Indian and American Ceremonies

This is so much for everyone to do. Can you have one ceremony and different receptions/parties? Also what is an American wedding? I know Indian weddings can take the course of a few days so you could make it a weekend event, but having two separate weddings is so much. Can't you just combine traditions?

Have you and FH spoke to FHs parents about traditions that can be incorporated into your wedding day?

That feels like a lot for one day. A friend of mine did something similar, but had two days of festivities. The ceremony was on the first day, that had mainly American traditions with some aspects of Indian traditions as well, followed by an more traditional American reception. The second day consisted of mainly Indian traditions, but did not have a full ceremony. Guests were invited to both days, some guests went both and some just attended one.

Definitely don't do plan 1. Hate that idea of a weekday ceremony but then the rehearsal instead of a reception.

There have been tons of fusion Indian/American weddings so I would Google that and use those as inspirations. There was a couple that did both the ceremonies at the same time. She wore a Indian outfit, they first had a Hindu ceremony and then when that was done, stood up and had a pastor do a Christian ceremony. It was a longer ceremony (I think 45 mins) but as a guest, I know I would prefer that over 2 ceremonies spread throughout the day or 2 days. The bride in this switched to her white wedding dress for the reception.

Making a quick side note... We want to do both traditions ceremonies, but just very quick ones... probably less than 30 mins each. We want to honor both families traditions. This means different outfits for each, and a different person marrying us with different traditions in each (but only some of the ones we think are important- to keep it quick). Then have one big party after both. Guests don't have to attend both ceremonies, but they can if they choose...

I think this works really well!!! I've seen a few different versions of people incorporating both traditional ceremonies. A few co-workers have had 2 full on different weddings on different weekends, so wedding 1 is the cultural traditional ceremony and reception, and wedding 2 is the more "american" version. I also had a friend who did a traditional Indian ceremony, then changed into a white ballgown for their reception.

Our head of Marketing did 2 full weddings in the same weekend and everyone said it was such a blast! On Friday they had the Indian ceremony and reception and on Saturday they did the American ceremony and reception. They were in the WW Summerbook from 2015 if you want to check it out! (starts on page 19)

https://publications.weddingwire.com/i/521472-summerbook-2015

I have a few friends who have managed this. I have SO much fun at these weddings, to be honest!

One friend did it roughly in the first style you mention, but she actually just had the Indian ceremony and reception on Friday (daytime at auspicious hour, no alcohol at reception, had performer for entertainment and full Indian buffet) and we were done pretty early in the day. The next evening she had a big American-style reception. I was in this wedding and we got our hair and makeup done all together for the Indian ceremony but we were on our own for the reception (most of us just went to Sephora and a blowout bar).

Another one had an American ceremony outside and then moved into an Indian ceremony after changing during cocktail hour (guests stayed dressed as we were), and then they had a reception which had no Indian food I can recall. This was probably the least fun but primarily because there were no translations during the ceremony so a lot of us had no clue what was going on (and we had already been drinking which makes attention spans decidedly shorter).

I think my favorite was another friend who had an Indian ceremony outside in the morning (but it was HOT in July in NJ), then an Indian lunch buffet, guests went to our hotel and changed and came back for an outdoor American ceremony and amazing reception. It was a lot in one day but it was a ton of fun. They had a shuttle bus to/from the hotel where they had a block, too, for what that's worth. Definitely made things easier on us.

Then one more (I didn't realize I'd been to so many of these) had an Indian ceremony on Friday night, an Indian reception on Saturday night, and an American ceremony/reception on Sunday. This was a lot and I wouldn't really recommend it. The Indian reception had an open bar and we were all exhausted on Sunday for the rest of the wedding. It was definitely a struggle.

We are not religious but are including a Hindu element to our wedding (the Seven Steps). That is also something for you guys to consider, but I know Indian families usually like to see full-on Indian ceremonies.

Every one of these that I have done is pretty much one of two formats.

1. American ceremony first with just the immediate family

2. Hindu ceremony first with lunch in between and then the American ceremony.

I've also done blended ceremonies with the seven steps included, but if the family is at all traditional, they will want a formal Indian ceremony.