Budget Bride VI: Party Like an Immigrant

One thing I'm loving about the 2020s is that all of a sudden, Black Lives Matter has gone mainstream, our government representation suddenly has become more diverse, and there has been a seismic cultural shift toward celebrating racial and cultural diversity rather than suppressing it. We are a proud, colorful people! Look around you at those you plan to invite to your wedding. What family traditions would you like to uphold, revive, or remix to celebrate the union of you and your beloved and all the people who made each of you who you are? For a wedding that is rich in tradition yet affordable, both meaningful and joyful, look for the immigrants!

Party Like an Immigrant

Budget brides, now is the time to look deep into your cultural heritage for wedding inspiration and soul. America is a great big progressive potluck, and so are most of our families. Search through your own ingredients to find spice and flavor for your ceremony and reception.

Got any Jews in the family? Big Fat Greeks? Mexicans? Hmong? Scots? Slavs? Arctic reindeer herders? Explore your loved ones' oldest and richest traditions! Before weddings were about perfection and posturing, they were about true celebration in community.

Just make sure that your wedding doesn't end up like this:

At my wedding, we mixed religious and secular wedding traditions that felt authentic to our personal beliefs while nodding to our heritage and relationship history. I walked down the aisle to music familiar to my German Catholic relatives, got married by a Unitarian Universalist minister, read poetry instead of contractual-sounding vows, and allowed my mother-in-law to pelt us with Italian candied almonds.

Your personal preferences and family traditions can be blended up in fun, new ways. My budget bride friend Miss Moppet is thinking about walking down the aisle with her hard rocking Irish groom to a Celtic Metallica cover song.

So reach deep into your roots as well as your own personality, sit down with your grandma to talk family history, and imagine all of the variations and cultural flavors you can combine into a rich multi-culti fusion symbolizing the union of you, your mate, and all of the old heritage you bring together and enrich with new life.

Mazel tov!

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