Indian weddings are famous all over the world for their beautiful traditions, cultural rituals and the grandeur with which they are celebrated. India in itself is a land of great cultural and religious diversities. Each culture has varied wedding traditions. All the different communities have a separate set of wedding rituals and customs that they adhere to. All these beautiful wedding traditions make up the big fat Indian wedding. And in case you plan to have an inter-caste marriage, well, that makes your wedding celebrations all the more beautiful. That is because your wedding could be a literal amalgamation of two cultures. And all this can be found where else, but this beautifully diverse nation?!

          In case you want a magnificent cultural wedding, then the first thing to do is to have sound knowledge about the customs and traditions of the different cultures. From a traditional Hindu Shaadi, a Muslim Nikah, a Sikh Anand Karaj, a Parsi Lagan, or even a Bengali Bibaha, in India you have an endless list of traditions to choose from. What makes all of these traditions bewitchingly admirable is that each tradition tells a story about its own significance which makes the wedding ceremony all the more resplendent. You can even plan a mashup of all the traditions that you like to make your wedding a more interesting and fun-filled affair. Or you can improvise on the wedding traditions of your own community that match with some other community. It is your big day, and you get to decide as to how you want to make it special and an affair that will be remembered lifelong. Most of the wedding rituals for the various communities have a similar basic backbone of traditions. For example, the saat-pheras are practiced in most of the communities from the northern as well as the southern parts of India alike. Also, Catholic and Muslim weddings have a similar tradition of saying Qabool or “I do.” Thus, the basic traditions are somewhat similar and what helps these community traditions to stand out are the minute nuances they adopt in their wedding customs.

          We at hamaraevent.com have put together a compilation of the wedding traditions that are followed by the various communities in India. Following is an ultimate guide to Indian wedding traditions:

• Roka / Tilak / Ishtikhara: This is the first formal wedding meet carried out by the bride and groom’s families. The groom’s family visits the bride’s family wherein they finalize the wedding related decisions and sweets and ‘Shagun’ or gifts. This ritual marks the beginning of all the other rituals. ‘Tilak’ ceremony is also basically Roka in which the only modification is that the bride’s parents apply vermilion on the forehead of the groom and bless him. This custom is a part of almost all the communities and specifically Hindu, Catholic, Muslim and Punjabi communities.

Roka Ceremony

• Engagement / Magni: Engagement is basically the formal marriage announcement. The bride and groom exchange rings. This signifies that the girl and the boy are engaged to each other, and usually the engagement is spaced for a few months from the wedding date so that the couple gets to know each other well, in case it is an arranged marriage. The engagement is also known as Magni in Punjabi, Sikh and Muslim traditions.

Engagement

• Sangeet: Sangeet was earlier celebrated with great fanfare among the North Indian communities but now has become a fad followed by almost all the Indian communities because of its much fanfare and entertainment. It is basically a night of crazy dancing and fun with the family. In the olden days, Sangeet would be celebrated separately by the bride and groom’s families, but nowadays it is celebrated together by both the families.

Sangeet Ceremony

• Haldi / Manjha: This is a pre- wedding ritual in which the bride and the groom are smeared with turmeric and bathed in milk to give their skin a divine glow on the wedding day. It is known as Manja in the Muslim wedding traditions. 

Haldi Ceremony

• Mehendi: Mehendi is another fun part of Indian weddings in which the palms of the bride and groom are decorated with lovely motifs using Henna. Sometimes, the name of the groom is hidden in the motifs drawn on the bride’s hands which the groom is expected to find later on their wedding night.

Mehendi Ceremony

• Var Mala: The Var mala is the exchange of garlands between the bride and the groom and is the very first ritual in Hindu weddings as well as Punjabi and North Indian weddings.

Var Mala

• Mandap / Wedding Vows: Mandap rituals consist of the seven ‘pheras' for the bride and the groom wherein each ‘phera' signifies an important wedding vow that the bride and the groom take. This is a Hindu version of the wedding vows. Also, before this, the groom puts vermilion in the bride's hair partition and puts the mangal sutra or holy thread around her neck which ties them together for life. In Catholic wedding, the bride and groom speak out their wedding vows and then give out their consents at the altar.

Mandap Decorations

• Vidai / Rukhsat: Vidai or Rukhsat is the custom of bidding farewell to the bride after the wedding as she moves to her new home. It marks the beginning of bride’s new life and is an extremely emotional moment for the bride and her family.

         Vidaai Ceremony

• Reception / Valimah: Reception ceremony is sometimes held on the same day as the wedding or after a span of few days. It is basically a ceremony to celebrate the new couple and bless them with a happy and fruitful future. In the case of Muslim weddings, the groom's family holds a dinner party for the bride's clan and this is called as ‘Valimah'.

A Wedding Reception Location

• Pagphera / Chauthi: This is a post-wedding ritual in which the bride visits her maiden home for a few days after the wedding day to spend some quality time with her parents and siblings. This ritual takes place on the immediate next day in some of the communities and after a span of 5 or 7 days in some other communities.

An Indian Couple

                  These are the main celebrated rituals that make up the wedding celebrations in India. The above is a compilation of the wedding rituals that take place among the Hindu, Muslim, Catholic, Punjabi, South Indian and Bengali communities in India. We hope this list by our team at hamaraevent.com helps you to get a good idea as to what a big fat Indian wedding constitutes of. Have a great wedding!