Olivia wears a Navajo rug dress as her relatives escort her to the ceremony

When the sun starts to set, a traditional Navajo wedding begins. Dominion Energy Customer Projects Designer, Olivia Chee, set out just before sunset on her wedding night this past July. Cloaked in a rug dress--the customary garment worn by some Navajo brides—she allowed her relatives to lead her to the house where the ceremony would take place.

Since the sun had not fully set as Olivia stepped outside to begin the journey, she had to cover her head. By tradition, the bride and the sun cannot see each other before the ceremony.

The groom and rider approach the ceremony on horseback. The groom, Andrew Martin, wore his traditional Scottish kilt.

Once she arrived at the Hogan–a structure that was originally made of mud and trees–where the wedding would take place, the ancient rhythms of the Navajo ceremony began. First her father blessed the Hogan in all four directions: east, south, west, and north. Then her uncle led a prayer. After that, what Olivia describes as the best part began. From a pottery wedding vase, she poured water onto her husband’s hands and then he poured water on her hands. Next, her uncle blessed a wedding basket filled with corn meal by adding ground corn to it. Olivia and her groom ate from the basket and then gave to other members of the wedding party to also eat.

The Hogan

Once the ceremony had ended, the feasting began, which included an “earth cake.”  Unlike the frosted, tiered cakes many of us see at weddings, the Navajo earth cake is made of ground corn with molasses and brown sugar for sweetness. The family members making the cake place it in a hole dug in the ground and then build a fire on top of it. It bakes within the earth. Olivia’s cake was separated into corn husks to make it easier for everyone to get an individual portion.

Preparing the earth cake, using corn husks

The Navajo earth cake, traditionally served at weddings

Olivia and Andrew, Olivia's four Navajo clans