Top Hispanic Traditions for Your Wedding

I've included a post before on top Mexican wedding traditions, which are great to incorporate for your destination wedding in Mexico as well as your Mexican themed wedding stateside. I got some really great feedback to this post, so when I saw a piece covering top hispanic traditions from Para ti Novia (one of my favorite sites), I wanted to include it! It can be an overwhelming task to include all of the traditions, but incorporating small touches and variants of old traditions are a great way to pay homage to the beautiful country of Mexico!

Here's the Latina girl's guide to the top few Mexican wedding traditions you don't want to go without!

1.    The Lasso
Lassos are a fun way to incorporate Mexican tradition into your modern wedding. They can be beautiful and chic and look like very large rosaries that wrap around both the bride and groom.  This may be one of  the sweetest traditions because it is supposed to sign the unbreakable bond between the bride and groom.

2.    The Arras
The Arras are another favorite according to Para ti Novia because it is so steeped in tradition. These 13 gold coins represent the fathers dowry to the groom.  It is a gift from one family to another to begin the bonding process between the two family clans.

Now the third tradition given by Para ti Novia gets its own post because I love it so much -- and this one can easily be incorporated into a wedding regardless of whether it has a Mexican theme or not. Stay tuned later today!

Mexican Wedding Traditions Explained

I posted once about certain Mexican wedding traditions, and ways to incorporate them into your wedding. I'm so keen on the idea of tying the culture of your wedding location in, that I wanted to include some more content I recently came across. What better way to honor the beautiful area in which you're celebrating this special day than to celebrate with fun and unique traditions that honor the beautiful nation of Mexico!

The Thirteen Gold Coins
In certain parts of Mexico, the groom gives the bride 13 gold coins calls "arras." This comes from a Roman tradition of breaking a piece of gold or silver...half the gold to be kept by the bride, and the other half by the groom. It is meant to symbolize compromise in the couple's union, and I can't help but think nostalgically back to those necklaces that each included half of a complete heart. What a great tradition!

Los Padrinos (Godfathers) 
Los Padrinos translates as godparents and are sponsors for different aspects of the wedding such as the flowers, the ceremony, the cake, and even the bride’s dress. These padrinos contribute to the cost of the wedding ceremony.

El Lazo (Lasso) 

El Lazo is intended to represent the unity component of marriage, some couples include an actual lasso into the ceremony, permanently looping them together. Some couples choose to be entwined in orange blossoms as this symbolizes fertility and hapiness. 

Mexican Wedding Traditions

If you're planning a destination wedding to Mexico, you may want to include some traditional Mexican wedding customs as a fun way to incorporate your destination into your ceremony and reception. Here are a few Mexican traditions that may add a nice touch to a getaway wedding:

1. During the vows, a white ribbon or rosary--called a lasso--is wrapped around the necks of the couple, representing their union. 
2. It is customary for a Mexican groom to give his wife a wedding gift of 13 gold coins, which are blessed by the  priest during the ceremony. This represents his commitment to support his new wife. 
3. As the newlyweds leave the church, guests toss red beads to bring good luck.
4. At a traditional reception, it is customary for guests to form a heart shape around the newlywed couple, as they begin their first dance as husband and wife.
5. A pinata is hung from the ceiling at many Mexican receptions--generally shaped like a heart or an animal and filled with candy to be hit at by the children. 
6. Mexican wedding cakes are usually fruit cake soaked in rum.