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"We&amp;amp;#8217;ve talked about what to do for your ceremony if you have different religions, but Save the Date reader Blanca wants wedding reception ideas for blending two very different cultures. See which traditions she wants to combine and check out my suggestions for making it happen: Writes Blanca: &amp;amp;#8220;I&amp;#x27;m Mexican and my guy is white. It&amp;amp;#8217;s never been a problem until now: I have NO clue how to mix our cultures in a wedding! I don&amp;#x27;t even know where to begin because I don&amp;#x27;t know a single interracial couple. (I know. Crazy, right? It&amp;#x27;s 2010!) We&amp;amp;#8217;re probably having a small get together, but how should we celebrate? Please help!&amp;amp;#8221; Here&amp;amp;#8217;s what I think: Is your man white, as in not tied to any country other than the US? If his family came from a certain European nation or two (say, England and Germany), look into those country&amp;amp;#8217;s traditions (there are some cool ones!). If your guy doesn&amp;amp;#8217;t really identify with any particular European country, all you need to do to make the wedding feel American is to have the standard wedding elements: a white gown, a bridal party, flowers, food, music, and a cake. Mixing in Mexican elements is easy. I promise. Try any of the following: For wedding reception decorations: papel picado These are colorful papers with pretty cutouts that can be strung together in banners around a reception space (you&amp;amp;#8217;ll see them at most Mexican fiestas!). It&amp;amp;#8217;s a good idea to still have floral centerpieces on the tables, but they can be simpler since there will be so much going on in the perimeter. If you really want to mix things up, you can have the papel picado alternate with flags printed with your future in-laws&amp;amp;#8217; coat of arms if their family has one. For wedding catering: sangria and tacos Skip the pinot noir and fill guests&amp;amp;#8217; glasses with more festive sangria, instead. And do like Rosemary Brennan did and invite up your small group of guests to a make-your-own taco bar! For wedding music: a mariachi band Hire a quartet dressed in traditional costumes to play your favorite American tunes. If the sounds of trumpets all night long is a little much, have them perform for just an hour and get a DJ for the rest of the time. For wedding cake decorations: gold coins Pay homage to the Spanish/Latin-American tradition of the groom giving the bride 13 gold coins (it&amp;amp;#8217;s supposed to symbolize that he can support her) by serving a traditionally American white wedding cake decorated with gold coins throughout the tiers. Have you been to a Mexican-American wedding before? How did that couple meld the two cultures? Who else is meshing two different sets of traditions for their wedding? More About Wedding Traditions Traditions to Steal from Other Cultures What Cultural or Religious Traditions Will You Include in Your Wedding? What&amp;amp;#8217;s Your Least Favorite Wedding Tradition? More Ways to Get Glamour Visit Shopglamour.com for cute stuff starting at just $10! Enter the latest Glamour sweepstakes! Follow us on Twitter Add us to your iGoogle homepage Photo: Jupiterimages"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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