Salvadoran/Honduran Wedding, San Francisco, CA 1988

A dollar dance at their wedding reception nets ready cash for newlyweds. Men lined up to dance with Milagro from San Salvador, discreetly pinning dollar bills to her dress whereas women, more inventive and bolder when dancing with Hector from Honduras, crowned and adorned him with a mask of bills, several streamers, a tail, and even tucked dollars into his socks.

Katrina Thomas's notes: The liturgy of Hispanic weddings is essentially Roman Catholic with a few additions: an exchange of tokens known as arras; the bride's veil put over the shoulders of the groom; a laso or garland, which may be a rope, a chain of flowers or a large rosary in a figure 8; and usually six pair of sponsors known as a padrinos and a madrina, each of whom have specific duties and carry emblematic items. The dollar dance illustrated is that of a bride from San Salvador and the groom from Honduras, who are celebrating in the church hall after their nuptials.