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Make Your Marriage 5X Strongers 
How To Make "Nice" With His Mom
Dealing with Wedding Day Stress
History of Jumping The Broom
How To Jump The Broom
How To Have An African American Wedding
Should I send save the date cards??
How to select African Fabric for Your Wedding
8 Things No One Tell You About Marriage
Nuptial Gowns
Why You Need A Wedding Planner
Interviewing Wedding Photographers
Afrocentric Wedding Ideas
History of Jumping The Broom
History:
Broom jumping is most famous in the United States as an African American wedding custom. During the antebellum period in the United States, slave marriages were not recognized as legal or binding. The broom jumping ritual was a symbolic act within slave communities for marriage. Many African American couples are taking back this custom and incorporating it as part of their modern ceremony. Broom jumping was not done only by slaves. Poor whites in the South and in New England, as well as Gypsies also used this marriage ritual. The jumping of the broom is of Welsh and Celtic origin. In the Celtic ritual, it is a symbol of fertility. Several couples interested in history or pagan ritual also are now adopting this custom in their weddings.
Modern Meanings:
Done as an act of remembrance and to honor the ancestors of the past. Compared to the Jewish wedding ritual of crushing a glass for the destruction of the temple. A broom itself represents cleanliness, the hearth and family. It can also represent fertility. The jumping of the broom is a leap of faith into marriage. In some parts of Africa, ceremonial brooms are used to sweep away evil.
The Actual Ceremony:
The broom jumping typically takes place after the rest of the wedding ceremony, before the bride and groom exit down the aisle. Alternatively, some choose to do it during the reception. A designated broom person (a very honored job, usually a woman) takes the broom and places it on the floor in front of you. Choose someone to explain to the guests what it stands for and why you are doing it. You may ask the guests to count out loud or not and then you hold hands and jump over it! This ritual varies from couple to couple; it is up to you to find a way to make it most meaningful.
In addition to including a mention of broom jumping in your African American wedding invitation wording, you’ll want to include further explanation of the ritual in your wedding program.
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How to Jump the Broom
Instructions
STEP 1: Select a time to perform this tradition. Either at the very end of the ceremony or during the reception would be appropriate.
STEP 2: Call your guests to gather around you and your new spouse.
STEP 3: Place the broom on the floor and stand in front of it.
STEP 4: Ask a family member or friend to narrate the history of this custom. It stems back to the time when slaves were prevented from marrying. They developed this ritual as a way to unite in ceremony.
STEP 5: Suggest that the narrator explain to guests that you are re-creating the ceremony as a way to represent the joining together of two lives and the need for support of the marriage from the entire community.
STEP 6: Hold the broom with your spouse as the narrator shares this important information.
STEP 7: Sweep the broom in a circle together until the story is finished.
STEP 8: Place the broom on the floor and hold hands with your spouse.
STEP 9: Ask the guests to count out loud to three.
STEP 10: Jump over the broom together.
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How to Plan an African-American Wedding African-American weddings often include vivid colors, elaborate costumes and meaningful rituals. And best of all, brides are considered the cultural universe in Africa since they represent the link between ancestors and unborn generations. A tradition that all cultures should embrace!
Steps:
1. Select traditional wedding garb such as tunic-style gowns and headdresses made out of African fabrics. Kente cloth is a popular material used today, especially in West Africa. The weave and patterns represent different symbols. Ask about the meaning behind some of the fabrics that you pick.
2. Incorporate African colors, such as red, green and black, into the wedding decorations and outfits.
3. Order wedding invitations that reflect your African heritage. Consider selecting something neutral but with ethnic accents such as a paisley border or gold trim.
4. Invite a gospel singer or gospel choir to sing at the ceremony.
5. Arrange for a drum to be played during the ceremony. The drummer should match the music to the tone of the ceremony.
6. Invite African dancers to come down the aisle ahead of the bride to create a dramatic entrance for her.
7. Appoint a warrior, or best man. He will walk ahead of the groom, holding a shield in front of him to protect the bonding of the bride's and groom's families.
8. Show respect for elders by making them an honored part of your ceremony. For instance, you might ask an elder to pour a libation during the ceremony, which is the pouring of liquid in honor of one's ancestors.
9. Get a real taste of marriage during the ceremony. For example, you may be asked to try hot pepper to remind you of hot moments to come, and kola nuts for hard times.
10. Hold hands with your spouse as you stand at the altar and when you both walk back down the aisle together. This custom is a variation on one used by some tribes in which the couple's wrists are bound together with plaited grass.
11. Include the ritual of jumping the broom at the end of the ceremony. This tradition stems from when slaves were forbidden to marry and instead created this symbolic gesture to cement their union. It represents the sweeping away of the past and the welcoming of the future.
12. Ask your clergyman to explain or narrate the ceremony events to the guests so they understand the significance of each activity.
13. Decide on a menu of African food for the reception. Consider such options as chicken, plantains, yams and banana fritters.
Tips:
Keep in mind that wedding rituals may vary from region to region in Africa since there are more than 1,000 different tribes, all with their own traditions and customs.
Jumping the broom is a popular African-American wedding tradition that symbolizes the sweeping away of the old and the welcoming of the new.
Steps:
1. Select a time to perform this tradition. Either at the very end of the ceremony or during the reception would be appropriate.
2. Call your guests to gather around you and your new spouse.
3. Place the broom on the floor and stand in front of it.
4. Ask a family member or friend to narrate the history of this custom. It stems back to the time when slaves were prevented from marrying. They developed this ritual as a way to unite in ceremony.
5. Suggest that the narrator explain to guests that you are re-creating the ceremony as a way to represent the joining together of two lives and the need for support of the marriage from the entire community.
6. Hold the broom with your spouse as the narrator shares this important information.
7. Sweep the broom in a circle together until the story is finished.
8. Place the broom on the floor and hold hands with your spouse.
9. Ask the guests to count out loud to three.
10. Jump over the broom together.
Tips:
Read more about the interesting history of this custom to better understand its origins. Do a keyword search online to find more information about it. Add your own special touches to make the ritual have meaning to you as a couple. For instance, you might ask your narrator to share some information during the ceremony about how you met, what you see in each other and what performing this tradition means to you both personally.
Many craft stores sell brooms made of sticks or twigs that can be decorated to match your wedding theme.
How to Select African Fabric for Wedding Garb
Selecting colorful African fabric for your wedding garb can help you create a dramatic and beautiful event.
Steps:
1. Match the color and print of the bride's and groom's outfits, although you may wear different styles.
2. Select clothing for bridesmaids and groomsmen that complements your look.
3. Review all of your options. There are numerous textures, patterns and designs from which to choose.
4. Allow plenty of time to have clothing made to your specifications by a seamstress if you can't find ready-made styles you like.
5. Visit ethnic clothing shops and fabric stores for ideas.
6. Consider using brocade, which is heavy cotton fabric with an interwoven design of objects such as stars, moons, flowers or other symbols.
7. Search for waxed fabric, which can be identified by its characteristic sheen on one side of the cloth. This protects the color and pattern.
8. Consider ashoke, or aso oke fabric, which is an expensive Nigerian heavy cotton blend. It often has eyelet holes with brightly colored embroidery.
9. Compare traditional ashoke, which has a flat finish, to the newer version, which has a metallic sheen, to see which you prefer.
10. Check the fabric's selvage, or manufactured edge, for clues to its quality. If it has seven or more stars, this is a sign it is well-made. In addition, quality waxed fabric has a white selvage.
11. Consider Kente cloth, which is a very popular West African fabric. The fabric has a host of designs and symbols that have a wide range of meanings.
12. Look for symbols that interest you. For instance, Adinkra symbols have different spiritual meanings, such as unity and strength.
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Save the Date Cards, Are They Really Necessary?
Do I really need Save the Date Cards or is it just another expense? Yes, you should have save the date cards. Please do everything you can do to assist the people you want to invite to your wedding.
Look at it this way. You have spent the last twelve or so months of your life consumed with the planning of every intricate detail of this day, don't you want those people you invite to show? Believe it or not everyone has things going on in their lives: birthdays, vacations, anniversaries, graduations, etc. The more lead time they have in knowing of your event the more leeway they have in keeping the date clear of other engagements.
It is not imperative that you have engraved Save the Date announcements printed. Use some creativity and you can save some dollars while your guests “save the date.” Think about magnets that can be imprinted. Postcards can easily be created on your computer. Add a special note in with your Christmas cards. It couldn't be simpler. But do keep in mind that you are setting the stage for your event. You might not want a hand scrawled note if you are having a formal affair at the Ritz Carlton.
Save the Date cards are typically sent out four months prior to your wedding date. This will give guests a two month “heads – up” before your invitations arrive. Include the date of your event and the location. If you have done your homework you can also include area hotel information for your out of town guests allowing them to book rooms early.
Wording is also simple, if you are going the formal route try this: “Please save the date of Saturday the Twenty-Second of August for the wedding for Miss Janie Doright and Mr. Arnold Grissom. Include the names of the host and “Invitation to follow” at the bottom. For a less formal event inject some of your personality try: “Kim and Joe are tying the knot, Save the Date so that you can join us!”
Keep in mind that all you want your guests to do at this point is save the date. Don't give away all the plans you've made. Also, don't expect a response. Your responses will come on that pretty little postage paid response card you've had printed.
If you are planning a destination wedding, send your Save the Date cards at least six months in advance. Follow the card with a detailed mailing informing guests of information which will be crucial to their travel.
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