Beginning Your Life Together In Trinidad & Tobago
Thinking about a Trinidad & Tobago wedding to start your lifelong commitment to the love of your life? You’ve chosen a great place to do it. Trinidad is the southernmost island in the Caribbean located off the coast of Venezuela. It is much larger than it’s sister island Tobago. These twin islands are known for it’s sandy beaches, blue green waters, calypso music, limbo and colorful friendly cosmopolitan mix of people. It is a wonderful place to visit and one of the most beautiful places on earth to begin your life together. Getting married can be a colorful affair as the diverse cultures found on this island makes for many diverse Trinidad wedding traditions.
Trinidad & Tobago Hindu Wedding Traditions
Traditional Hindu weddings in Trinidad are quite common place. They are beautiful and colorful affairs lasting 3 days from Maticor Night (Friday night) when the traditional Maticor procession takes place to Sunday when the Vivaah Sanskaar (actual wedding) takes place. Everything during this time is done with pomp and circumstance from the traditional painting of the brides hands with henna paint known as Mehendi, to the welcoming of the groom family for the actual ceremony and beyond.
Grooms typically dress in a 4 piece Indian suit adorned with beads and embroidery and brides sometimes wear as many as three different outfits, sometimes incorporating the more traditional white western wedding dress with native Indian wear. After the ceremony guests are invited to a superb vegetarian feast (no alcohol is served) and there is dancing.
Muslim Wedding Traditions In Trinidad & Tobago
In the traditional Muslim ceremony in Trinidad, the actual ceremony called the Nikah is usually held during the day with a few family members present and the reception its self is held in the evening to much dancing and merriment.
The Muslim wedding usually starts with an offer of marriage made by the groom and the acceptance made by the bride. In some cases the bride accepts on her own behalf and sits at the grooms side, in other cases a representative known as a Wakeel accepts on her behalf. The wedding sermon is called the Kutbah completes the Muslim wedding ceremony.
Brides dress in the traditional Lehengas or Ghararas and the grooms either wear traditional Muslim dress or Western attire. While the wedding itself is a beautiful but, serious affair the reception or Walimah is fun filled and accompanied by much laughter and gaiety.
A Traditional Trinidad Wedding
For those of no set religious faith or from more Western cultures who want to partake in some of the traditions of a true Trinidad wedding you can certainly enjoy yourselves. Traditionally the groom in these weddings wear a black top hat and tails with a white shirt while the bride may wear any color of wedding dress that appeals though white is still a favorite.
After the ceremony, guests walk from the venue of the wedding itself to the reception hall and can partake in the street dancing that usually accompanies Trinidad weddings. In keeping with Trinidad tradition you may want your wedding dinner to include the traditional dumplings and crab and the beautiful traditional black wedding cake carried on the head of a guest wrapped in mosquito netting.
Of course you can enjoy all the gaiety and dancing of any reception and can even hire professional limbo dancers or partake in a little limbo dancing yourself while traditional music plays in the background.
