Anyone had an authentic Mayan Ceremony.....?

[nmoreau]

I was thinking of having incorporating some of the ancient Mayan pieces into a ceremony.

 

Has anyone done this?

If so can you recommend anyone I should work with.

We will be getting married at Sandos Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

[Destination Scout]

Ours was pretty much the mayan ceremony. Do you know which parts you are wanting to incorporate? When I'm trying to break down the different pieces here is what I think of:

Blowing of the conch to marke the start of the ceremony

 

Guests stand in circle around you to create a "circle of love", creating an energy

 

Each cardinal direction represents a different god (here's where I get fuzzy, my notes are at home) love, beauty, protection, purity, earth (ground), heaven (sky). Couple is presented to each direction for their blessing

 

A direct connection to the earth - participants are barefoot, on the sand, candle and props are on the ground

 

flower petals representing the gifts of the gods (a different color for each direction) - the couple is sprinkled with the flower petals

 

candle - represents your commitment, it is lit at the beginning of the ceremony and burns throughout the entire ceremony. The ceremony is stopped so that the candle can be relit if it ever goes out.

 

At the end of the ceremony, each guest is given an opportunity to offer the couple their good wishes or words of advice

 

active participation - guests are given musical instruments and celebrate the blessings after each god blesses the couple

[RCBlondie]

that sounds so nice! NMOREAU have you decided if you will be doing the Mayan ceremony? I know there are some resorts that offer it as an option within their wedding packages but cannot recall which resorts.

[MarieSam]

We did the Mayan Cosmic Ceremony for our June 26th wedding in Akumal and it was the most AMAZING experience!!!! I would not have changed it for the world I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for something unique, spiritual and culturally tied to the area. It is an emotional ceremony and EVERYONE cried during ours, including the men ~ it was pretty awesome

 

Here's a link to some of my photos, I should have more to show on the ceremony next week. But for now: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t46544

 

Also, my Wedding Coordinator provided me with this email a while back explaning the ceremony -- I know she uses Shaman Maria and her assistant Charlie so the format may be slightly different depending on who you use, but I believe it's generally the same! So hope this helps a little

 

A Mayan Wedding can range from a simple ritual ceremony to a very elaborate wedding service. It is a serious spiritual ceremony. We use only authentic Shamans to perform authentic Mayan wedding ceremonies and prior to the ceremony the Shaman must determine if the bride and groom can participate in this sacred ceremony. This is our personal favorite and highly recommend it. It will truly make your wedding a memorable expierence for your family and friends.

 

The Mayan wedding is considered a link to the cosmos. The authentic Mayan ceremony, following the actual traditions used by the Maya from the Yucatan Peninsula, is led by an authentic Mayan Shaman and will be held in Spanish. A translator is provided when meeting the Shaman to understand the spirituality of the wedding and its Mayan symbolism.

 

Mayan Wedding Ritual ... a ritual of commitment to unite each other as long as the commitment remains.

 

The Mayan Wedding Ritual is based in the Maya's connection with the universe and their gods, which is described in their sacred book the Popol Vuh, the ceremony brings the couple to the four cardinal points (north, south, east and west) to unite them to the feminine Mother Earth and the masculine Cosmic Energy, symbolized by a central sacred candle.

An altar is created to represent these four cardinal points. Flowers mark these four points and – to represent the gifts of prosperity and fertility. North is purification is represented by whiteflowers, East is love with red, South is spiritual guides and uses yellow flowers, and West is protection with purple flowers (true color would be black but since black flowers don't grow in nature we use purple). A Candle is located on the altar on the four cardinal points -- north, south, east and west – to symbolize the presence of the four Mayan cosmos gods.

 

The center candle unites the feminine and masculine – Mother Earth and Cosmic Energy, - which is lit by the Shaman or by the one he designates. Prior to the ceremony, the area is cleansed at the four cardinal points by the Shaman with the sacred smoke from the Copal tree and the blowing of the ritual conch shell horn.

 

Family and friends circle around the altar and they celebrate the union of the bride and groom. Mayan music with pre-Hispanic instruments and the sacred conch shell is performed before and during the ceremony.

Traditional Mexican music, such as Mariachis, can continue the celebration after the wedding.

[nmoreau]

How long did your mayan ceremonies last? I am really intersted in doing this but the website our wedding coordinator sent me on it was really vague.

 

I have also heard about the lasso of love being part of some of them. Where they wrap you in lasso of flowers or something to sybolize your connection.

 

I just think it would be an interesting experience for us and the guests.

 

Your pictures are great, I think I am going to have to get more details from the wedding coordinator during our visit in September.

 

Thanks for all the info ladies!

[nmoreau]

We are getting married at Sandos Playcar they don't advertise this optoin but when I asked they said it was available for $600 USD and the link to the website seemed a little weird. I am not sure if this is who they hire or if it was more to give me an idea of what the ceremony would be like.

 

We are only doing a symbolic ceremony in Mexico, so we thought this would be a nice change. I will find out more in Sept we we go for a site visit.

[Destination Scout]

You'll find that any description of the ceremony will be vague. Maybe your coordinator has a video of one, but probably not. The thing that really put me at ease was talking to the shaman, not the coordinator. Maybe you can arrange to either attend a ceremony on your trip or speak to the shaman. $600 sounds about right for the ceremony. It lasts about 45 minutes. Good luck!

[Susan Pacek Photography]

I recently photographed a Mayan ceremony in Mexico. Here is the slideshow from their wedding. Deneé + Jamie It includes several images from their ceremony that should give you a good feel for what it is like.

[Matt Adcock]

We had a Mayan Ceremony and had many photographers there to document the event, so you can get a GREAT idea as to how the ceremony played out...

 

Matt and Sol's wedding

 

Our guests were dumbfounded! The ceremony pics with the Mayan head dresses in the background are outstanding... we used them for the cover of our thank you cards!

 

 

They did a 15 minute introduction to our ceremony and led myself and sol down the isle...was pretty stunning!

 

 

We hired Yazmin de la Mora as our wedding planner and she did all the investigation for the Mayan crew that performed... You should give her a call and see what she recommends. She is Mexican and knows the local program very very well!

 

good luck planning!

[nmoreau]

that is amazing.... I have seen quite the range of ceremony types!

Thank you for all the great information and photos.

Sounds like I need to talk to the wedding coordinator at the hotel and if not go outside.