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Traditionally, Indian Weddings are far from subtle, the whole
gala affair is enchanted as if in a dream you find yourself
with elephants fire rituals peopled with ornate detailed costume
like childhood imaginings if one was to be it would be like
another world. To create this fantasy setting Indian weddings are
arranged by both of the family members, its not unusual to have a team
of wedding planners. These events are usually hosted at Hotels ballrooms
that have the capacity to hold up to 700 guest or a field of tents
may be used for the ceremony and reception or sometimes the local
temples will host the ceremonies with bhagans songs prayers, and agni hotres on
their grounds.
Latricia & Arthur decided to elope and have a beach wedding in
Hawaii on Oahu . Local residence in California they wanted to have
some elements of a themed Indian wedding,
Arthur's father is from India and
Latricia loves its culture. As I
helped the couple use a few of traditional Indian aspects like
finding a Henna designers artist
to design the hands and feet with the indian ink and Indian jewelry to a priest who will understand
the traditional mantras.
As I explored further into Indian weddings
I wanted to share a bit of what a traditional Indian wedding is like so lets
have fun learning.
Paul Agung head coordinator Aloha island Weddings
Latricia's feet
decorated with the Henna ink at her wedding in Hawaii
A common tradition in
Indian weddings is for three days ahead of wedding day, the couples aren’t supposed to
meet each other. Bride’s party playing the hosts arrives at the
venue in order to be able to welcome the baraat (procession by
groom’s party). In the meanwhile, inside the venue, all the women,
bride and her maids and friends play sangeet (music) in groups and
teasing each other. Bride’s relatives tie (kalira/jingles of glass)
to her bangles on both the hands which she keeps jingling throughout
in an attempt to break them over her unmarried friends’ foreheads.
The first girl to get a piece of this is assumed to get married
next.
The baraat arrives with the groom riding a female horse, his face
covered by flowery drapery and an embellished sword in his hand.
Wedding follows the tradition of Kanyadaan (handing over of the
bride), exchange of garland and tying of mangal sutra, nuptial
necklace, by the groom and finally the sapta padi to symbolize the
critical steps the couple may need to take ahead in their lives. All
these that happens on the wedding day are common in all Indian
weddings, but with regional touches they become distinctive from
each other.
South Indian weddings and kodava wedding
the announced is usually set in a formal way by the
groom’s parents, by presenting a gold or silver coin embossed with
a
deity to bride’s parents. s, however traditionally this exchange
formalizes the couples’ decision to wed and the ceremony is termed
as roka or saith drawing
its name from the coin (roka) they
exchanged.
However, if roka permits the couple to court each other, what really
formalizes the acceptance by both the parties to the wedding is
Sagaai or engagement that is traditionally required to be hosted by
the grooms unlike other Indian cultures. Bride’s father begins the
Sagaai party by adorning a tikka (a vertical stroke of vermillion)
on groom’s forehead and pays him a ritualistic sum of money. This
gesture is returned by the groom’s party with a basket of fruits and
bouquets. Exchange of wedding rings is a recent phenomenon.
The bride wears a chuni and has Henna
designs placed on her hands and feet that
can take up to three days before the wedding, on the occasion of
Sagaai which is often family heirloom;
needless to say, the chuni is usually very ornate. Towards the
middle of the function, mother-in-law to-be exhibits her acceptance
of groom’s choice by dotting the bride’s palm with mehndi. Sagaai
ends with each one feeding the other with traditional sweets and
particularly the couples and their parents.
Punjabi Wedding
Traditions
The Indian Punjabi wedding traditions don’t differ much even across
religious divides basically because of their penchant for pomp and zest for
life and
Indian
jewelry which is very elaborate, there is something that helps Punjabi weddings
clearly standout from the rest of India wedding traditions, it is the Bhangra dance on the previous night in which both hosts and guests shake a
leg or two to the enchanting and rhythmic drum beats. Well, a Punjabi
wedding is announced in a formal way by the groom’s parents, by
presenting a gold or silver coin embossed with a deity to bride’s parents.
s, however traditionally this exchange formalizes the couples’ decision to
wed and the ceremony is termed as roka or saith drawing its name from the
coin (roka) they exchanged. read more here
Rajasthan Wedding
Before you continue to read the article, let me tell you what you can expect
with a wedding theme like Rajasthan. The term Rajasthan stands for ‘The
Abode of Emperors’ and Rajasthan wedding theme definitely promises that.
Well, the grand setup will not end with booking a palace or a fort or even
erecting huge sets in any other venue, for the Rajasthan wedding theme to be
completely authentic you will need to organize several things to the end
that the wedding goes of in a manner befitting the Rajahs. So how does a
typical Rajasthan wedding theme go? read more here |
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