Today, especially in Canada, there is an increase in fusion weddings. What are fusion weddings? Well, it blends two or more distinct cultures and/or religions from the couple and/or their families, sometimes it is a fusion within a ceremony or event and sometimes there are separate ceremonies and events occurring under the same wedding.
For those of you who don’t know me, I am South Asian and my husband is South Asian and we are both Catholics. We thought that it would be a simple wedding but I am Bengali and my husband is Goan and our cultures celebrate weddings differently.
Our goal was to incorporate (or fuse) the most important cultural events or aspects in to our wedding celebration. One such event was a pre-wedding celebration – in Bengal, there is an event called Gaye Holud (or Haldi), where the paste of haldi (turmeric) is applied on the bride and the groom's body before their wedding. Guests are given outfits and everyone is dressed in beautiful, colourful (mostly yellow) traditional wear. The groom’s family and bride’s family exchange gifts.
In Goa, the tradition is to apply coconut milk in lieu of the haldi and the ceremony is called Roce. It is a very informal event and you don’t wear expensive outfits. They don’t have the traditions of exchanging gifts either.
Traditionally, both the Gaye Holud and Roce are held the day before the wedding and separately at the groom’s and bride’s houses. Nowadays, many couples, like ourselves, opt to have it a few days before their wedding day and in one ceremony at one location.
We had one ceremony, the weekend before our wedding and incorporated haldi, coconut milk, bright coloured outfits and gift exchanging. And thus #holudroce was born!
Our families and guests enjoyed and embraced the fusion. Thank you to all our family and friends who helped in making our #holudroce special and these extraordinary vendors:
Photo credit: #mementophotogrpahy Hair & Make-up: @makeupbyreflections & @sonalybadhan
The key to having a fusion wedding is communication. Speak with both families, find out what is important to them and then as a couple decide what you would like to fuse in to your wedding. Don’t be afraid of tweaking traditions to suit your guests and yourselves. Lastly, just have fun with it – make it your own!
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