Wedding Customs: Hawaiian Wedding Traditions

flora dress

If you are getting married in the Hawaiian Islands, you are undoubtedly enamored not only of each other, but of the physical beauty and the culture of the place. Most couples choose to add a bit of Hawaiian culture to the their weddings, whether that means the music of a slack-key guitar or a groom wearing all-white. We've collected Hawaiian wedding traditions; it's up to you to choose which you would like to embrace.

Lei
Almost everyone who gets married in Hawaii includes the flower garlands known as lei as a part of the wedding ceremony. Lei are a symbol of love, respect, and all-around aloha. It is common for the ceremony to commence with the bride and groom exchanging lei. You may start with the groom wearing the bride's lei and the bride wearing the groom's, then switch. Or you may have a flower girl earn her title by presenting the lei at the appropriate moment. The groom usually wears a garland of manly green maile leaves (sometimes with small white flowers, called pikake, woven in). In a traditional Hawaiian wedding ceremony, the kahuna pule, or holy man, would bind the couple's hands together with a maile lei. Brides often wear several strands of pink and white pikake, which can be entwined with orchids or rosebuds. The bride might also wear a headpiece of haku flowers and greenery. Some couples present their mothers with lei; and at smaller weddings, why not give everyone one?

Hawaiian Language
Whether you are a born-and-bred Hawaiian twosome, or if this is your first time to set foot here, you will want to know some of the most romantic words from a very romantic language. Drop a few Hawaiian words onto your invitations or favors; and if you are really brave, practice a few to use in your toast. Our favorites come from our Hawaiian friends.

To cherish, love, or express affection: ho'oheno
Celebration: ho'olaule'a
Friend: hoa aloha
Man: kāne
Woman: wahine
Joy: hau'oli
Kiss: honi
Sweetheart: ipo
Darling: hiwahiwa
Music
Hawaiian music is so romantic, it would be silly to pass up a chance to have some of the real thing at your wedding ceremony. The slack key guitar and ukelele are the regional instruments that make the music of the islands famous. You can hire musicians, and you can also hire hula dancers to interpret the songs. The "Hawaiian Wedding Song," made famous by Elvis crooning it in the film Blue Hawaii is so perfect, and so universal at weddings here, that we suspect there may be some obscure law requiring it.

Dress
At a traditional Hawaiian wedding, the bride wears a long, white dress that is sort of -- now, don't be thrown by this word -- muumuu-ish. What that means is that the dress is flowing. It moves in the Pacific breeze, and has its own unique elegance. The haku lei, that ring of fragrant Hawaiian flowers, is worn around her head.
Grooms get to wear white, too, in the form of a white shirt (on the flow-y side) and white slacks. He wears a brightly colored, usually red, sash around his waist, and the green maile lei around his neck.

Thanks to a heavy Asian cultural influence in the Hawaiian Islands, kimonos are also worn at weddings here.

Feast
There are certain foods that you can't miss in Hawaii. Poi, a paste made from pounded taro root, is one of them. Laulau is a method of preparing meats, including fish and chicken, by wrapping them in ti leaves. Poke is diced raw fish flavored with vegetables and seaweed; kulolo is coconut pudding with brown sugar and taro flavorings. These days, the fresh fish and excellent produce of the islands take center stage, graced by a multi-ethnic mélange of flavors. Asian and Indo-Pacific influences like Thai, Japanese, and Polynesian have made Hawaiian cuisine a fascinating adventure. Ahi, or tuna, is seared and crusted in sesame; seafood is cooked in a Hawaiian bouillabaisse; fresh fruit sauces made from guava, papaya, pineapple, and lychee add flavor. When you plan your wedding feast, be sure to take advantage of your setting by highlighting these fresh seafoods, fruits, and veggies. If a luau is your thing, be open to modern interpretation - but don't skip the luscious kalua pig.

Wedding Cakes: A World Tour of Wedding Cake Traditions Asia

wedding dress 2012 

Japan: Many Japanese actually use imposter cakes at wedding receptions. Made of artificial rubber, these faux confections are iced with wax -- and even feature a slot for the bride and groom to insert a knife. Believe it or not, some models have even been known to produce a puff of steam! Other dupes consist of elaborately frosted Styrofoam dummy cakes. While the imposters are just for show, sheet cakes hiding out in the kitchen are cut and served to guests.

Korea: Many American-style wedding cakes would be considered too sweet for Koreans. They opt instead for a cake made of ground steamed rice covered in red bean powder. A tiered sponge cake covered in nondairy whipped cream is also a popular treat.

China: The traditional Chinese wedding cake is a massive, many-layered creation known as lapis Surabaya. The layers represent a ladder of success for the couple. Traditionally, the bride and groom cut the cake from the bottom up, starting with pieces for each parent and grandparent, who are all fed by the newlyweds.

British Isles

Great Britain: A fanciful fruitcake takes center stage at British weddings. Usually the cake is made with cognac-soaked dates, prunes, raisins, currants, and orange peel, to create a very moist cake. Popular frostings include marzipan, brandy butter, or fondant. And rather than saving a piece for their first anniversary, Brits hang on to the entire top tier, called the christening cake, until the birth of their first child.

Ireland and Scotland: Fruitcakes are also popular in Ireland and Scotland, where the heady, three-tiered confection is often times laced with bourbon, brandy, or whiskey and each layer is spread with almond paste.

Caribbean Islands

Caribbean: Caribbean couples traditionally feast on fruitcakes. The cake is often dark and filled with dried fruits and sherry, wine, or rum.

Bermuda: In Bermuda, it's common to have a small cedar sapling top off a wedding cakes. The sapling is said to symbolize the couple's growing love, and is usually replanted after the ceremony.

If you're having a traditional white wedding cake, consider ordering up a groom's cake that reflects your heritage.

West Indies: Party guests in the West Indies pay for a lucky peek at the wedding cake hidden under a fine white tablecloth. Here a rum-laced fruitcake is the sweet of choice.

Central Europe

Germany: Though American-style wedding cakes are slowly making their way into Europe, countries such as Germany are hanging onto their own traditions. German couples often serve up a rich nut or genoise sponge cake to their guests. The cake is usually laced with liqueur or syrup; filled with jam, marzipan, or nougat; and covered in fondant or ganache. Any use of artificial coloring on a cake is considered a major faux pas.

France: The French traditionally serve up what is known as a croquembouche. This tall tower of cream-filled pastries is coated in caramel and formed into a pyramid shape, and makes quite a statement.

Italy: Wedding cakes are regional in Italy, and in some areas cake is not served at all. At those where they are, taste trumps decoration. In many areas, the custom is to serve a mille-foglia, an Italian cake made from layers of light filo pastry, chocolate, and vanilla creams, and topped with strawberries.

Eastern Europe

Lithuania: In Lithuania, the wedding cake is actually a cookie-like pastry shaped into a Christmas tree. Baked to a sunny yellow hue, the pastry, called a sakotis, displays fresh flowers and herbs protruding from the top peak.

Ukraine: Ukrainian couples share a type of wedding(prom gowns outlet) bread known as Korovai. Decorated with designs representing eternity and the joining of the two families, the bread is considered a sacred part of the wedding feast.

Northern Europe

Norway: Shying away from cake altogether, Norwegians serve brudlaupskling, a type of wedding bread first developed when white flour was a rarity on farms in Norway. Any food containing wheat was once highly prized, so the wedding bread was considered a true treat. Topped with cheese, cream, and syrup, this unique bread is folded over and cut into small squares and served to all the guests.

Denmark: The Danish are known to feast upon a cornucopia cake. Made of almond cake and marzipan, the ring-shaped confection is decorated with pastilage and filled in the center with candy, almond cakes, fresh fruit, or sorbet. Sometimes marzipan portraits of the bride and groom are attached to the outside of the cake. To avoid bad luck, the newlyweds cut the cake together; all the guests must eat a slice.

Iceland: Icelanders enjoy a kransakaka at weddings. Made up of ring-shaped almond pastries piled on top of one another to form a pyramid, the hollow center of the tower is filled with fine chocolates or candies.

The Mediterranean

Italy: No Italian wedding (debut dress 2012)would be complete with out zuppa inglese. Scrumptiously filled with chocolate custard, vanilla custard, rum cream, and fruit, tiers of pound cake are elaborately trimmed with flower blooms of royal icing.

Greece: These days, most Greek couples prefer a flourless almond cake, which is filled with vanilla custard and fruit, and covered in sliced almonds. The traditional rendition of a Greek wedding cake consists of honey, sesame seed, and quince, which is said to symbolize the couple's enduring commitment to each other. Sourdough wedding bread decorated with beads and blossoms is also a traditional treat.