There are a lot of new trends in the wedding industry and one that we believe is here to stay is the Fusion Wedding. Perhaps you’ve heard the term thrown around, but not really understood what it meant. A Fusion Wedding occurs when a couple is from different cultural or religious backgrounds and decides to blend two or more traditions or cultures into one celebration in order to honor each culture on their big day.
In order to ensure that the traditions are represented correctly a lot of coordination and attention to detail takes place in the planning stages. Often there is an expectation from the parents of the bride and groom that their heritage will be honored and couples wanting to please their families, and honor their own traditions, aspire to blend the two. Working with families to set expectations, may be a unique challenge, but a worthwhile one. Whether or not parents will have a say in the matter will differ per couple, but we do recommend keeping them appraised to your decisions so that there is an understanding and respect of the decisions that are made.
The first step you’ll want to take in creating your wedding plan is to figure out which customs and traditions will be represented during your event. We recommend creating a list and ranking each element in order to understand the “must have” elements versus the aspects of tradition which would be a more negotiable. It could be helpful to talk to parents, grandparents, and other relatives during this process to help you understand in greater detail the various traditions or expectations. Be honest with your partner and your family throughout the communication so that there is a realistic understanding of what can and will be done during the event.
Finding a wedding planner or coordinator who is well versed in fusion weddings can be a huge asset to your event. Knowing the ins and outs of various religions and cultures and how one can seamlessly integrate the two within one celebration will ensure that the traditions will be honored on your big day. Additionally, the wedding coordinator can often act as a buffer between families who may be having a difficult time accepting the idea of a blended wedding ceremony.
There are many ways to go about fusing cultures. Some couples prefer to have multiple events in order to honor the traditions without a blended format, where as other couples prefer to have one celebration with multiple facets within the single event. This could include a quick outfit change during the ceremony or honoring one's culture with the food served during the reception.
Another value to hiring a coordinator is that if you are having multiple events within your main celebration, the event planner can help coordinate with vendors to reuse aspects of the decor, such as floral decorations and table settings, to help reduce the overall cost of the event. Using a common color, theme, or style can help blend the multiple events more smoothly, creating commonality of the blended event.
In the end, there is no right or wrong way to create a Fusion Wedding because it is all about you and your partner - representing your cultures and your love for one another. The Fusion Wedding is just the beginning of your blended lives together.