Heritage Weddings

I really love that America is a nation of immigrants and that there are so many different groups of people that all live and work together in this great country. This brings me to the subject of heritage weddings! I think they are fabulous because you can honor your culture and family and still do it American wedding style!

My heritage is Ukrainian, Norwegian, Irish and German. I'm quite the mix but I decided that if I were to do a heritage wedding, I would honor the Ukrainian side.

This inspired me to put together a Russian heritage inspiration board that honors the Russian heritage with rich colors of gold and red! Russian vodka would definitely be at all the tables for toasting and a golden wedding gown would be perfect! You could give out little Matryoshka (nesting) dolls as favors to all of your guests and fill some of them with sweets!

Of course, getting married in an Orthodox Russian church or Synagogue would be ideal. Russians love to eat so serving classic dishes such as Pelmeni, Borsht and Blintzes would make for heavenly cuisine!

I also love that you could do fun little details by creating a Russian style building for a wedding cake. I would send out invitations that resemble the East and have rich red flowers with an ornately decorated table linens at the reception. The bold colors and Rococo style would perfectly depict Russian heritage. It would also be a great idea to have Russian folk dancers perform at your reception and then invite guests to learn some of the steps!

Whatever your heritage is, I'm sure that you can find wonderful details to incorporate into your wedding. If your future spouse is of a different ethnicity, it would be great to do a fusion wedding where you bring elements from both of your heritages and mix them together for a totally unique wedding. Asian decor with Italian food, Mexican flair paired with Irish bagpipers...the possibilities are endless.

Another heritage wedding that I just had to create an inspiration board for is the Mexican wedding! The lovely vibrant colors, beautiful lace gowns, fantastic food and wonderful hospitality made this inspiration board so much fun!

Personally, I think it would be fun to have white table linens with ponchos used as table runners. Strings of lights, colorful flowers and yummy Mexican cookies and appetizers would create a very "Fiesta" atmosphere. Don't forget to have Mariachis playing your favorite music or maybe have Flamenco dancers perform! You could have a signature Margarita drink and serve Carona for the Hermanos.

I encourage every bride that is having trouble coming up with an event design to look inward. Perhaps you have a very interesting ethnicity and sharing some of the "old country" traditions with your guests and future family would be a wonderful way to start your new lives together!


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