There is quite a lot of different traditions pertaining to the wedding party itself. Many are common throughout Mexico, others are regional and there might be even very local traditions. Also be aware that Mexican society is quite classist, so bear in mind the idiosyncrasies of your guests.

Now to some traditions. The wedding rings. I’m sure this applies for Mexican and American weddings. The symbol of the commitment between the bride and groom. El ramo, this represents the fertility of the couple. Las arras, this are just 13 little gold coins that the groom offers to the bride as a symbol of wealth, fortune, prosperity and all that stuff. El lazo, symbolizes the union between the couple. A symbol of a lifetime bound. Arroz, prosperity and fertility. For the couple to have a beautiful family.

Also in Mexico, is very common to marry in a church (Catholic traditions practically require this). The bride wears white. And yeah, I can’t think of any others things. But you can do a research to learn more about it. Happy wedding!

Music is very important to the party’s life, talk to your fiancee about it, to her it may be something too obvious, but tell her what music is like in weddings you’re used to and ask her what she expect it to be like on the wedding. Gringo weddings have very calm music most of the party, like blues or jazz, people dancing mostly just slow dance. This doesn’t happens in mexican weddings, people will want cheerful music they can dance like cumbias.

For example: I’m a native of Mexicali and I’ve seen dances and traditions different than in my hometown. And I’ve also got family at Hidalgo; a wedding party there was substantially longer (as in: from 3 pm up to the following morning) and there were local traditions that I had never seen before (for example, the groom’s friends make the groom drink tequila from his shoe).

Your best bet here: assist to a local wedding if possible; also, consult with both your fiancée (and maybe some of your fiancée’s close friends) as to what would, or would not, be nice or even acceptable.

Just as one parting word: You want to be remembered as “el guerito guapachozo” instead of “el pinche gringo codo”.

1. Sometimes the groom has to pay for the wedding dress and the bride’s father for the party (It depends on where she is from, you’ll have to ask your prometida or pay attention to any details concerning this issue).
2. Also, near the end of the party the newlyweds go to each table and the attendants pin money bills on the husband’s shirt and the wife’s wedding shoes box to help them settle (again, I’ve seen this mostly in pueblo weddings).
3. Also in pueblo weddings the newlyweds usually pick up bottles of tequila and go to each table giving tequila shots, this is quite fun actually, but if you can’t hold your liquor be careful.

As you can see there’s a lot of difference between styles, depending on the region and the people involved. You don’t want to rent a party hall and serve (pseudo)gourmet food where closing the street and offering homemade birria, cabrito, cochinita pibil or other regional dishes which might be better.

Above all, consider your guests!