The United States has its share of unique wedding traditions. Whether you’re looking to showcase your Native American heritage to your guests, or just trying to include a unique ceremony before or after your reception, here are a few great wedding customs that come straight from the USA:
- In the South, a wedding tradition called Burying the Bourbon is supposed to grant good weather on the day of the ceremony. One month before the wedding, the soon-to-be bride and groom must bury a bottle of bourbon upside down in the spot where they will say their vows. (If you’re hoping to prevent snow on your wedding day, maybe try giving it a shot!) Either way, you’ll have a great bottle of bourbon to open during your reception.
- One special Native American wedding tradition is the Wedding Vase Unity Ceremony. This involves the bride and groom taking a sip of water from a double-spouted clay vase filled with water. Good tidings are said to be granted to the couple who can drink from the vase without spilling a single drop. This unique ritual symbolizes the joining of two people. Including this before or after your vows would not only be a unique way of incorporating your Native American heritage, but this special vase ceremony will also give you and your new spouse a great wedding keepsake as a reminder of your bond!
- Jumping the broom is a uniquely African American custom that many people incorporate in their wedding today. You’ve probably seen this in Grey’s Anatomy, but if you haven’t, the custom involves the married couple jumping over a broom placed down on the ground at the conclusion of their ceremony. This is intended to represent the sweeping away of the old, and ushering in the new life of the married couple.
- The Anishinaabe or Ojibwe people of northern Minnesota and Canada often include a blanket ceremony in their weddings. The couple are covered by their parents in a blanket, and it is customary to embrace and kiss under this blanket at the finale of the union ceremony.
It’s amazing to see how much variety there is in weddings, and how unique American traditions have instilled themselves in conventional ceremonies. As always, you and your partner can consider incorporating one (or more) of these interesting rituals in your wedding to personalize your special day!