The Native American culture is filled with custom and tradition. These customs are deeply ingrained in their beautiful wedding ceremonies. It may add an extra bit of spirituality to incorporate some of these traditions into your nuptials.

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 tribes the newly wed couples resides with the family of the bride once the wedding ceremony has been performed. It is the responsibility of the new husband to provide for his in-laws and follow directions that are given by his mother-in-law. It is the custom to give the newlywed baskets of corn as gifts. The corn is a symbol of 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.

A traditional Native American wedding ceremony that can be used today is the fire ceremony. This tradition involves constructing a circle of stones and seven types of wood. In the center of the circle will sit a large pile of wood. On either side of the woodpile will be two small fires. These fires represent the bride and groom as individuals. After the ceremonial blessings from the priest and family and friends, the bride and groom will slide each individual fire into the large woodpile to symbolize their new union.

Another beautiful ceremony is the blanket ceremony. The bride is wrapped in a blue blanket just as the groom is. These blue blankets symbolize the sorrows that the couple has endured on their own. After the marriage has been blessed the blue blankets are removed and the couple is wrapped together in one white blanket. This symbolizes the act of the couple 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.