Each culture has its own wedding traditions and the Latin American marriage ceremony is no different. There are countless unique Latin American wedding traditions that are still followed to this day and are part of what makes the day special for all Latin brides.
Processions
In Latin American tradition, the night before the wedding, a procession takes place from the house of the groom to the house of the bride’s family. Hand lanterns are carried and the groom’s family carries a chest full of gifts as gifts for the bride’s parents.
Secret
As in many other cultures, Latino grooms are prohibited from seeing each other before the wedding ceremony. The responsibility of the father of the bride is to keep the bride hidden and then hand her over as part of the wedding service. The groom’s job is to walk his mother down the hall.
Flower girls and ring bearers
As in many other cultures, Latin American marriage traditions dictate that there must be a flower girl and a ring bearer and that they must wear clothing that is a copy of the bride and groom’s costumes.
Corners
13 gold coins representing Jesus and the apostles form an important part of the ceremony. They are presented by the groom to show that he can support his wife and are blessed by the presiding priest to be presented to the bride as part of the service.
Wedding dress
Every Latin bride knows how important her wedding dress is. At traditional Latin American weddings, she wears a mantilla veil and orange flowers in her bouquet and hair to symbolize happiness and fulfillment. Although Latin wedding dresses are now often white, traditionally the color of the wedding dress was black to show devotion to her husband until death.
Rings
Traditionally, both the bride and groom wear rings after their engagement on their right hands. After the ceremony, they change the rings to his left hand.
Joining together
In the Latin American tradition, the bow cord is used to unite the couple during the ceremony. This is a rosary or a white rope tied around the shoulders of the couple that symbolizes their union.
Favors
As in many cultures, giving guests wedding favors is an important part of the ceremony. Capias, or small gifts, are given to guests during the reception line and take the form of ribbons with the names of the bride and groom and the date of the marriage.
The white bell
During some Latin American weddings, there is a white bell hung outside the church filled with rice and flour to symbolize prosperity. When the couple enters the church, the mother breaks the bell to wish the couple luck.
Godparents
In traditional Latin American culture, it is the groomsmen (or sponsors) who bear the cost of the wedding and also play an important role in the ceremony. It was their responsibility to bring the earnest money (gold coins) and the lasso cord to the ceremony.
First dance
After the ceremony, the bride and groom dance their first dance while the guests take the dance floor in a heart shape surrounding them.
To learn more about the wedding traditions of Latin America, visit singlemantravel.
