Bliss Blog: My Intercultural, Interracial Wedding

Hello all! I recently just read a post from PlusSizeBride's blog about planning an multi-cultural wedding and it inspired me. Check out the post ~ http://bayareabrideguide.com/planning-a-multi-cultural-wedding-2. My husband and I have been married for 3 years on July 28, 2010. I love him so much more today than I did 3 years ago.

We met 8 years ago in a small, private college in Santa Clarita, California. I played volleyball and he played basketball. After 5 years of on and off and on again, we tied the knot! I thought I had an idea of who he was back then, now I realize that I barely scratched the surface. And if I feel that way after 3 years, then I can't wait for 10 or 15 or 25! Although he is not a perfect man, he is perfect for me!

Now to what I meant to write about in the first place... our intercultural, interracial wedding. Going into planning the wedding I was very aware of our two cultures. It was very important to me, maybe more than it was to my husband, to make sure both Bahamian and American traditions were represented on our day. One of the ideas we got from the Bahamas is when the bridesmaids and groomsmen begin the walk down the isle they stop and bow and curtsy to each other before they come together to walk. They are very proper over there! We were able to integrate his church by having his pastor from his church back home perform the first part of the ceremony, then our current pastor of the church we attend in American did the rest and his pastor closed with a prayer. One of the best things he said was "Two families, two people, two cultures, one God." We try to remember that everyday. His mother made sure that we had baskets and programs that were handmade in the Bahamas. They were passed out to all the guests as a gift and representation of their country. One of my favorite parts was our entry into the ballroom as they announced the bridal party and us as Mr. and Mrs. Simmons. We entered into Junkanoo music! Junkanoo is a festival in the Bahamas that is very popular, almost like Carinval in Brazil. The music is like marching band-ish and personally wouldn't and don't just listen to it, but it has a beat. The whole room was on their feet dancing and clapping and welcoming us to the reception. So much fun! I must admit something we didn't use. Ceremonies in the Bahamas usually last about 2 to 2 1/2 hours! I am sorry, but I just wanted to be married and party! So ours was like 30 minutes. Personally, the way they should be!

But, I must say, as the pictures below represent, my favorite part about my intercultural, interracial wedding would have to be that, besides the color, you couldn't tell which person belonged to which family. Everyone got along, everyone mingled. It wasn't like high school prom with the Bahamians on one side and the Americans on the other, to nervous to interact. I loved it. I love my interracial marriage. I love that it is different, that it is hard and that we might have to work harder than others to make it happen, but it adds flavor to our lives! Not to mention we visit the Bahamas every summer!! hehe