Native Americans have a culture rich in custom and tradition and their weddings are no different. Adding a few of the Native American wedding traditions, which are very beautiful, may add an element of spirituality to your ceremony.

It is the custom in the Native American culture for the man to ask for permission to marry into the woman’s family. The man will normally ask permission of the shaman or priest. Once the permission is granted, the two families customarily exchange food, livestock or other gifts in order to show their approval of the union.

In many Native American tribes, the new couple lives with the bride’s family after the wedding. It is up to the new husband to take care of his in-laws and to do what he is told by his new mother-in-law. It is also customary for the couple to be given baskets of corn as gifts, since the corn symbolizes fertility.

When a couple from the Algonquin tribe decides to marry, they choose four sponsors. The sponsors are older and wiser and offer wisdom and advice to the newly married couple. Since divorce is not an option the role of the sponsors is very important. It is up to them to offer guidance and advice if the couple should ever need it. During the wedding ceremony, the sponsors make a commitment to the couple to offer their advice and support for the rest of their lives.

Native American tribes in Northern California practice two types of marriage, the half marriage and the full marriage. A full marriage takes place if the groom is able to pay the full amount that was requested from the bride’s family. If the groom is only able to pay half of the requested amount, then a half marriage takes place. In a half marriage the couple resides with the family of the bride and the groom is under the authority of his bride’s father.

One traditional Native American wedding ceremony that is used is the fire ceremony. Stones and seven different kinds of wood are used to form a large circle. The wood is placed in a large pile in the center of the stone circle. On each side of the wood pile two small fires are started. One small fire represents the bride and the other one represents the groom. Following a blessing from the priest as well as friends and family the couple each slides their individual fire into the pile of wood in the center. The resulting fire symbolizes their union.

Another popular wedding ceremony is the blanket ceremony. The bride and groom are each wrapped in blue blankets at the beginning of the ceremony. These blankets represent the sorrows the bride and groom have gone through separately. After the marriage is blessed, the blue blankets are removed and the couple is wrapped together in one white blanket to symbolize the act of becoming one.

One more Native American wedding ceremony is the seven steps ceremony. The wedding ceremony starts with lighting a sacred fire. The bride and groom proceed to take exactly seven steps around this fire. The groom takes the first step and then stops to say a vow. The bride follows with a step and recites a vow of her own. The groom will then take another step and recite another vow. This continues until seven steps and seven vows have been completed. It is not uncommon for the couple to exchange corn or stones to show their commitment.