Chinese and Indian multicultural wedding

Knottie_22383748

Hi all,

My fiance is from South India (Kannadiga) and I am from South China (Cantonese). I am looking for ways to incorporate both our cultures into a South Indian wedding ceremony (location TBD) and a Chinese banquet reception at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown NYC. His parents live in India and are not supportive of our engagement, so they're not a good source of information in regards to Indian wedding customs.

I'd like to keep it simple but respectful of our cultures. Does anyone who has planned an Indian and Chinese wedding/reception (or a multicultural wedding where parents are not supportive) before have any advice? 

Thanks so much!

Novjasmine

Hi all,

My fiance is from South India (Kannadiga) and I am from South China (Cantonese). I am looking for ways to incorporate both our cultures into a South Indian wedding ceremony (location TBD) and a Chinese banquet reception at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown NYC. His parents live in India and are not supportive of our engagement, so they're not a good source of information in regards to Indian wedding customs.

I'd like to keep it simple but respectful of our cultures. Does anyone who has planned an Indian and Chinese wedding/reception (or a multicultural wedding where parents are not supportive) before have any advice? 

Thanks so much!

Knottie_22383748

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_chinese-and-indian-multicultural-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:e43bdf8c-29e6-470f-8b44-645e82178dacPost:981be0bf-1880-44ff-b943-b76c20458115">Re: Chinese and Indian multicultural wedding</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm sorry to hear about your FI's family. I hope that they come around. We have friends in this same situation right now, and it's tough. I can't say anything about India or China specifically, but the country that H comes from also has a number of areas with regional traditions. The information that we got directly from the family was invaluable in our planning - otherwise, we could've ended up with random stuff. Is there another way that your FI could get that info from his family besides from the parents? Perhaps a cousin or aunt/uncle might be more willing to help out. If the family is completely shutting you out, maybe there is a community from his city or area that he could join/visit/ask, maybe locally or online. Not as close, but it could be the next best thing.
Posted by Schatzi13[/QUOTE]

<div>Hello Schtzi13! I really appreciate your advice and sensitive support! FI's family has not had a multicultural wedding before, so even distant family may be hesitant to help. However you are right that we can still reach out to the ones living in this country to at least see if they are willing to help. </div>

kipnus

H and I incorporated our multicultural backgrounds in a few small ways: First, during the ceremony, we had scripture passages read in different languages (with English up on the screen). My mom read in English, H's mom read in Spanish, H's dad read in Nepali, and my dad read in Hausa. 

Second, at our reception, we incorporated traditional Mennonite food, from my side of the family,

Third, I had a few outfit changes. First, I changed into a sari and we had a little Bollywood dance lesson, which was really fun. I love Bollywood music and dance. Next, I changed into a shorter dress and we did some salsa and merengue dancing to honour H's Hispanic side.

I would suggest checking out the Cultural wedding boards for some specific ideas for Chinese and Indian wedding traditions.

Novjasmine

Sounds like you had a unique and fun-filled wedding, kipnus! I think I will do the cultural outfit changes, too. It's like playing dress-up. Thanks for the advice!