Including particular ethic traditions in your wedding has become quite a popular thing to do in the United States. This is because many people in the country come from a wide range of cultural and racial backgrounds. Adding a specific custom to your event makes it all the more unique while honoring your own heritage.

Perhaps the best way to learn about your own customs is to ask members of your family, particularly the older generations. However, here are four common ethnics traditions that are still prevalent in some weddings in modern-day society.

Many Chinese events involve the colors red and gold. These two colors symbolize happiness and wealth. You can start to show this early on in the wedding planning process and keep it as a running theme throughout. Invitations are generally sent out in red envelopes and any cash gifts given to the bride and groom presented in envelopes of the same color. The bride will often wear gold jewelry, some of which is presented to her by female friends and relatives as a gift. The ceremony itself involves the bride and the groom thanking their parents for all the help and guidance that they have given to them over the years. This is an important mark of respect for many members of the Chinese community. After the ceremony is over firecrackers are usually lit as a ritual to warn of any evil spirits from the newlywed couple.

Irish weddings typically feature the Claddagh wedding band. This tradition comes from a story in Irish folklore but is still prevalent in our modern-day age. As well as this, it is customary for the groom to be carried in a chair as part of a dance ritual at the reception.

An Italian wedding will often include a wedding mass. After this has taken place the newlyweds parade through the town to greet its inhabitants. The procession will then lead them to a log with a double handled saw by the side of it. The new bride and her husband will then proceed to saw the log in half to symbolize that they must work together in their married life.

A Quaker wedding ceremony is quite different from others in that the bride is not escorted down the aisle by anyone. Instead she simply presents herself. Quakers believe that this symbolizes that the bride is not an object that belongs to anyone, instead she belongs only to herself. Another difference between a Quaker wedding and other religious ceremonies is that it does not include any members of the clergy.

Find more advice on wedding planning and wedding etiquette. In addition you can get more information on mother of the groom dresses.

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By Amanda Jane

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