Central American Wedding Traditions

The central theme of all Central American wedding traditions is family. Family is at the center of Central American life and family is at the center of all Central American wedding traditions.

The more the merrier at a Central American wedding.

Weddings in Central America tend to be large, boisterous, happy affairs, filled with friends and family—children are always welcomed with open arms at a Central American wedding.

In the beautiful country of Belize, on the Eastern side of Central America, weddings are a very joyous occasion. Fiends and family fill the church while the rest of the villagers peer in through the doors and windows, anxious not to miss a moment. While the groom and his best man stand at the alter, the bride waits outside the church until the moment of her grand entrance.

Unlike a more sedate North American wedding, the bride may waltz or strut or dance to the alter, accompanied by her father or another male member of the family. As is true almost the world over, at the conclusion of a Belize wedding ceremony (almost always Catholic) the bride and groom exchange rings, the universal symbol of never-ending love, and then kiss to seal their union before family and friends.

In Guatemala, where family means everything, it is common for girls to marry quite young and to have many children. It is important for everyone, from the youngest baby to the oldest grandparent or great grandparent to attend a wedding. Flowers are everywhere and there is much dancing and singing and happy, joyous music everywhere.

In a traditional Guatemalan wedding it is customary for the bride and groom to be bound together with a silver rope symbolizing their eternal union. It is also common for the bride and her bridesmaids and her flower girls to all wear matching white wedding gowns.

About 40% of all weddings in Guatemala are Mayan, and follow ancient Mayan customs and traditions. Flowers are everywhere at a Guatemalan wedding, and the ceremony is followed by much singing and dancing and rejoicing.

Thirteen gold coins symbolize the groom’s commitment to take care of his new bride.

In Panama it is customary for the groom to give his new bride 13 gold coins during the ceremony and for the priest to bless the coins. The coins are a symbol of the groom’s commitment to support his new bride.

Ancient Mayan traditions blend with more modern Catholic wedding traditions to create a wedding ceremony that pleases everyone.

Central America has a wonderful mixture of Catholic, Protestant and Mayan cultures and wedding customs, and it is seldom that one custom is free from the influence of the others. Catholic weddings in Central America routinely have aspects of Mayan traditions tossed in for good measure.

But Weddings here, as everywhere, celebrate the joining of two people together as a family of their own, and celebrate the spirit of the continuation of life and the need to share ourselves with another.