Interfaith Weddings

We're not hindu or Indian but we love their traditions. HELP PLEASE!!

( A LITTLE BACKGROUND)
Okay so as the title said we're not Hindi but Im in love with their culture & traditions. After watching MY FAVORITE indian movie " VIVAH" I got inspired to try to re creat their wedding for us. My husband being Christian was a bit afraid that his family wouldn't except just an indian ceremony. So we decided to attemp to fuse them.
My question is... Is this stupid of us to try to pull this off? being neither of us are Indian.
 
Im mixed. BOTH My parents are Caucasian, African american, and Cherokee Indian so they have their own list of things we should do. Can someone give me some advice? I want to do our wedding OUR WAY and since were paying for it i think that's fair right? Help i need advice. as you can see im very lost!

Re: We're not hindu or Indian but we love their traditions. HELP PLEASE!!

  • Your ceremony is an important legal, spiritual, and community moment. There should be nothing in it just for show. Things just for show can be left out.

    But not everything has to have generations' worth of personal meaning. An up-and-coming Christian rite is to have a physical cord of three strands to represent the three strands of bride, groom, and God. If that has meaning to a couple, helps them express things they really believe and feel, OK. But if they just want a prop, or worry their ceremony will be too short, not OK.

    However, sometimes you just have to make an aesthetic decision. I think it's nice to make bridesmaids stand out by having matching or coordinating outfits. But the color I choose doesn't have to have "meaning."

    There's lots of this at the reception, which is where I would put the focus for these new-to-your-families traditions. Our centerpieces will be fairly modern with water as a key artistic element. We're actually not "modern" people, but we like how they look. If you just like how east Indian weddings look, incorporate that into parts of your wedding that are just about how they look.

    If the east Indian traditions have a meaning you want to express, use them. Express that.

    You = you and your future husband
  •  Thanks for your advice. I didnt think about the 3 strand rope. I just know a lot of the things the indian wedding represents is Love, exceptance, and respect for each other as well as the families. Which is why i wanted to do some of those things in our wedding. You have a gread idea using water as part of the centerpieces. It really is beautiful!

    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_interfaith-weddings_were-not-hindu-or-indian-but-we-love-their-traditions-help-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:396Discussion:1a7a52c4-7d1d-464f-b42a-ae576b8eaee4Post:4a03c5aa-ff07-45ff-9b82-873fb79883ef">Re: We're not hindu or Indian but we love their traditions. HELP PLEASE!!</a>:
    [QUOTE]Your ceremony is an important legal, spiritual, and community moment. There should be nothing in it just for show. Things just for show can be left out. But not everything has to have generations' worth of personal meaning. An up-and-coming Christian rite is to have a physical cord of three strands to represent the three strands of bride, groom, and God. If that has meaning to a couple, helps them express things they really believe and feel, OK. But if they just want a prop, or worry their ceremony will be too short, not OK. However, sometimes you just have to make an aesthetic decision. I think it's nice to make bridesmaids stand out by having matching or coordinating outfits. But the color I choose doesn't have to have "meaning." There's lots of this at the reception, which is where I would put the focus for these new-to-your-families traditions. Our centerpieces will be fairly modern with water as a key artistic element. We're actually not "modern" people, but we like how they look. If you just like how east Indian weddings look, incorporate that into parts of your wedding that are just about how they look. If the east Indian traditions have a meaning you want to express, use them. Express that. You = you and your future husband
    Posted by ElisabethJoanne[/QUOTE]
  • rajsimrajsim member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    If you have no idea of how Indian Weddings work, based on your cultural background I would recommend for you to hire an Indian Wedding Planner. You can contact simer Grewal from Dream Weddings by Simer to help you plan your wedding. She is amazing and will go all out to make your day extra special. She will teahc all the culture and traditions of an Indian Wedding and for sure will not be a hole in your pocket.

    Call her at (216)502-5194.
  • You can certainly get inspired by the colors, flavors and patterns of the culture and still incorporate the rituals and traditions that are important to you.
  • J06J06 member
    First Comment
    hey,
      I am Henna Artist and doing it since 7 years.Contact me if you need henna/Mehndi Artist for your event.You can reach me at hennaartist6@gmail.com.
  • Being raised in a hindu community, I don't see any way to have a traditional ceremony without the religious meaning.  (Hindu ceremonies are steeped in religious symbolism.)  I think the best thing to do in this situation would be to hold a Christian ceremony, and just decorate with tradition indian colors and designs.  
  • s-aries8990s-aries8990 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited November 2012
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_interfaith-weddings_were-not-hindu-or-indian-but-we-love-their-traditions-help-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:396Discussion:1a7a52c4-7d1d-464f-b42a-ae576b8eaee4Post:3a14fafe-d603-4e05-9f49-1dedd0f93e0a">We're not hindu or Indian but we love their traditions. HELP PLEASE!!</a>:
    [QUOTE]( A LITTLE BACKGROUND) Okay so as the title said we're not Hindi but Im in love with their culture & traditions. After watching MY FAVORITE indian movie " VIVAH" I got inspired to try to re creat their wedding for us. My husband being Christian was a bit afraid that his family wouldn't except just an indian ceremony. So we decided to attemp to fuse them. My question is... Is this stupid of us to try to pull this off? being neither of us are Indian.   Im mixed. BOTH My parents are Caucasian, African american, and Cherokee Indian so they have their own list of things we should do. Can someone give me some advice? I want to do our wedding OUR WAY and since were paying for it i think that's fair right? Help i need advice. as you can see im very lost!
    Posted by jmyers0410[/QUOTE]

    I am not Hindu or Indian, but I think that involving and proceeding with traditions that are from another culture that you <em>do not plan on joining </em>is disrespectful. I'm sure you have the best intentions, but i think you're not taking the values the traditions encapsulate seriously. It's like athiests getting married in a Catholic church because its pretty. I agree with the PP to just go with the "theme" more so than traditions.

    However, <strong>if you do plan to convert religions</strong> (which from your OP i think<em> is not the case</em>) then go for it.

    ETA: That isn't to say, however, that you can have your own parts of the ceremony that are INSPIRED by the Hindu faith and tradition- a reading that has meaning to you and your husband, a variation on a tradition or an extracted piece of a tradition.

    This is a religion- something that people worship- so just make sure you treat it with respect, not like a play
     Daisypath Anniversary tickers
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