3 little known Caribbean wedding customs
If you plan on having your wedding in the Caribbean islands you might want to know the 3 most important Caribbean wedding traditions:
1) The bride and groom show off their finest clothes for the entire village.
2) There’s no need for a best man at an Island wedding!
3) A typical wedding feast features curried goat and spicy chicken jerky
While traditions differ from island to island, it is ordinary for the bride and groom to dress in their finest clothes and to stroll from either the bride’s house or the groom’s house to the church while the church bells ring, announcing the wedding to the whole island. Typically, one and all from the town lines the street to view the couple as they walk to the cathedral and it is usual for onlooker to remark on the bride’s and groom’s clothing.
Usually, guests were invited to the wedding ceremony by word-of-mouth, with only a few honored guests getting hand-written invitations. However, a Caribbean Island wedding doesn’t stand on ceremony, and anyone who shows up, invited or not, is welcome at the wedding.
There is no such thing as a best man at a Caribbean Island wedding. The bride’s father or often both of her parents accompany her down the aisle with her face concealed by a veil. At the end of the ceremony, which is often a mixture of Catholic and Mayan and African, the groom lifts the veil and kisses his new bride to the cheering of family and friends.
The regular Caribbean Island wedding reception can go on all night, with customary steel-drum island music, lots and lots of sweet but potent rum punch, wild dancing and many toasts to the health and happiness of the new couple. Amongst the many wonderful hand-made gifts which are traditional at Caribbean weddings are exquisite hand-made quilts and home-made furniture.
The food at a typical island reception reflects the uniqueness of the Islands. Where else in the world would you find curried goat, spicy chicken jerky, fried plantains and conch fritters at a wedding feast?
Sounds fun, doesn’t it ?