There are many different traditions that are part of a wedding ceremony, and many of these customs have been practiced for several centuries. Ciara and Andrew implemented many different traditions into their wedding day, some of the explanations of these traditions are listed below.
Ring Exchange: First marital ring exchange dates back to 4800 years ago!
The Kiss: Token of bonding and exhange of spirits
Bridal Flowers: The bouquet signifies a woman in bloom!
Wedding Veil: A woman’s face covered by a veil means she is spoken for.
The Garter: Was believed (in 14th century Europe) having a piece of the bride’s clothing was a good luck. The bride would throw a garter to keep guests from ripping off a piece of her wedding dress.
Wedding party favor: In the late 1800’s, it was common for the married couple to send their guests home with a cardboard box filled with almonds.
Bridesmaids/Groomsmen: Originated from Roman Law which required ten witnesses at a wedding to outsmart evil spirits.
(Information on traditions taken from bridallistings.com and wikipedia.com)
Kelsey and Adam escaped the heat in Oklahoma to enjoy a July wedding at the El Monte Sagrado here in Taos, NM. The wedding party of 14 included five bridesmaids and five groomsmen, two ushers, the attendant for the flower girl, and the flower girl…who is also a Miniature Dachshund (“Tootsie”).
Kelsey and her bridesmaids got ready in El Monte’s Kama Sutra suite. This suite is a favorite for wedding day as the hand carved wood in the room features couples engaged in various sexual positions.
Heather Miro (et al) perfected the bridesmaids hair and makeup; Mercedes Valdez, owner of Elegante Florals, designed gorgeous bouquets and adorned the altar floor with white rose petals.
There are many different options for your wedding and reception site when you choose El Monte Sagrado for your wedding site. The Rio Terrace is perfect for an outdoor reception or your cocktail hour. With beautiful mountain views, a gorgeous green lawn, and a contemporary patio area, the Rio Terrace is a stunning place to socialize and celebrate your special event.
Jolynn and Manual are both from Mora, NM and came to Taos for a beautiful wedding at El Monte Sagrado. This couple had a guest list of over 125 people which is quite large for a Thursday wedding ceremony, but quite small for a New Mexico wedding (many times the guest list is over 350 people)! The bride and bridesmaids had prior experience in flowers, so they designed their own bouquets which really look stunning in the photographs. The wedding cake you see is a very traditional style of wedding cake from this area. May this lovey couple and their new combined family live “happily ever after.”
The San Francisco de Asis, also known as St. Francis, is one of the most famous cathedrals in New Mexico. Vanessa and Charlie tied the knot at this famous church and then the entire wedding party took the Taos Trolley around the plaza (driving around the plaza after a wedding in Taos is tradition here) to end at destination El Monte Sagrado for a gorgeous reception.
