A Photographic Look at Nashville’s Multi-Cultural Weddings
Monday, July 25, 2011
Nashville is becoming a melting pot. From 1990-2000, our foreign-born population has tripled. (Source: Wikipedia) Our city attracts people from Seattle (ask Genna) and Singapore (ask Tabitha) to Texas (ask Meg and Danielle). In fact, I'm the only Nashville native on our team! Nashville is becoming more and more diverse, welcoming people of different faiths and cultures. And while you may not see them often, our weddings are intercultural, interracial, and multicultural.
Today we're sharing some our favorite wedding photos that represent our diverse newcomers, cultures, faiths and unions. It's a vibrant look into the colorful, cultural side of Nashville weddings.
East Meets West
Lotus Blossom Photography captured some vibrant, beautiful pictures from the Bengali wedding of Saqi to Alex. The groom is Korean, and the bride and groom also celebrated his culture by donning Korean dress for the reception. They look like such a fun couple! The couple started out honoring the bride's Bengali heritage. For the ceremony they switched into traditional Korean dress.
Some of you may remember the Indian wedding by A Delightful Day Planning that we shared not too long ago. In our feature, Sneha shared her wedding inspiration: "I got my inspiration mostly from my mom’s sarees and other Indian fabrics that I had seen..." Don't you love the beautiful mehndi applied to the bride (and sometimes the groom's) hands and feet. This ritual which can take hours is to signify love and affection in marriage.
Images by McLellan Style
The lovely ladies of The Photographix captured some intimate moments during the traditional tea ceremonies of Heidi and Lan's Korean/Vietnamese wedding. The bride and groom honored both cultures by dressing in each others traditional robes/dress to present tea to their families. Starting with the traditional Korean dress - each aspect from the hats to the sashes and colors have significance to the culture. Tea ceremonies are rituals of respect where the bride and groom offer tea to their elders. The elders, in turn, give the happy couple their blessings.
InterCultural Connections
We enjoyed seeing this beautiful wedding at the Hermitage Hotel captured by Divine Images and shared via their Facebook album. Hodgen and Amber had such an elegant day surrounded by friends and family.
In March, we featured another wedding honoring both the groom's English heritage and the bride's Indian traditions, photographed by Krista Lee Photography. To honor their unique heritages, they "... tried to create a fusion of both our cultures and have the best aspects of each highlighted in every part of our wedding. With our food we served British appetizers, then an Indian feast for dinner, and lastly a rich decadent dessert with a mix of both cultures. With our wardrobe choices we mixed it up with a traditional Scottish Kilt and classy ivory wedding gown for the ceremony, and then a glamourous Indian Lengha and Kurtha Suit for the reception. Our music was also a fusion of Indian bhangra hits and European beats that had our guests dancing all night! Our décor of the room had a touch of old world European romance with the glitz and glamour of a typical Indian celebration!"
Heritage Abounds
As you can see in this wedding photographed by Kristyn Hogan, jumping the broom is a ritual that is sometimes included in African American weddings to symbolize heritage, history and to pay homage to ancestors in America and Africa. This Nashville, African American wedding also inclded to the couple's fraternity brothers and sorority sisters, who are considered extended family.
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Nashville has the largest Kurdish community in the United States, numbering approximately 11,000. (Source: Wikipedia.) This wedding was captured by Jamie Lynn Chevillet and gives us a peek into a large and unique Nashville subculture.
Jet-Setter Celebrations
Let's not forget the cross-continent wedding celebrations of Terri Ann (from the Caribbean via New York) and her husband Berchaun. Their incredibly intimate wedding took place in South Africa and the reception was hosted at Historic Cedarwood. Their reception, which you can enjoy via this link, really was a multicultural affair with family coming from all over the Caribbean and the US.
South African images by Phonix Capture
Nashville reception at Cedarwood; Image by Daniel Meigs Photography.
The Angazas are one facinating couple whose story and mission you'll love. According to their website, "Jared and Ilea lived in Rwanda for two years (a total of four years in Rwanda for Jared), then spent a year back in the US, floating from Los Angeles to New York City to Nashville to establish the business foundation for KEZA. Now they are heading for Mombasa, Kenya to set up the new KEZA headquarters and their new home. They plan to live there indefinitely."
Images left: Shane and Rachle Photography; Image right: Jared Angaza
No matter what the traditions, colors and practices, there's no doubt that weddings and the union of two people who love each other transcend continents and cultures. We would really love to see more pictures so if you have any that you'd like to share or you think ought to be featured on ABG please do send them our way!
About the Author:
Ashley King
Hey - I'm Ashley! I started AshleysBrideGuide.com to give Nashville brides, or folks planning a Nashville wedding, a local resource for inspiration and resources. Hope to see you at a bridal show soon! Until then, Find me on Google+.
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Posted on July 25, 2011 |
Filed under: Inspiration & Trends, Real Nashville Brides,
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Posted on July 25, 2011 @ 2:23pm
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