Celebrate Your Big Day With These Peruvian Wedding Traditions

Celebrating your Latin American heritage with Peruvian wedding traditions is a surefire way to throw a vibrant party focused on family, dancing and La Hora Loca. Whether you're incorporating just a few elements to honor older relatives or you want to fully immerse yourself in cultural wedding traditions, these customs provide a connection to generations of happy couples.

Incorporating Latin wedding traditions often means harnessing the talents of wedding planners and experts who are experienced in Peruvian wedding traditions and customs. These professionals can be found on The Knot Vendor Marketplace by filtering for location and the specific pro you're looking for, whether that's florals, music, rentals or anything that goes into creating the perfect day.

For a more comprehensive look at the customs and traditions that make up a Peruvian wedding, Estrella Carbone, CEO and creative director of The Planning Co. in Lima, Peru, shared her insights on everything from the welcome cocktails to the music.

In this article:

History | Prewedding | Attire | Ceremony | Reception | Food & Drink | Postwedding

A Brief History of Peruvian Wedding Traditions

The traditions of Peruvian weddings are as colorful and joyful as the culture itself. They're a mix of Indigenous and Spanish influences, all centered on celebrating the role of family, ancestors, nature and, often, Catholicism.

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If you're invited to a Peruvian wedding, get ready for a marathon, not a sprint. Peruvian weddings are known to be all-day affairs, often stretching late into the evening. It's not unusual to spend ten hours or more celebrating with your loved ones.

Prewedding Peruvian Traditions

The festivities start as soon as someone says "yes!" in Peru. An engagement party is held to officially announce the big news to friends and family. This party is often held at a family home and kicks off the season of celebrations leading up to the wedding day. Traditionally, an event called la pedida takes place before the engagement, during which the groom requests permission from the bride's parents to ask for her hand in marriage, though this is less common today.

Traditional Peruvian Wedding Attire

Many couples have adopted Western traditions, and you'll find couples in larger cities wearing white dresses and suits. But, in more rural areas or at celebrations committed to focusing on their heritage, you'll often see brides wearing vibrant colors, including full, layered skirts full of pattern and movement. Grooms may wear colorful ponchos made from traditional textiles and both parties wear headdresses influenced by indigenous customs.

Because Peru has such a vibrant culture, guests typically wear bright, cheerful colors. Unless it's an informal wedding, it's typical to see guests get dressed to the nines in formal dresses and suits.

Peruvian Wedding Ceremony Traditions

From getting married a day early to connecting with nature, these are Peruvian wedding traditions you'll see during a ceremony.

Civil Ceremony

When a couple arrives at their ceremony they're often already married. It's common in Peru for couples to have a civil ceremony at a town center the day before their big celebration.

Religious Ceremony

Most of Peru follows the Catholic faith, so a religious ceremony, including a mass, is common. This includes most of the same elements you'll find in a Western wedding—ceremony blessings, vows and an exchange of rings.

No Groomsmen or Bridesmaids

"It's not very common in Peru to have bridesmaids or groomsmen," Carbone says. You'll rarely see a wedding party, though there are always friends ready to celebrate the couple during a big night out.

Despacho Offering

An emphasis on connecting to nature and the incredible landscape in Peru is woven throughout major life celebrations, including weddings. The custom of the despacho comes from the Indigenous people in the Andes Mountains, and it includes an offering of food and flowers covered in cocoa leaves. These are spread across a traditional cloth, wrapped up, and then either buried or burned for well wishes for their future.

Doll Burial

The doll burial is another Peruvian wedding ceremony tradition. Two dolls, symbolizing each member of the couple, are wrapped in cocoa leaves and then buried along with a tree seed. As the tree grows, so does their relationship.

Peruvian Wedding Reception Traditions

At the core of every Peruvian wedding is a good party. "Coming into the reception, the guests wait for the couple around the dance floor. They do their first dance and then start the party," Carbone says. In many ways, this is similar to most Western weddings. But there's one element that takes it from any other wedding day and turns it into an all-night soiree.

La Hora Loca

"The 'crazy hour' in Peru is called La Hora Loca. That is the moment that the reception turns into a show with dancers and props of a specific theme," Carbone says. This is when the party gets its second wind. The lights are turned down, the glowsticks come out and the music is turned way up. There are performers, a quirky theme and costumes and everyone hits the dance floor.

La Hora Loca is designed to kick-start the second part of the evening—the party doesn't end when the hour's up. Instead, it goes late into the night, eventually winding down well after midnight.

Traditional Peruvian Wedding Food, Drinks and Desserts

Peruvian wedding food traditions include dishes like ceviche and lomo saltado. The menu will look different from wedding to wedding, but there are often traditional Peruvian wedding foods incorporated.

Traditional Peruvian Cocktails

If you're at a Peruvian wedding, you'll likely see Peruvian cocktails, including pisco sours, which are the national drink of Peru. The smooth and tart drink is made from pisco, lime juice, egg whites and simple syrup.

Cintas de la Torta

The wedding cake is often covered in ribbons for a tradition known as the cintas de la torta (or cake pull). During this Peruvian wedding reception tradition, single women each pull a ribbon attached under the base of the cake. One of the ribbons has a plastic ring attached to it and the lucky woman to pull that ring will be the next to get engaged.

Peruvian Postwedding Traditions

After the wedding, the party continues. Peruvians love to dance and they'll continue going until 2 a.m. or later. There's no big custom the day after the wedding. Instead, the emphasis is completely on letting the festivities go as long as possible.

Late Night Food

Often there's a second meal served to continue the party. These late-night snacks help fuel the crowd for several more hours of dancing.