Wedding Traditions in the Caribbean

It’s time for a wedding, man!

While many Caribbean Island weddings borrow from the customs and traditions of the U.S. in their wedding ceremonies, the peculiar blend of African and European cultures which is found nowhere else in all the world give the Caribbean Islands a flavor all their own when it comes to wedding traditions.

The bride and groom show off their finest clothes for the entire village.

While customs vary from island to island, it is common for the bride and groom to dress in their finest clothes and to walk from either the bride’s house or the groom’s house to the church while the church bells ring, announcing the wedding to the whole island. Typically everyone from the village lines the street to view the couple as they walk to the church and it is customary for onlooker to comment on the bride’s and groom’s clothes.

Traditionally guests were invited to the wedding by word-of-mouth, with only a few honored guests receiving hand-written invitations. However, a Caribbean Island wedding doesn’t stand on ceremony, and anyone who shows up, invited or not, is welcome at the wedding.

 The bride’s father or often both of her parents escort her down the aisle with her face hidden by a veil. At the end of the ceremony, which is often a mixture of Catholic and Mayan and African, the groom lifts the veil and kisses his new bride to the cheering of family and friends.

A Caribbean Island wedding reception can go on all night, with traditional steel-drum island music, lots and lots of sweet but potent rum punch, wild dancing and many toasts to the health and happiness of the new couple. Among the many wonderful hand-made gifts which are traditional at Caribbean weddings are exquisite hand-made quilts and home-made furniture.

A typical wedding feast features curried goat and spicy chicken jerky

The food at a typical island reception reflects the uniqueness of the Islands. Where else in the world would you find curried goat and duck,roti, paratha, spicy jerk chicken , fried plantains, and conch fritters at a wedding feast? There is also some North America or English dishes, whatever your heart desires you can have it.Only in the Caribbean.

The traditional wedding cake is a “Black Cake” with the recipe handed down from mother to daughter for many generations.

An Island wedding cake is unique in all the world. Tradition calls for a “Black Cake,” with the recipe handed down from mother to daughter and improved upon by each succeeding generation. The basic ingredients of an Island wedding cake include a pound of flour, a pound of brown sugar, a pound of butter, and a pound of glazed cherries, raisins, prunes, currants, and a dozen fresh eggs.

The cake is traditionally served with ice cream most times  and all of the dried fruits are soaked in rum in a crock pot for anywhere from two weeks to one year.

After the reception the new couple often spend a week in seclusion in a home provided by the groom, or they may travel to a nearby island and spend a glorious week together before returning to their home to start their new life together.

An Island wedding is one of the most happy and up-beat celebrations you will ever attend. Who can listen to the melodious and haunting sound of the steel drum without the romance of the tropics washing over their soul?

Come, mon – it’s time for a wedding!