic ceremonies with the sacraments etc...  Weddings are never completely secular even if they are non-Catholic here... unless they just do a civil thing at the courthouse and have no wedding/reception.
  
  One tradition is that when you get engaged (after the woman has said yes) the entire immediate family of the man arranges a dinner/event/lunch with the entire immediate family of the girl where they officiallize the engagement--it's a formal agreement between families even though in modern times it usually comes post-ring.
  
  Also, one tradition I detest personally, is that the family of the bride and groom make a list of the close family friends, sets an amount of money per friend, and throws a "despedido de solteros" party where they invite people to come IF they bring their quota of money that signifies their friendship. It's part of the whole necessity of money here because a married couple is usually just moving out from their parents. That said, I think it's rude! YOu have to not come to the party if you don't want to give the money. And often times there is a "close friends" list separate from a "friends" list and the closer ones are given a higher amount of money to give.  And that money is APART from a gift you are still expected to give at the shower/reception. This would so not work in US culture.
  
  The ceremony is traditional- ring, vows, pronunciation. Usually the parents of both bride and groom give a speech at the ceremony and sometimes even the groom. Often becomes an open-mic for friends and LONG talking session.   Bridesmaids/groomsmen are less important than in the US. Usually walk down the aisle, sit down, and are never heard from again. Often just 1 per each, bro/sis, etc
  
  The reception is expected to ALWAYS have drinks and finger foods served followed by a complete dinner hours later. ALways a sit-down dinner and a wedding is "unimaginable" without one.  First dance, father/daughter....common stuff. 
  
  There is no big "see off" in this culture and the bride and groom often just slip away in the wee hours. Pictures are done between ceremony and reception and are usually NOT including the bridal party/family--just B&G.
  
  In yur position, I would find out just how Peruvian your fi and his family identify themselves to be (how recently immigrated affects this) and how many weddings they have attended in the US to see if their expectations are different. When my FI attended my BFF's wedding with me in the US last year, he was very taken aback by things we assume are normal in the US (eg they did a recieving line after the ceremony and had a separate locale for the reception) so I would be most concerned about making sure there are no different asumptions that you will have to deal with later. Also, talk to your MIL about HER wedding if you can...that will reveal a lot about family traditions which are more important than just nation-wide traditions...
  
  Suerte!
  
  
  
  
  Even
  
  

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