Indian Wedding Traditions

India is a big country and it has many states, the people of various languages and religion live there with different customs. The Indian Wedding Tradition like other cultures is colorful and interesting; it is a huge ceremony in which hundreds of people like some 400 to 1000 and more. The traditions of the Indian wedding are not very simple, it comprises of so many customs. The Indian wedding tradition comprises of pre wedding ceremonies that includes baraat, varmala, phere and vidaai. These are the most important parts of an Indian wedding ceremony without which it cannot be complete. A typical Hindu marriage is performed by the priest in front of the sacred fire. The priest chant Sanskrit hymns, and mantras and also special Indian music. The popular shehnai is the specialty of north Indian weddings and south Indian weddings. The wedding day and time of the hindu wedding is decided and selected with special care, an the parents consult with the astrologists. The palm and the feet of the bride are decorated with mehndi or henna.

The groom in the form of a procession makes his way to bride’s house and this procession is called baraat, which is headed by a display of with fireworks. When the procession reaches the meeting point the elders of the bride welcome the groom and his parents and guests. Both the bride and the groom sit in front of the sacred fire and the priest and the kanyadaan is performed. Later the groom ties the knot and the couple walks seven times around the sacrificial fire. In the last stage of the wedding ceremony the bride and the groom take seven steps, together facing the north, after which the bride shifts to the groom’s left. After this the couple is declared married. The bride of an Indian wedding wears saree, heavy jewelry and also carry a purse. The color red is the most common color for the bride in an Indian wedding tradition. The flowers are the most important accessories of the bridal hair dos. The fabrics of the Indian bridal sarees include crepe, georgette, brocade, cotton and silk. The sarees are quite decorated as embellished with various materials. There are many options of outfits for an Indian groom, the variety includes kurta pyjamas, formal tuxedos and turbans and so many others. The Indian wedding ceremony is conducted in mandap a special place decorated with flowers for the ceremony purpose. The wedding ceremony traditions vary according to the region, caste, language, religion and ethnic groups. There are many sites where one can find pictures of a typical Indian wedding tradition.

The Indian wedding invitations include traditional and modern Indian wedding invitations. The Indian wedding invitations are colorful and well designed and come with matching envelops. The selection of the invitation may vary according to the personal choice as some people like sober ones while others like the bright invitations.