Portuguese Wedding Reception Music

Organizing an ethnic wedding for your friends with Portuguese origins? Here are some tips concerning the wedding ceremony traditions and the kind of music to be played.

In the past, the Portuguese used to marry just to build a family. Love was not necessarily the main reason for marriage, since the parents decided on all details regarding the wedding, including the identity of the newlyweds.

Nowadays, Portuguese marriage is synonym with the promise of mutual love that will last until the death of the parties. Because the majority of people in Portugal are Roman Catholic, the engagement followed by a mass. The Bride would choose a Madrinha, a Maid of Honor, and the Groom would choose a Padrinho, or a Best Man. The wedding gifts are usually sent to the bride’s to be house, and were put aside to be admired by relatives and close friends who come to visit.
Portuguese wedding ceremonies include a Roman Catholic mass, where the priest binds the couple’s hands with his stole to unite and protect them. During the newlyweds exit from the church, friends and relatives toss them bonbons and flowers.
In Portugal, weddings have been customized after European traditions, where food is abundant. Portugal is famous for its wine, and used to be associated with Bacchus, God of Wine and Feasts. Wedding receptions can last long into the night and involve a lot of traditional music and dancing.

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The traditional Portuguese money dance involves the bride’s shoe which is passed around the dance floor for male guests to pay for the privilege of dancing with the beautiful bride. Another important tradition of the wedding reception is called Copo d’ Agua or the cup of water. The newlyweds go to each table to spend time with their guests, and ensure that they have a good time.

The first slice from the wedding cake is given by the bride and groom to a single friend to bring them luck and then, the bride tosses her bouquet into a group of single girls. Portuguese wedding music has a wide variety of music styles, fado being the most famous one. It is a melancholic urban music that has earned a worldwide recognition. It was made famous by interpreters such as Amalia Rodrigues, Jose Alfonzo, Mariza, Teena Marie and many others. These are the artists that you should take into consideration when looking for Portuguese original music.

Fado means destiny or fate and has its origin in the music genre defined by mourning tunes and lyrics, speaking mostly of the life of the poor people. Because of the way it is sung and the deep sounds of the instrumental, fado is considered a form of expressing the nostalgia one feels while missing a beloved one. It is normally performed using this Portuguese classical guitar and a singer, though lately its performance has extended to a full orchestra dimension.