Anyone having an Americanized wedding on here?

Jojo714

I am, and I am just making idle conversation. Since no one usually posts on here? LOL... If you are or aren't, either way tell me about it. How far have you gotten in yours? I am willing to share, but don't want to feel stupid talking to myself here so you go first. LOL

Nati05

What do you mean Americanized wedding? As in, what exactly does that include?

Jojo714

As in not your regular, traditional hispanic wedding that include capias, and tulle? In Puerto Rico, they don't do dollar dances and none that I've ever gone too or been in the wedding party had rehearsal dinners. That's what I mean.

Jojo714

since you replied, I don't feel as if I'm talking to myself lol. I am getting married in NJ. The venue is per plate (growing up, this was never typical... as it was generally a hall and you brought in food and liquor). I have a very large family, however, I am not close to any aunts and uncles, with the exception of my mom's sister. Therefore, I'm not inviting much family. Just mom, dad, aunt, sisters and brother. On my husbands side, it's the same way, except that both his parents passed away, so he's basically inviting 2 of his mother's sisters, his brother and sister. One aunt is his "madrina" and his other aunt that he grew up with. My ceremony will take place at church... it's really the only reason that he and I are doing this the second time around actually. The first time was at the courthouse going on 3 years ago...unfortunately he lost both his parents when we were planning initially... so financially, it wasn't feasible for either of us.  In comparison with alot of my girlfriends I'm having a small 100 person wedding. Most of my guests are both of our very close friends. My theme is vintage, not any decade in particular, anywhere from the 20's thru the 40's.

Nati05

Ours will just have bits and pieces of whatever we like. So I don't consider it to be categorized one way or the other. Plus we're getting married in Ecuador so "americanized" probably isn't our best way to go lol. FI's family isn't exceptionally traditional either, so they're not expecting anything specific from us at all. We're introducing a wine and box ceremony. We're still struggling on the topic of what kind of ceremony to have. I don't think we'll be having any favors but we are doing an interactive guestbook. I didn't see one at either wedding I went to here but oh well, it'll be fun. I think we might skip out on seperate father/daughter, mother/son dances and have them dance with us halfway through our first dance. But that's still up in the air. As for dinner I'm used to a 50-50. Some buffet, others seated. Everyone here does seated, so that's what we're going for. We're thinking of having a "banda de pueblo" come and play close to the end of the night when people are tipsy and excited haha. Lots of people hire them to get people pumped and just kind of for fun, not necessarily for traditional reasons. One thing I know I DON'T want though is all those ugly flower arrangements with tons of foliage. I haaate those! You see them in churches a lot and it just drives me nuts. Don't mean to offend anyone who likes those.. I just don't care for them in the least lol.

leah2489

Ours is mostly Americanized, since I am lol. My FI is the Hispanic one, so we are trying to throw his culture into it as much as possible. For example, we will have a bilingual ceremony, programs, and DJ. Other than music I am having a hard time finding other ways to incorporate the culture at the reception. We are using orchids as a main flower, and since they come from PR I guess that counts too, right?

Jojo, if you could give me some insight to what a traditional Puerto Rican wedding is like I would be sooo grateful! FI and his family have been of no help.

fam6

During our planning process we considered doing a more traditional Mexican wedding, but in the end we did a simple, pretty much American wedding, but we did have a few Mexican details thrown in here and there to make it special.

Jojo714

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_latino-weddings_anyone-having-americanized-wedding-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:680Discussion:5b52f856-d89e-4130-919c-4cb5f6c80659Post:be28dc13-371c-4051-98d8-1ad12ea6ec86">Re: Anyone having an Americanized wedding on here?</a>:
[QUOTE]Ours will just have bits and pieces of whatever we like. So I don't consider it to be categorized one way or the other. Plus we're getting married in Ecuador so "americanized" probably isn't our best way to go lol. FI's family isn't exceptionally traditional either, so they're not expecting anything specific from us at all. We're introducing a wine and box ceremony. We're still struggling on the topic of what kind of ceremony to have. I don't think we'll be having any favors but we are doing an interactive guestbook. I didn't see one at either wedding I went to here but oh well, it'll be fun. I think we might skip out on seperate father/daughter, mother/son dances and have them dance with us halfway through our first dance. But that's still up in the air. As for dinner I'm used to a 50-50. Some buffet, others seated. Everyone here does seated, so that's what we're going for. We're thinking of having a "banda de pueblo" come and play close to the end of the night when people are tipsy and excited haha. Lots of people hire them to get people pumped and just kind of for fun, not necessarily for traditional reasons. One thing I know I DON'T want though is all those ugly flower arrangements with tons of foliage. I haaate those! You see them in churches a lot and it just drives me nuts. Don't mean to offend anyone who likes those.. I just don't care for them in the least lol.
Posted by Nati05[/QUOTE]

I love it, especially the "banda de pueblo", definitely sounds like a great time. Hispanics are festive people, so I'm sure the entire family will love it. That would be like starting a "paranda" in PR. Always a hit at parties. LOL I also like that you're doing what you want and not following what anyone else says is "tradition". I think that it will be something to do that the entire family will love and always remember. Love it... your wedding is gonna be a huge hit. =)

Jojo714

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_latino-weddings_anyone-having-americanized-wedding-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:680Discussion:5b52f856-d89e-4130-919c-4cb5f6c80659Post:543c8700-842a-4d8f-a0b9-2a193ad7fecf">Re: Anyone having an Americanized wedding on here?</a>:
[QUOTE]Ours is mostly Americanized, since I am lol. My FI is the Hispanic one, so we are trying to throw his culture into it as much as possible. For example, we will have a bilingual ceremony, programs, and DJ. Other than music I am having a hard time finding other ways to incorporate the culture at the reception. We are using orchids as a main flower, and since they come from PR I guess that counts too, right? Jojo, if you could give me some insight to what a traditional Puerto Rican wedding is like I would be sooo grateful! FI and his family have been of no help.
Posted by leah2489[/QUOTE]

Hi Leah... well I'm not sure how your reception will be but if it's a sit down dinner, or buffet in a venue. Maybe you can check with the venue to see if maybe you can incorporate some of the typical puerto rican food. It doesn't ofcourse have to be the main dish (rice and beans) although I loooove it, but you can incorporate like an appetizer of some sort, or as we call it a "fritura". There are different kinds...  there's  alcapurias, papa rellena, empanadillas de carne, just to name a few. Also I googled other ideas... you can go here and see some pretty good suggestions.
<a href="http://www.elboricua.com/weddings.html">http://www.elboricua.com/weddings.html</a>

Good luck, and it's nice to see that you want to incorporate the culture into your wedding. =)

rlavach

I guess I'm kind of having an Americanized wedding? 

I'm half Cuban & half European caucasian and my FI was born in France, but raised in Martinique. Sooo, we got a whole lot of ethnicities mixed in there. We're also going for a vintage vibe, leaning towards soft romance. 

Since I was born & raised here, the only real Hispanic & French influence will be the music. I'm not too fond of the supersticious traditions, so I'm not doing any of them, regardless of what culture they stem from. 

Jojo714

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_latino-weddings_anyone-having-americanized-wedding-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:680Discussion:5b52f856-d89e-4130-919c-4cb5f6c80659Post:980b2401-cbf6-4640-8165-4deece827007">Re: Anyone having an Americanized wedding on here?</a>:
[QUOTE]I guess I'm kind of having an Americanized wedding?  I'm half Cuban & half European caucasian and my FI was born in France, but raised in Martinique. Sooo, we got a whole lot of ethnicities mixed in there. We're also going for a vintage vibe, leaning towards soft romance.  Since I was born & raised here, the only real Hispanic & French influence will be the music. I'm not too fond of the supersticious traditions, so I'm not doing any of them, regardless of what culture they stem from. 
Posted by rlavach[/QUOTE]

Hi rlavach... I'm not into the superstitions either... and there are alot of things that my love and I don't want to include in our wedding. Like the bouquet and garter... dollar dance... and a few others. We want it to feel like a big party. We want them to say, "I had a blast at Tony and Jo's wedding." That even though they might not remember half the night in a drunken haze, they'll wake up and still remember that it was a good night. LOL

leah2489

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_latino-weddings_anyone-having-americanized-wedding-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:680Discussion:5b52f856-d89e-4130-919c-4cb5f6c80659Post:b2da9728-a304-43bb-8be7-ba1407433004">Re: Anyone having an Americanized wedding on here?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Anyone having an Americanized wedding on here? : Hi rlavach... I'm not into the superstitions either... and there are alot of things that my love and I don't want to include in our wedding. Like the bouquet and garter... dollar dance... and a few others. We want it to feel like a big party. <strong>We want them to say, "I had a blast at Tony and Jo's wedding." That even though they might not remember half the night in a drunken haze, they'll wake up and still remember that it was a good night. LOL</strong>
Posted by Jojo714[/QUOTE]

Thats hilarious, and I feel the same way :) Thanks for the tips. BTW I love your quote in your sig<img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" />

Jojo714

Thanks leah.

cesiao

Hi, I'm pretty new here. Well, I'm getting married in Nicaragua. It's kind of a mix, I have bilingual programs and escort cards. Some of my guests are flying in from the US. It's formal, religious ceremony first, then reception. I'm not having a dollar dance, but I we are having 1st dance, bouquet toss, etc. (they don't usually do all that from what I'm told from the guest who live in Nicaragua, so it's going to be good to introduce). We're having a DJ and not a band (supposedly everyone has a live band here as well). No particular Nicaraguan food served. It's buffet, which the venue explained is done in all weddings here. We are having Mariachis. Also, having a RD which is not customary from what I'm told. I guess it's mostly planned like a traditional "Americanized" wedding.

latina40299

I'm also having an Americanized wedding, my fiance and I are both Hispanic but since we are having a small (25 guests) wedding were having a reception at a private room at a nice restaurant(sit down dinner). No madrinas or padrinos, no lazo and no dollar dance,and even if we were having a big wedding I would still skip all of that since neither of us is very  traditional.

jxp040

I'm having an americanized wedding. We had a civil wedding where we ate tacos, our cake was of tres leches, and the only english thing was the ceremony because the justice of the peace only spoke english, but for my religious wedding I want it a little different. My parents were born in Mexico and so is my husband, but there are a lot of american traditions that I like. My ceremony is going to be bilingual seeing that more than half of my bridal party only speak English. I'm planning on serving italian food seeing that anytime we are celebrating something important we go to Olive Garden. My mom right away said "mija, nobody is going to eat that. Order that for you and serve us something else" She said it with humorous tone, but I know she is somewhat right. But  it's my wedding so they have to deal. I'm also doing save the dates and response cards where they tell me which one of the two  dinners they would like. I hate how this is going to sound, but it's what I'm going to tell them. If they don't send it back telling me if they're going and what they want, don't expect there to be room or food for you. I don't want to rent 50 more chairs or have people giving up their chairs for others and order 50 extra plates of food just incase more people show seeing that they are going to be like $10 a plate. I have no idea how our aunts and uncles are going to react. All the weddings I've been to, you get an invite and show up with as many people as you want. Some even show up uninvited just for the food. I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to handle all of this.

chattychiqa

Me. All in English, no mariachis (which I'm not really happy about), traditional food...he's white. I'm pretty Americanized myself anyway.

Alejandra23

I'm having a mixture of both cultures. My FI and I are both Mexican and our families are VERY traditional. We're having our religious ceremony at our church and it'll be in Spanish. We're having the arras, lazo, and the whole 9 yards for the ceremony. With mariachi as well.
My reception is where the american part comes in. We decided we didnt want a typical Mexican wedding (backyard wedding or just any venue). We wanted it more formal and fancy. We're serving Mexican food that my in laws are cooking and ofcourse bringing in our own alcohol. It's not a party if there's no booze! LOL
We're going to have a DJ that plays both Spanish and English music, but ofcourse more spanish, like cumbias, bachata, duranguense, and rancheras.