I received a call from my friend Addy who is marrying later this year. She is a very British girl from London marrying a Southern Baptist minister from Mississippi. The wedding is taking place in London and they are wanting to find a ways to incorporate shared customs into the celebration. So we talked at length about the wedding ceremony and reception and realized that a great shared custom was staring us both in the face we just didn't notice it. HATS!! FANCY, CHURCH-GOING HATS!! The older female members of both their families would be wearing them. Why do British and African American women wear hats for church and special occasions? Research time!
Both traditions can be traced back to the bible "Every woman who prays or prophecies with her head unveiled dishonors her head" (I Cor. 11:5). According to Addy, wearing hats at weddings is a dying tradition in England but her family is very traditional and most of the women "would rather be caught dead" than not wearing a hat at a wedding and I know that Justin's mother and grandmother are "the hat ladies" at his church in Mississippi! To understand the hats concept for African American women I suggested to Addy that she read "Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats" by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry. Growing up I remember my grandmother and her sisters wearing hats to church, weddings and any special church occasion. An outfit was not complete without the perfect hat.
Addy also mentioned fascinators for the younger girls and those not comfortable with wearing a hat. I had to ask what is a fascinator? Evidentally, it is hair jewelry. Check these out from www.tiarasandfascinators.com:
Are they not way too cute. So now we have a central idea and I can't wait to begin exploring more options and putting together an entire wedding. More to come as we continue our journey down the aisle.
