A Cultural Fusion Modern Wedding in Miami

Gorgeous traditional wedding in Miami

Denise and George wanted their wedding to represent both of their cultures, so the fused American and Syrian Catholic traditions into one gorgeous celebration in sunny Miami, Florida. They said their “I do’s” at a historic church followed up by a gorgeous, colorful reception in Miami Beach.

Their planner, Trés Chic Event Planning & Design took their “old world meets new world” inspiration and beautifully infused the design with a modern twist, bold colors, and American and Syrian Catholic traditions. Keep scrolling to see all the beautiful details captured by Sugarfree Studio below and in the full gallery.

Strapless wedding dress by Watters

rose + orchid wedding bouquet Sparkly wedding heels

from the bride

George and I had a mixed American and Syrian Catholic wedding in a historic church in Coral Gables, and a reception in Miami Beach. The inspiration was “old-world meets new-world.” We wanted to incorporate traditional Arabic and Syrian Catholic traditions in a twist that was modern and reflected out American culture as well. For the theme and décor, when my planner asked me what colors and what metal I wanted, my answer was “all of the colors” and “all the metals plus clear!” Imagine her reaction!! I just love all colors and so I didn’t want to stick to one color palette but tried to incorporate many different colors in a cohesive way.

getting ready with bridesmaids

bride hair and makeup

groom in tuxedo

cute bridesmaid photo church wedding ceremony in Miami

traditional wedding ceremony

American + Syrian cATHOLIC cEREMONY

We absolutely incorporated cultural and religious traditions. Since I grew up with the traditional American wedding as my ideal, we had the traditional bridal processional organ music and the ceremony was conducted in English by an American pastor as well as Syriac Catholic ceremony conducted by a Syrian Catholic priest who held the service in English, Arabic, and then Aramaic. Both George and I wanted to be sure that all the guests could understand the ceremony and that it would hold equal importance to all members of our family. It was beautiful.

traditional church ceremony modern Miami wedding

mirror seating chart

wedding reception design

Colorful blooms

For the ceremony, our church is a registered National Historic Church we had only the allowed candelabras in the church, so we had a simple and historic feeling with beautiful candle lighting. We kept that part simple. For the reception, we went all out! Mariane, our planner, was the real brains behind the decorations. The florals were the main hit at the wedding, with purple orchids, red and pink roses, blue lilies, and many other flowers in so many different colors all giving the reception a very warm and romantic feel. Modern displays mixed in the traditional centerpieces. Above all, our venues for the church and the reception provided a historic and elegant background that really set the tone.

colorful floral centerpiece for wedding

gorgeous wedding centerpiece framed table number

wedding floral design

wedding monogram sweetheart table setting

wedding cake floral design

fusion reception

For the reception, we had a grand Zaffa entrance, which was made special with Arabic musicians, drummers, and an Arabic singer to announce our arrival. We also incorporated the traditional American first dance with the bride and groom and father-daughter dance which were both set to American music. The rest of the music for the reception a Syrian singer accompanied by a Syrian DJ and band. All of our food was traditional Middle Eastern food including the dessert. George and I did our best to truly have a fusion wedding. Our Syrian guests could appreciate and love all of the traditions but understood that it was just a little different! My American family had never seen a wedding quite like ours! It really was an old-world meet new-world! We couldn't have pulled all that off without our amazing planner.

wedding entertainment