Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/391714
22 real weddings fall / winter 2014 ere's no predicting where we'll find love. For many of us, our lifelong partnerships will involve relationships that bring together different traditions, heritages and sometimes religions. Planning a wedding under these circumstances can be a sensitive process, but when it's well thought out, it can be a joyful celebration that pays tribute to bride and groom, and their respective backgrounds. "Canada is a very multicultural country, so multicultural weddings are extremely common," says Genève McNally, founding partner and principal planner at DreamGroup Productions in Vancouver. Over the years, her company has orchestrated weddings for couples from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities, including South Asian and Canadian pairings, Scottish and Chinese, and Jewish and Catholic. "e best multicultural weddings are ones where the couples were respectful of the traditions that needed to be included and, most importantly, didn't overthink it or allow it to become bigger than it needed to be," she reflects. e question is, where do you begin this potentially daunting process? RULE BOOK, BE GONE! McNally advises her clients to throw away the wedding "rule book" and allow their celebration to reflect who they are, including the things they love. "Be authentic and lovingly include those specific traditions from each side that matter most," she says. When necessary, some traditions can be slightly altered or modernized while remaining respectful. She suggests that couples be very honest with their families about what's Be of Bo Wlds realadvice Merging different cultural traditions at your wedding can be tricky – but also deeply rewarding By Lauren Kramer Illustration by Lucia Emanuela Curzi