Honoring Cultural Traditions in Central Ohio Weddings

When two people come together to wed, they bring not only themselves, but generations of families before them. To honor those who came before, many couples are choosing to pay homage to their heritage on their wedding day. 

“I’m not only American; I’m Chinese as well,” says Caitlin Ho Woitovich, who included several elements of her Chinese culture on her wedding day. Caitlin and her husband, Drew Woitovich, are among many newlyweds who incorporate their cultures into their weddings in various ways. Here’s a look at how culture played a part in several local wedding celebrations. 

Steeped in Tradition 

For pre-wedding pressure, it’s hard to top Drew Woitovich, who had to complete a 90-minute mental and verbal obstacle course before marrying his bride, Caitlin Ho Woitovich, on Oct. 8, 2022. It was a lighthearted yet symbolic contribution to honor Caitlin’s heritage on their wedding day. 

The challenges in traditional Chinese door games are meant to demonstrate that the groom-to-be is willing to do anything to prove his love, says Caitlin, whose parents hail from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Bridesmaids set up the tests for the groom and his groomsmen, who participate to show their support for the marriage. Drew’s tests included singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and answering trivia questions where wrong answers resulted in push-ups.  

The last obstacle was to get through a phalanx of bridesmaids in order to find Caitlin, who was hiding in their Delaware, Ohio, home. 

Following the game, the couple took part in a traditional Chinese tea ceremony to honor and show respect to their elders. Wearing traditional attire and draped in gold jewelry to symbolize good luck, they knelt as they served tea to their parents and those closest to them. In exchange, they received red envelopes containing money to wish them good fortune. 

The tea ceremony, held at the Beverly Mansion in Marengo (which also hosted the American ceremony and reception), was especially meaningful for Caitlin, who poured from the same teapot her sister and mother used in their own weddings. 

Drew appreciated all the Eastern influences that made his marriage day unique. “I liked learning about the traditions,” he notes. “I value tradition.” 

An Interntaional Affair  

Paige and Auggie Heschmeyer’s Sept. 9, 2022, wedding had a multi-country flair, with Polish and Gaelic traditions coming together at the Tuscan-influenced Club at Corazón in Dublin. The couple, a self-proclaimed “Tinder success story,” incorporated Auggie’s Polish heritage with Paige’s Irish ancestry for a celebration in which family figured prominently. 

In keeping with a Gaelic custom, the couple participated in a handfasting ritual performed by Paige’s mother, who tied colored cords around their hands. When they removed their hands, the cords formed a knot, signifying the strength of their union. The colors themselves had meaning: orange for warmth and cheer, gold for a wealth of happiness and security, and green for new beginnings and a fruitful life. 

Auggie and Paige also incorporated a bread, wine and salt ceremony that’s performed in many Polish weddings. Bread represents hope that the couple never goes hungry and always has enough; wine symbolizes the hope that the pair never goes thirsty and that their lives will be filled with sweetness and joy; salt serves as a reminder that life will not always be easy, but that facing difficulties together will strengthen their union. 

Polish culture was part of Auggie’s life growing up in Youngstown, where his family often hosted visiting relatives. He attended Polish summer camps, learned Polish folk dancing and celebrated nearly every holiday with traditional customs and food. 

“It’s a very big part of my life, and it was really important for me to incorporate that into our wedding day,” he says. To that end, the newlyweds put polkas in the reception mix. Auggie and his mother got the ball rolling, but even polka novices joined in.  

For the mother-son dance, Auggie surprised his mom with a special song, “Tell the Boys,” which was his parents’ first polka at their wedding. 

Inclusion and Purpose  

Diversity and inclusion were a central theme in Lisa Delacruz Combs’ and Ryan Peiffer’s wedding, which honored Lisa’s Filipino heritage and purposefully incorporated multicultural elements, including vendors. 

“We wanted people to feel seen,” says Lisa, who works with mixed-race students at Ohio State University as part of her doctorate program. 

Ryan and Lisa, whose mother is from the Philippines, found several ways to weave her family’s culture into their Sept. 4, 2022, ceremony and reception at Vue Columbus. As is traditional in Filipino nuptials, the couple had two sponsors, who placed a unity cord and veil around them during the wedding. Ring bearers carried arras coins, which represent prosperity in finances and in life. 

Lisa surprised her mother with a traditional Filipino dance performed by the Ohio State University Pilipino Student Association’s dance team. Food included appetizers from Bonifacio and a cake from Filipino-owned Three Bites Bakery. The couple chose other vendors owned by LGBTQ+ people and other minorities. 

“We wanted a ceremony that was about nuance and intentionality,” Ryan says, “so when guests leave, they’re thinking, ‘Yep, that was Lisa and Ryan.’ ”  

Another bow to Lisa’s Filipino heritage came prior to the wedding day. For the rehearsal brunch, she wore a vintage Filipino dress that belonged to her academic advisor’s mother, whom she’d never met. “That’s kind of how Filipino culture is—you just show up for each other,” she says.  

Years in the Making  

From the henna and jewelry she wore to a sacred ceremony requested by her grandfather, Monica Henkel carried her Indian culture with her she married Jake Henkel on Aug. 27 last year. 

Jake says Monica’s Indian heritage “is part of who she is, and something I wanted to honor.” 

Monica was still a girl when her paternal grandmother began planning for her wedding, purchasing special pieces of jewelry over many years for her and her sister to wear on their wedding days. When Monica married Jake, “we were able to incorporate the jewelry my grandmother and grandfather brought over from India,” she says. “It meant a lot.” 

In addition to golden bangles and a mangalsutra necklace, Monica wore a traditional maang tikka headpiece on her forehead when she and Jake wed at WatersEdge in Hilliard. 

A few days earlier, close family and friends gathered for a mehndi ceremony, wherein guests have henna designs applied to their hands. “It was a great opportunity to connect with my culture, introduce friends and family members, and connect others with our culture,” Monica says. Traditionally, only women attend the event, but she and Jake also invited men to share Indian food and fellowship. 

On their wedding day, the pair made another slight adjustment in a ceremony called the Sacred Seven Circles walk, which her grandfather had asked them to perform. During the ceremony, couples walk around a sacred fire seven times to finalize their union. Because their suburban venue wasn’t conducive to a fire, they used a candle instead. 

The walk led to one of the most comic and memorable moments of the day, they say. “We had practiced the walk during the rehearsal, but I wasn’t wearing my dress then, and when we actually did it, my train kept kind of catching in the trees,” Monica says. “We laughed through the whole thing.” 

Another lighter moment came when the mangalsutra Jake placed on Monica got caught in her veil. “We just kept going,” he says. “These are the good problems.”  

A version of this story first appeared in the fall/winterF023 issue of Columbus Weddings, published in June 2023.