Did you get an invitation to an Hindu wedding and now you are curious about what is going to happen in there? Here is everything you need to know about attending an Hindu wedding.
Photography: Kateryna Tulyakova / Organization: Natalia Ortiz
Duration
Common Hindu wedding lasts about three days. Each day has its own rituals. Your invitation should clearly state what you’re being asked to attend.
- Day 1
The first night is when the priest usually performs the ganesh pooja which is a ceremony happening at home. Regularly only the couple, closest relatives and the bridal party will take part on ceremony. This ritual is preparing the couple for the new beginning. - Day 2
The mehndi ceremony starts the second day. In this formality the bride, her female family members and friends will have complex henna tattoos drawn on their hands and feet. Later in the evening it is time for sangeet. The evening consist mostly of mingling, dancing or other program and of course there will be a dinner. - Day 3
On the last day there will be cocktail hour and reception and this is the main ceremony of the wedding.
Castle Sant Marcial is perfect to hold a Hindu wedding, thanks to its large dimensions.
Dresscode And Gifts
The brighter the better. All Indian guests will be wearing different and vibrant colors with remarkable jewelry so you don’t have to be afraid of wearing bold colors. If you don’t own a traditional sari or lengha you can wear a jewel-tone dress with a shawl.
Commonly couples hope that guests don’t bring any boxed gifts to the wedding, so gifts are shipped straight to the couple’s home. If guests want to bring something to the wedding they can bring an envelope with money.
Ceremony
Hindu wedding ceremony has many rituals:
- Baraat is the groom’s procession. Groom will arrive to the wedding ceremony on a white decorated horse. Guest go dancing around him to the beat of Indian drum, dhol.
- When groom has arrived the bride and her family greets him and the couple exchanges floral garlands to wear around their necks. Garlands are symbolizing couples acceptance for each other.
- In the ceremony groom, bride, bride’s parents and the priest sit beneath a mandap, which is a canopy reminding of Jewish chuppah.
- Kanya danna is ritual about bride’s parents giving her away.
- Next is a ritual called mangal phera; the couple joins hands and circles around a small enclosed fire, the agni.
- After this couple takes seven steps for vowing to support each other and live happily together. This ritual is called saptapadi.
- Lastly the groom applies red powder to the middle of the bride’s forehead and ties a black beaded necklace on her neck. Now she is a married woman.
Palace Aldovea has a capacity of up to 1000 guests.
Reception
Reception is a fun party. Everybody is dancing bhangra, a Punjab folkdance, and you can learn the moves pretty fast. You don’t need to worry if you’re not comfortable with new dances, usually they will be also playing modern Western music too.
There can be up to four stations of chefs cooking for the guests in the wedding. Many people think Indian food is all about spices and vegetables, but in reality it depends on which state the couple’s families are from. When in US the food tends to be North Indian so you will see naan (a flatbread) with various curries, samosas (savory pastries with spiced vegetables or meat), pakoras (fritters) and a dessert display. Regularly there will be cake, Indian ice cream kulfi and decorated sweets made from nuts.