Indian Wedding

History and Procedure involvement

The Indian wedding ceremony is a celebration of the sacred love and commitment between the bride and the groom. It is meant to unite the couple along with both families. One Indian wedding is not like the other. The rituals and celebrations can differ according to where the people are from and how cultural nuances are addressed individually.

  • Commences when the couple gets engaged and a wedding date is set, preparations begin and words are given.
  • First ceremony: Mehendi. This ritual is all about applying henna to the bride’s hand and feet and sometimes on the groom as well.
  • Second ceremony: Sangeet Hindu pre wedding ceremony. Special themes are chosen for this occasion and dance performances are prepared.
  • “Tilak” ceremony is reckoned as the first step to the bond between the two families. This ritual is performed in the groom’s residence, where the male members of the bride’s family visit to put Kumkum or vermilion on his forehead.
  • “Haldi” ceremony is celebrated which another significant ritual of an Indian is wedding. This is a ritual performed separately at the bride’s and groom’s homes meant to bring good luck.
  • “Roka” ceremony is considered to be the first step towards the marriage. Official announcement of the consent of both the bride and the groom to get married to each other.
  • The groom side of the family along with relatives and friends arrive at the bride’s venue, where they are welcomed and pleasantries are shared.
  • Once the groom arrives at the “Mandap”, the “Pandit” starts to invoke the blessing of Lord Ganesh before the wedding rituals begin.
  • The wedding ceremony begins with the bride’s parents giving away the bride to her in-laws and her husband. This ritual is called “Kanyadan”.
  • The bride and groom join hands and circle between four to seven times around the sacred fire in a ritual fire called “Mangalphera”.
  • The groom then places a red beaded necklace called “Manglasutra” around the bride’s neck along with vermillion on her forehead whilst the “Pandit” chants mantra.
  • Once all the rituals are completed, the married couple take blessing from their elders and the bride is send off to her new home. This ritual is called “Bidai” and this ritual symbolizes the bride’s departure from her own family to start a new life of living with her husband.
Informative

Indian weddings are performed under a canopy known as “Mandap”. The “Mandap” is surrounded by four pillars, where each pillar represents four parents who worked hard to raise their children into the best people possible.

The maternal uncle walks the bride down the aisle as the father of the bride waits at the altar. The couple is seated in front of the holy fire and all of the rituals are performed as the onlookers watch and enjoy the rituals.

The bride’s father takes her hand and places it into the right hand of her groom, which implies the father’s acceptance of the groom and his care over the bride. While their hands are still joined, the mother of the bride pours sacred water over the palm of her husband, allowing it to fall through his fingers and onto the joined hands of the bride and groom.

Number of days

A typical Indian wedding can stretch from 3 days to 10 days at the most. The main ceremony, which takes place on the third day, usually lasts between one-and-a-half to two hours according to the cultural rituals.

Specialty

One of the many fun facts about Indian weddings is that they are huge, so are the involvements of people. One of the most important people in the wedding is the “Pandit” who is responsible to get the couple married. Similarly, the bride’s parents and the groom’s parents’ involvement is very important. All of the elders that are part of both families play an extremely important role in this ceremony, as their wisdom and love helps to build the structure of a Hindu family.The Indian weddings are considered really special because of the many diverse ceremonies and the lavish celebration. Indian wedding ceremonies are always known to be grand and fun. The wedding brings together relatives, friends and families who celebrate despite differences to celebrate the new journey of the couple’s lives.

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Chyasal Football Ground, Patan, Lalitpur, Nepal