Monday, October 3, 2011

Traditional Mexican Weddings





Traditional Mexican Weddings
Mexican tradition states that the family of the groom will ask the family of the bride for her hand. Some families are really strict and do not give permission to the girl to meet other men. If the boy's family is not into the old tradition of approaching the girl, the groom to be will still meet the girl's family and ask respectfully for her hand.
In general, brides and grooms are catered by their godparents (or padrinos) who will take care of the engagement all the way through and will still play the role after the marriage takes place. The bride and groom can decide who the godparents will be, making the chosen ones feel very respected and honored. The role of the padrinos is to guide the boy and girl throughout the engagement and give them marital advice. Usually it is the older (and therefore wiser) people who will be asked to play this role.
During the wedding reception, the guests gather together in the form of a "heart" around the married couple while they dance. A pinata is hung at the reception venue which is usually filled with all sorts of candy. It is the job of the children to hit it until it breaks open and the candy falls; the guests then pick the sweets from the ground and celebrate.
In a typical Mexican wedding, you will often see the bride wearing a veil (called mantilla) and looking rather Spanish with a flamenco-like dress. Grooms usually wear a toreador type of outfit which fits the theme perfectly well, depicting the famous bullfighter costume.