It’s Tuesday, and time for another tradition. This one is near and dear to my heart as I know this couple personally and they are the sweetest and cutest couple ever. Sandra and Nick come from different backgrounds but found beautiful ways to celebrate their marriage on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It was a pleasure working with both of them and experiencing more unique traditions.
Customarily a Spanish bride wears black silk with a black lace veil on her wedding day, but Sandra chose a more modern dress of white silk with a traditional array of orange blossoms. Orange blossoms are the traditional choice of flowers, signifying a life of happiness and fulfillment for the couple.
She carried, or rather wore, a very unique bouquet/wrist-let of delicate orange blossoms complimented with yellow and white roses. Traditionally the bride would embroider the shirt for the groom, but Nick chose a subtle palate to match his bride with a white suit with a blush colored shirt.
The featured tradition here is the interchange of “arras” or passing of coins. As part of the ceremony, the groom presents the bride with 13 coins usually presented in a special bag, box or tray, symbolizing the groom’s commitment to his new bride and his vow to support her. The bride carries the coins which are then blessed by the minister during the ceremony. Afterward, the coins are kept as part of the family’s heritage.
The coins above are similar to the coins the couple used. As the coin tradition is also common in Filipino weddings, I grabbed this image from My Barong. I love the cultural tid-bits they shared on their website about the coins:
“The Wedding Coins have come to symbolize more than just prosperity. Today’s couples embrace life & face the world together in a more mutually supportive way than ever before. Each coin in our “Unity Coins” set has a unique design, representing one of thirteen universal tenets of marriage:
~:~ Love ~:~ Trust ~:~ Commitment ~:~ Respect ~:~ Joy ~:~ Happiness ~:~ Harmony ~:~ Wisdom ~:~ Unity ~:~ Nurturing ~:~ Caring ~:~ Cooperation ~:~ Peace ~:~
The symbolic use of coins in a wedding ceremony is a tradition in many different religions, cultures & countries. The “Unity Coins” designs have influences from all over the world, including the “Celtic Marriage Knot” (which is on the backside of each coin), the Adinkra (Asante people of Ghana and Ivory Coast) symbol for Wisdom, & the Chinese “Yin & Yang,” to name a few.”
As with most cultures, the wedding rings are a significant part of the ceremony as well as a symbol of the union between the bride and groom. Americans are accustomed to wearing wedding rings on the ring finger of the left hand, but Spanish wedding traditions are different. The bride and groom wear wedding rings on the right hand, which is common in most European countries. As the groom is from American and the bride from Spain, they agreed to wear their rings on the left hand while in the United States and right while in Europe.
The reception was held in a traditional manor, in a local restaurant. The groom passed out cigars as a traditional party favor to his guest, while the bride gave small pins to be worn upside down by the unmarried ladies during the festivities. The Spanish tradition (and another less embracing version of the bouquet toss) believes if the pin is lost during the reception; the lady who loses it will be the next in line to marry. I love it!
Congratulations to our beautiful couple. They recently celebrated 2 years of marriage and are expecting their first child in December.
