I want to have a Native American Wedding....Any Suggestions?

Question

My Husband is Apace and I am 1/2 Indian. We were married aug 10th 5 years ago and we had lil christan wedding. We want to have an indian wedding for our anniversary. Can someone help me with any uniqe suggestions!!!!!

Answer 1

Here try these sites. Hope it helps....

American Indian Wedding Tips
Taken from: http://www.wedcon.com/tips/wedtraditions/americanindian.htm on 9/13/2001
Representative to the four corners of the earth, traditional colors are woven into the brides dress, White for east, Blue for south, Yellow for west and Black for north.

There is a symbolically washing of the hands of the bride and groom to rid themselves of evil and loves from their past.

To symbolize their bonding ,the couple will share during their ceremony, a meal of corn mush, made of both white and yellow corn. The white represents male and yellow female, joined together.

Marriage Customs and Symbols
Taken from: http://nativeamculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa011701a.htm on 9/13/2001
These days, there are many different types of Indigenous weddings, ranging from traditional ceremonies to modern marriages. Here are a few customs and symbols from different Nations.

Tribes like the Navajo and Paiute made wedding baskets. The Navajo filled the wedding baskets with cornmeal for blessings and good luck.
Music and singing are common elements of weddings. Indigenous love songs are often played on flutes. In times past and present, men used flute music to win the hearts of their loved ones.
A wedding vase was and is used in some ceremonies. In a traditional Eastern Cherokee wedding, as well as in a Pueblo wedding, a couple drinks from a wedding vase at the same time. The wedding vase has two openings so that the couple can drink together. In some Southwestern tribes, the bride and groom hold the two-necked wedding vase in their hands as a blessing is offered. At the end of the ceremony, the couple smashes the vase and counts all the larger shards of the pot as a way of foretelling how many children they will have.
A blanket is used in some weddings. Usually the couple is wrapped in a blanket as a sign of their union. For example, in the Eastern Cherokee ceremony, the bride and groom had separate blankets at the beginning of the wedding, but were covered with one blanket during the ceremony to signify the union of their lives.
In some ceremonies foods were exchanged, much the way rings are exchanged today. This was a way of saying that each would provide for the other.
The Cherokee had a sacred fire that was made with seven kinds of wood. This fire was kept burning at all times. When it was time for the marriage ceremony, the couple would go to the sacred fire in order to receive a blessing from the priest. For some Nations, fire was also seen as a symbol of love.

Answer 2

My cousin had a traditional Delaware wedding during the annual pow-wow. The wedding was held in the great circle by a Christian minister who was also Delaware. It was basicly a Christian ceremony that included all the tradional Indian rituals such as letting the wedding guests waft tobacco smoke towards the couple. The entire wedding party dressed in traditional Indian wedding attire. Later that night, they were honored during the dancing ceremonies. You might contact your local tribe leaders to see if something like this is also available.

Answer 3

Here are soem suggestions...
http://www.weddingdetails.com/lore/native.cfm

This site carries books on how to plan your Native American wedding ceremony:
http://www.nativecollections.com/nativeamericanitems.html

As you probably know, the Apache originally did not have weddings and since it is a martiarchal society the woman basically chose who she wanted and took him home!

Here are soem unique prayers and blessings as well:
http://www.tmclark.com/JP/apache.html

Good luck!

Answer 4

Have a pow-wow! Have dancers come and and have your friends join in too. Serve some authentic food. Have it in an actual tee-pee. I have seen huge ones. I bet the Pow Wow people have one or you could rent one. Have fun!

Answer 5

Go back to HIS rez.
Tell the elders what you wanna do, shouldn't take more n say 3 days to put together.

I woulda said YOUR rez but i dunno your tribe.
Do not be disappointed when the elders say 3-4 words, smudge you with smoke an that's it. Apache wedding might just be that simple . . .

Answer 6

play r.carlos nakaii...and go to websites for info. on native foods

Answer 7

blow out smoke invitations with a fire and a blanket while singing heyah,heyah,heyah hhoo- instead of giving out RSVP cards..

LOL just kidding!