Weddings in the Amish community are a time-honored tradition with special meaning and value in the communities.
An Amish wedding may seem different from those celebrated by non-community members, but they share many similarities.
Sharing food and celebrating the couple is a big part of the event, where the community comes together in the hundreds to carry out a day-long celebration of the new couple.
Unlike the weddings held by those of the western culture, Amish weddings carry out a more traditional theme and simplicity, with each wedding having the same food and celebration.
Many Amish traditions, including food and recipes, are passed down from generation to generation and are very important to the community. As the Amish marriage age is quite young on average, it’s one of the first important rites of passage in their adult life.
When the special day comes, families often pull out all the stops and create a feast for everyone in the community to celebrate.
What this article covers:
Amish Weddings
Amish weddings are much like conventional weddings in terms of celebrations and services, having slight differences in some aspects.
Following a traditional Amish courtship, an Amish wedding typically occurs on Tuesdays and Thursdays because the family needs a whole day before to set up and a full day after for clean up.
A wedding that falls on a Monday or Saturday would mean that Sunday would be used for set up or clean up, which would be sacrilegious.
The Amish wedding season is usually around November and December for a reason. Around this time, the harvest is complete, and there are plenty of crops for a wedding supper.
The wedding ceremony begins with a morning service. The bishop will then talk to the couple in private.
The bishop provides advice and instruction to the newlywed couple and gives his blessing for their future. The couple then proceeds with their vows at the front of the church in front of the congregation.
When the service concludes, the celebrations begin at the bride’s family’s house, where the guest list usually reaches 200 to 500 people.
What Do the Amish Eat at Weddings
Chicken Roast
The main meal of the day, at suppertime, will be a chicken roast with stuffing and roast veggies with many other side dishes.
Many of the food and ingredients are made and grown in the community. A family often uses their crops and livestock to provide food for the celebration.
Chicken meals are the preferred meal at weddings over beef or pork, which the Amish also eat. However, the stuffed chicken roast is the most common and easily accessible meal to prepare to feed many guests.
Pies
You would not want to miss out on dessert at an Amish wedding, with a wide range of sweet and special family-made pies. The dessert menu is widely considered the best part of the celebration.
Cookies and sweets are handed out as favors to guests and served alongside the pies and other baked goods as desserts.
The family will often make pies for the celebration as they are the main dessert dish for the day. Donuts are another popular side dish that many Amish communities love.
With all this food, it’s no wonder the Amish create hand-crafted baskets for every occasion, from Easter egg baskets to fruit harvest baskets and woven storage baskets for shelves. They always have a place to store food for any occasion.
Homemade Rolls and Bread
To carry on with the baking that the Amish love to do, bread and hot rolls are served, alongside many of the dishes.
The Amish are just as good at making bread as they are at making bread boxes, traditions that have supported communities for decades.
An Amish dish usually served alongside these rolls is bread and butter pickles, a pickles relish with various spices mixed with pickled cucumbers.
Throughout the wedding day celebration over 400 people usually need to be fed and two separate meal times, supper and dinner. Bread and chicken roast are the most effective options available for an Amish wedding feast.
Pepper slaw
Pepper slaw is almost like coleslaw but with a dutch, Amish twist to the recipe. With green and red peppers in the mix of a regular coleslaw recipe, the pepper slaw is a familiar dish in an Amish wedding celebration.
Along with the roast, pepper slaw and creamed celery are the two main vegetable dishes served at weddings.
Before a wedding, families will be seen growing big crops of vegetables to prepare for the feast. They also often paint and decorate their houses for the big day.
Conclusion
An Amish wedding is a special occasion where celebration and fellowship take place, and the wedding couple is celebrated.
A lot may be different from western weddings, but there are also many similarities.
Amish weddings have traditions carried through generations that remain the same for every wedding celebration.
Many Amish weddings keep the same food and recipes as a form of tradition, it is rare that an Amish wedding will have a unique meal or food.
Tradition and culture in Amish communities are vital aspects that communities stand by and insist on.
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