Australian Weddings: A Cultural Mix and Endless Possibilities

By Kathy Apostolidis, Nightingales Wedding Designers, 
Sydney, Australia Australia is so far away from the rest of the world, yet it is a melting pot of people with exciting cultures. Even though its colonial background is English and many of the weddings conducted in Australia are of an Anglo-Saxon background, the vigorous immigration program after World Wars I and II has created a country rich in people from all over the world—people who bring their cultural traditions and impact Australian weddings in an unusual way.  Australians are known for their steadfast loyalty, comradeship, easy-going and friendly nature, and “have-a-go” attitude.  Weddings also take on this attitude in the flexibility available to planners and stylists to create a celebration that is steadfastly traditional or as culturally varied or totally different and quirky as can be. So what is an Australian wedding?Anglo-Saxon weddings are the normWith all couples, the options are either to have a civil or church ceremony. What follows are photographs in a beautiful location while guests make their way to the reception cocktail hour. At the reception, guests are seated and the wedding party is introduced. Dinner is followed by speeches and toasts, cutting of the cake, and a dance complete with the requisite bouquet and garter toss before the couple bids farewell. What makes each celebration is personalization through color, themes, favorite foods/wines, quirky activities or games during the evening, or favors. A great deal of thought and planning is spent on personalizing Australian weddings.  Maybe it’s an identity crisis that we have deeply ingrained, because we all hail from such a huge variety of cultural backgrounds and need to differentiate ourselves in some way. Whatever the case, it gives us the option of creating beautiful elements for each wedding.Same-sex weddings not legal, but commitments madeSame-sex marriage is still not officially or legally recognized in Australia, yet many gay couples are having commitment ceremonies, followed by reception parties that rival the best Hollywood celebrations. Some are marrying legally overseas and then throwing a reception in Australia. Yet all focus on personalizing each aspect of their day so it reflects their personalities and the love they wish to attest to and share with friends and families.Mixed-culture WEDDINGS MEAN BLENDED EVENTSIn Australia, we work and socialize with people from a range of different backgrounds, which means that we also meet and fall in love with our future partners who may be of a different cultural background.  Therefore, when we approach planning and styling a wedding between two people from vastly different cultural backgrounds, we try to represent the couple’s unique cultures. For example, a recent wedding between a groom of Scottish background with a bride of Korean descent meant the groom and groomsmen wore kilts and Scottish bagpipers escorted the bridal party after the ceremony.  Then, at the reception venue, we set up an area for a traditional Korean tea ceremony, which took place during cocktail hour with the traditional food and sweets, blessings and games. It was a wonderfully moving, and at times humorous, start to the celebration.  The rest of the night was spent in the Australian tradition of enjoying good food and company, speeches, cake cutting, and dancing until midnight.For a groom of Mauritian Hindu background and a bride of Australian background, it meant a celebration of the glorious, vibrant colors of the Hindu ceremony and the romance of the traditional white wedding conducted by a civil celebrant. The traditional wedding was held in an elaborate English garden. This was followed by high tea on the balcony of the historic house and games of croquet in the gardens. Then, guests were led to an elaborately-designed ganesh mandap, and the bride arrived in a traditional sari for the Hindu ceremony that was conducted by a pandit.  The celebration continued in an elaborately decorated marquee set for a fine, vegetarian dining experience, where no alcohol was served and guests were entertained by a classical strings ensemble.Australia as a wedding destinationThe flexibility in the way that a couple can marry in Australia has enhanced its reputation as a wedding destination. In Australia, the legal requirement is that one must complete and lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage with the celebrant or priest/minister at least one month and one day prior to the wedding date. Many couples also have an Apostille Stamp affixed at the Department of Foreign Affairs so that this document can be recognized in their home country. With Australian freedoms, friendship, and easy-going attitudes, the country is a naturally appealing destination. Individuality can shine or couples can mix it up or be traditional—but above all, love and marriage can be explored, designed, personalized and expressed in a million ways.A Snapshot of the Australian Wedding Industry•    116,322 weddings took place in Australia in 2007.•    70,347 marriages were of native Australian bride and grooms.•    11,101 marriages were of brides and grooms born in the same overseas country.•    34,759 marriages were of brides and grooms born in different countries.•    37% of Australian weddings were performed by ministers of religions.•    62.9% of Australian weddings were performed by civil celebrants.Source: The Australian Bureau of Statistics.