\n traditions.<\/strong><\/h1>\n
By Olivia Gunn<\/p>\n
![\"Maine-Wedding-Indian-Hindu-Ceremony\"](\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Maine-Wedding-Indian-Hindu-Ceremony-300x200.jpg\")
When we fall in love, two hearts meet as one. Two worlds, too. Today,\u00a0couples embrace the excitement of cross-cultural connections. Weddings can\u00a0present the perfect stage for two families to explore the merging of new\u00a0love with ancient customs.<\/p>\n
Wedding designer Sarah Goodwin of Daisies and Pearls in Portland regularly\u00a0works with couples to honor the history and heritage of both sets of\u00a0families involved.<\/p>\n
This trend will only increase, since \u201cMaine is going to see a lot more\u00a0people moving into the state,\u201d says Goodwin. \u201cPeople from bigger cities\u00a0see Maine as a place to get more bang for their buck.\u201d Because Maine is so\u00a0affordable, and since such cultural mergers deserve to feel unrushed,\u00a0graceful, and appreciated by all, \u201can event in Maine allows for a weekend\u00a0celebration rather than just one night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why a whole weekend? Understandings deepen as they grow. In China, for\u00a0example, to see if a couple is a perfect wedding match, the in-laws\u00a0inscribe \u201ctheir eight characters on a paper and put it on the family\u00a0altar.\u201d Translating this to Vacationland, this ritual might happen at a\u00a0rehearsal dinner or even beforehand at a destination wedding. \u201cIf within\u00a0three days no disaster [befalls], this [means] the couple [is] well\u00a0matched,\u201d according to the Chinese Idioms and Sayings Blog. Aha! Just\u00a0enough time to include a lighthouse expedition and a lobster bake. The\u00a0collateral benefit is to enjoy Maine with relaxing excursions while we\u00a0discover each other\u2019s families as fellow travelers.<\/p>\n
Last July, Adrea Lee and Raghu Chivukula celebrated their wedding day with\u00a0two ceremonies. The first, a traditional tea ceremony, honored Lee\u2019s\u00a0Chinese roots, while the second followed the rituals of a Hindu wedding.\u00a0How to pull off the miracle of bringing it all here? For Lee and\u00a0Chivukula, a makeshift mandap was designed for the wedding at Marianmade\u00a0Farm in Wiscasset. A mandap is an exquisite, intricate frame or\u00a0four-pillared structure, similar to the Jewish chuppah, under which the\u00a0couple is married. Jasmine flowers, symbolizing everlasting love, also\u00a0played a central role in Lee and Chivukula\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe gathered friends and family for a shortened Hindu ceremony on our\u00a0mandap,\u201d Andrea says. \u201cEach ritual had deep spiritual and philosophical\u00a0meaning. The ceremony is performed in Sanskrit by a priest and symbolizes\u00a0a bond not only between two people but also two families. We owe so much\u00a0to our parents, so it was important for us to have both Chinese and Indian\u00a0ceremonies as a way of showing our gratitude and respect.\u201d How profound\u00a0then that the mandap was a bridge between two cultures.<\/p>\n
Peel back a success like this, and you\u2019ll often find considerate questions\u00a0early in the process. \u201cI always begin by asking which traditions the\u00a0couple would like to observe,\u201d Goodwin says. \u201cI ask the parents as well.\u201d\u00a0At the center of it all, \u201cthe ceremony is the most important part of the\u00a0day for my clients, so creating that true reflection of themselves is\u00a0really special.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Language of Dance<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not particularly interested in a long ceremony and would rather\u00a0skip to the celebration, the reception makes for a perfect stage to\u00a0express cultural customs. Rosa Noreen, ballet and belly dance teacher at\u00a0Bright Star World Dance in Portland, says Middle Eastern Dance\u2013or raqs\u00a0sharqi, meaning dance of the East\u2013is traditionally performed in three\u00a0different areas of an Arab wedding. Dancing figures in the bride\u2019s henna\u00a0party. It reappears during the zaffa procession (the bride\u2019s journey from\u00a0her home to the groom), and it completes the circle during the reception.\u00a0Here in the U.S., Noreen explains that the belly dance is often performed\u00a0at bridal showers, bachelorette parties, or even baby showers. \u201cIt\u2019s a\u00a0wonderful celebration of femininity, bringing women together in movement,\u201d
\nshe says. \u201cI\u2019ve participated in all of these different elements locally\u00a0with Lebanese, Iranian, Iraqi families, and non-Middle Eastern Americans\u00a0who want to include the symbolism and the joy of the belly dance.\u201d Sound\u00a0like the perfect way to shake up the reception with your bridesmaids.<\/p>\n
Luck of the Irish<\/p>\n
For some, like James McClay and his wife Meghan, the world is their\u00a0backdrop. In 2014, the Portland residents celebrated their wedding in\u00a0Ireland, where James grew up. \u201cMeghan grew up in Bridgewater,\u00a0Massachusetts. Her father has English heritage, and her mother\u2019s side of\u00a0the family is originally from Ireland. Meghan only really celebrated her\u00a0Irish side,\u201d James says. \u201cI use celebrate loosely\u2013she has a shamrock\u00a0tattoo on her ankle. She\u2019s very embarrassed about it since meeting me!\u201d<\/p>\n
The Emerald Isle may be out of reach for many of us, but for those who\u00a0wear a shamrock on their hearts (or ankles), The Maine Irish Heritage\u00a0Center, formerly St. Dominic\u2019s Church, is one of the most beautiful\u00a0landmarks in the city for a wedding.<\/p>\n
The cathedral boasts stained-glass windows, a historic bell, and an aisle\u00a0that could make any bride swoon. Music from the old country is another\u00a0surefire way to transport your guests to County Cork. The McClays hired a\u00a0traditional Irish group to play the harp, violin, and whistle during their
\nCatholic ceremony. The McClays also honored their Irish heritage through\u00a0small, traditional gestures. In an Irish wedding, a groom offers his bride\u00a0a coin that represents all he possesses. James gave Meghan the same coin\u00a0his own father gave his mother, plus a new one he\u2019d bought just for her.\u00a0Sometimes, a small but symbolic cultural nod can be the most significant.<\/p>\n
As with any good fairy tale, love will cross mountains, rivers, seas, and\u00a0even cultures. The ceremony may vary, but the goal is inevitably the same:\u00a0two families with separate stories are bonded by love, vowing to draft a\u00a0new story\u2013one for future generations to look back on as they write their\u00a0own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A wedding\u2013the perfect place for a colorful collision of cultures &
\ntraditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wedding-guides"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12719"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12730,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12719\/revisions\/12730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}