Wedding traditions

Whilst many Caribbean weddings borrow from traditional western customs and traditions, the unique combination of African and European cultures give the islands a flavor all their own when it comes to wedding traditions. In the West Indies a rich fruit cake laced with heavy rum is covered with fondant icing. A rich black cake baked with dried fruits and rum is especially popular on the islands of Barbados, Grenada and St. Lucia.

Bermuda Wedding Traditions
In Bermuda brides use a small cedar sapling as a cake topper to symbolise the growth of the love between bride and groom.

Jamaican Wedding Traditions
A dark fruitcake liberally laced with rum is served at wedding receptions of Jamaican couples. Following the celebration, the wedding party slices the remainder of the wedding cake and mails them to friends and relatives unable to attend the wedding reception.

Wedding Traditions
In the French West Indies wedding receptions usually serve curried goat and white rice. A traditional rum-flavored wedding cake is hidden from guests with a fine white table cloth, where wedding guests have to pay for a small peek.

Netherland Antilles
After a Dutch wedding, the couple plants lily-of-the-valley in their garden so that they can renew their love for one another every year when the plant blooms.