My fiance’s mother is 100% mexican which makes hime 50% Mexican. I’d like to include some sort of Mexican tradition into our wedding this fall, but I don’t want to go as far a a pinata. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
you could have a marachi band. which is traditional for all mexican celebrations
you could also purchase coins …
The Thirteen Gold Coins (Trece monedas de oro)
The madrina de arras holds the 13 coins the bridegroom presents to the bride. The coins, or arrhea, was a Roman custom of breaking gold or silver, one half to be kept by the woman and the other half by the man, as a pledge of marriage.
The groom gives the bride thirteen gold coins as a symbol of his unquestionable trust and confidence. He pledges that he places all of his goods into her care and safekeeping. Acceptance by the bride means taking that trust and confidence unconditionally with total dedication and prudence.
The custom of the coins originated in Spain. Thirteen gold coins (arras) are given to the bride by the bridegroom, signifying he will support her. Often presented in ornate boxes or gift trays, this represents the brides dowry and holds good wishes for prosperity. These coins become a part of their family heirloom.
The number 12 represents Christ and his 12 apostles. The coins are presented to the priest by a friend or relative (usually the purchaser). The priest then blesses the coins and hands them to the bride who places them in the groom’s cupped hands at the beginning of the ceremony. The coins are then placed on a tray and handed to an assistant to be held until later in the ceremony. Near the end of the ceremony the box and coins are given to the priest who places the coins in the box and hands them to the groom.
The groom will then pour the coins into the bride’s cupped hands and places the box on top. This represent his giving her control as his mistress of all his worldly goods. (Sometimes their hands are tied with a ribbon for this portion of the ceremony.)
another tradition is the lazo … if your fiance is catholic or his family is this is really traditional and important
The Lasso (El lazo)
As part of the ceremony to symbolize unity, a large loop of rosary beads or a lasso (cord) is placed in a figure eight shape around the necks of the couple after they have exchanged their vows. It also is beautiful when made of entwined orange blossoms (which symbolize fertility and happiness). A double rosary lasso may also be given by one set of the parents and may be blessed with holy water three times in honor of the trinity.
A special person/couple places the lasso around the shoulders of the bride and groom, groom’s shoulder’s first. The lasso may also be tied around their wrists. The couple wears the lasso throughout the remainder of the service. (The loop is symbolic of their love which should bind the couple together everyday as they equally share the responsibility of marriage for the rest of their lives.)
At the end of the ceremony, the lasso is removed by either the couple which placed the lasso on the couple, or the priest. The lasso is given to the Bride as a memento of her becoming the mistress of the groom’s heart and home.
best wishes!
You can make some of your wedding decorations some of the colors of mexico mixed in with the colors of you nationality. Also at the wedding after party(reception) add some spanish music as you and your husband to be first song to dance too! Then for the food you can have nachos, rice, etc. spanish food on one table and your type of food on another!!
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Why don’t you have a destination wedding in Mexico on a beach.
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One of the easiest ways to incorporate ethnic traditions into a wedding is the food. Mexican food is awesome and most people like it. Here are some other ideas I found on a website:
http://www.weddingdetails.com/lore/mexican.cfm#traditions
This site has a lot of info. Have fun! Mexican weddings sound like a blast!
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you could have a marachi band. which is traditional for all mexican celebrations
you could also purchase coins …
The Thirteen Gold Coins (Trece monedas de oro)
The madrina de arras holds the 13 coins the bridegroom presents to the bride. The coins, or arrhea, was a Roman custom of breaking gold or silver, one half to be kept by the woman and the other half by the man, as a pledge of marriage.
The groom gives the bride thirteen gold coins as a symbol of his unquestionable trust and confidence. He pledges that he places all of his goods into her care and safekeeping. Acceptance by the bride means taking that trust and confidence unconditionally with total dedication and prudence.
The custom of the coins originated in Spain. Thirteen gold coins (arras) are given to the bride by the bridegroom, signifying he will support her. Often presented in ornate boxes or gift trays, this represents the brides dowry and holds good wishes for prosperity. These coins become a part of their family heirloom.
The number 12 represents Christ and his 12 apostles. The coins are presented to the priest by a friend or relative (usually the purchaser). The priest then blesses the coins and hands them to the bride who places them in the groom’s cupped hands at the beginning of the ceremony. The coins are then placed on a tray and handed to an assistant to be held until later in the ceremony. Near the end of the ceremony the box and coins are given to the priest who places the coins in the box and hands them to the groom.
The groom will then pour the coins into the bride’s cupped hands and places the box on top. This represent his giving her control as his mistress of all his worldly goods. (Sometimes their hands are tied with a ribbon for this portion of the ceremony.)
another tradition is the lazo … if your fiance is catholic or his family is this is really traditional and important
The Lasso (El lazo)
As part of the ceremony to symbolize unity, a large loop of rosary beads or a lasso (cord) is placed in a figure eight shape around the necks of the couple after they have exchanged their vows. It also is beautiful when made of entwined orange blossoms (which symbolize fertility and happiness). A double rosary lasso may also be given by one set of the parents and may be blessed with holy water three times in honor of the trinity.
A special person/couple places the lasso around the shoulders of the bride and groom, groom’s shoulder’s first. The lasso may also be tied around their wrists. The couple wears the lasso throughout the remainder of the service. (The loop is symbolic of their love which should bind the couple together everyday as they equally share the responsibility of marriage for the rest of their lives.)
At the end of the ceremony, the lasso is removed by either the couple which placed the lasso on the couple, or the priest. The lasso is given to the Bride as a memento of her becoming the mistress of the groom’s heart and home.
best wishes!
References :
http://www.weddingdetails.com/lore/mexican.cfm
http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/north_american_traditions/mexican_traditions.html
& myself I’m mexican
and am doing these things at my traditional catholic wedding next year 
the money tree dance. The guests pay to dance with you and/or your husband. Then they pin the money on you. There is never a Pinata at a wedding!
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That’s very thoughtful of you to want to include a traditional Mexican touch to your wedding.
Here are some ideas:
If you are still choosing your attire, you might want to consider a mantilla-style veil, or a dress with Latin-influenced ruffles. You could include readings in both English and Spanish in your ceremony, and offer translations for each in the programs. In Mexico, many ceremonies also include a symbolic binding ceremony, where a white rope or a rosary is wound around the bride and groom in a figure eight. During Catholic ceremonies, the groom hands the bride thirteen gold coins (known as arras) to represent his ability to support her — why not update that tradition by each handing coins to the other?
For your reception, look into hiring a mariachi band to serenade your guests. Or guests often form a heart-shaped ring around the couple before their first newlywed dance.
There are also plenty of fabulous foods you could include — a traditional Mexican cake with nuts, dried fruit, and rum would make an ideal groom’s cake, and Mexican wedding cookies or flan will make a sweet ending to your night.
And congrats on your upcoming nuptials! Remember to have fun that day and not to stress the small stuff!
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theknot.com
- If you can afford to, you should hire a mariachi band to play for at least a little part of your reception.
- Serve flan for dessert.
- A custom I have seen at all the Mexican weddings I have been to is the "dollar dance" – people pay a dollar to the bride for a dance.
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Theres a song called la vivora de la mar trans the snake of the sea tradition. every single wedding ive played this activity is done
let me explain how its done. the groom and the bride stand on chairs one for each then you call all the women bridesmaids,
friends,moms,aunts every woman you can get have them hold hands and form a line thats why they call it a snake have the groom grab the end of your dress to form a bridge start the song slow and have the snake go under the bridge and all around the ballroom then speed up the song and watch them sprint all around the place then go fast and watch them run trying not to break the snake same goes for guys
its funnier to watch the guys becuase there drunk and want to show off how fast they can run without breaking the snake wich usually ends in catastrophe
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remember to start the song slow then gradually to fast
and for an extra laugh get a cup with water and when the snake comes near you spill it and watch them slip and slide
not recomended for children
We don’t have pinatas in our wedding….
We do have mariachis go into the reception and sing for the couple and the party.
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I am Mexican and there are a couple of traditions we do have for marriages. As far as things you could incorporate into the ceremony is what everyone else have already said…. the arras and lazo idea (people already explained what those are).
Other ideas is having ‘madrinas’ for
* Bible and rosaries
* cojines (pillow were the bride and groom knee)
Ideas for the reception definitely the mariachi and the dollar dance (which doesn’t necessarily mean people can only give you $1, they could give you any amount them want). Hope this helped…good luck
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