Every country has its own unique wedding traditions. Jamaica is a country which is known for preserving many of its native traditions. The Jamaican wedding traditions that you will learn about here were all practiced in the past. As with just about any country, the influence of other cultures has impacted those who once celebrated Jamaican traditions, and wedding traditions that people actually continue to stick with have changed over time. While one couple may follow all of these wedding traditions in a Jamaican wedding, others may choose to only follow one or two traditions.
Jamaican Wedding Traditions: Public Criticism
One of the things that many people find to be unusual about a Jamaican wedding is the fact that there is often public criticism. According to this wedding tradition, in Jamaica, people will line up and down a street near the Church on the day of the wedding. There, they will wait for the bride to make her appearance. If the bride does not look beautiful, she will be publicly criticized by the people. In most cases, the bride will turn around and make herself look more beautiful before heading to the Church, to hopefully pass public inspection without criticism the second time around.
Jamaican Wedding Traditions: Walking Down the Aisle
In most Jamaican weddings, the bride is escorted down the aisle by both of her parents, though it is also common for her to be escorted by only her father. You will rarely see a woman escorted by her mother down the aisle in a traditional Jamaican wedding. Of course, since times are changing, this is much more common in modernized Jamaican weddings. Some believe that this modernized change might have been influenced by the American culture, as it is very common for women to walk their daughters down the aisle if their father is not in their life, for whatever reason.
Jamaican Wedding Traditions: Food at the Reception
As with any other culture, there are certain foods that you can expect at the reception of a traditional Jamaican wedding. It is most common for curried goat to be served as the main dish at a Jamaican wedding, with rice on the side. Rum punch is almost always found a traditional or modernized Jamaican wedding. This punch is made of a fruit syrup, rum pimento and lime. Champagne, wine and other forms of alcohol can also usually be found on the menu of a Jamaican wedding.
Unlike a lot of other cultures, Jamaican wedding cakes are not white. The wedding cake at a Jamaican wedding is usually darker in color and usually consists of various types of fruits. One of the main ingredients of a traditional Jamaican wedding cake is rum. After the wedding is over, the couple or their family members will mail pieces of the wedding cake to friends and family that were not present at the wedding.
Jamaican Wedding Traditions: Proper Etiquette
It is a very common Jamaican wedding tradition for uninvited guests to come without giving prior notice. Although most people would find this rude, it is not considered improper in the Jamaican culture. The Jamaican philosophy on this is the more, the merrier. Another interesting facts about Jamaican wedding traditions and proper etiquette is that you are expected to stay at the reception for a very long time. The typical Jamaican wedding reception ends when the sun has risen. When you leave earlier than this, you may be considered rude by certain families celebrating a Jamaican marriage.
If you are interested in a wedding that may combine Jamaican wedding traditions with the tradition of your own culture, these are just some of the traditions that will help get you started. You may choose to incorporate one or all of these Jamaican wedding traditions into your own wedding.
