Lights, camera, action! No, I’m not talking about a movie, South Asian weddings! All the makings of a good action/drama movie! Our wedding was almost a 4 day event. It all started with family and friends coming into town. The first event was getting my henna/mehendi done. The bridal henna, depending on how intricate you want it, can take anywhere from 3-6 hours. I have never been a big fan of henna so I had chosen to keep it fairly simple. The purpose of a bride wearing henna is a way of wishing the bride to be happiness and prosperity for her marriage. It is also said that the mixture of the henna is suppose to have a cooling effect on the nerves and should relieve the bride of any built up stress.
The next day in the evening was our Sangeet (music) and henna night. During this event, family and friends perform various choreographed dances to mark the beginning of the wedding celebrations. There was also a henna station setup for guests; guests are welcome to get some henna as a form of celebration.
Now the third day is when the turmeric event takes place. A paste of turmeric is applied to the bride in order to give her bridal glow. Turmeric is said to have many benefits for the skin and is said to purify the heart and soul prior to entering matrimony. In my family’s tradition, along with the bride, a younger sibling accompanies the bride ad gets turmeric applied to them as well. This is usually the next person who is in line to get married. This event is mainly attended by women and girls along with all members of the bride’s family. All the attendees and family members take turn applying turmeric on the bride and the sibling. After this is completed, the bride and sibling are taken to an outdoor area and all guests pour milk over the bride and her sibling. The milk bath adds to the skin’s complexion and exfoliates the skin. After this point the bride can take a shower to wash off all the turmeric and change into a yellow saree. Once she is ready, she is taken to the pooja area. The bride performs a few different rituals and gives 5 married women gifts. In exchange, the married women bless the bride with a long married life. After this point, the bride is not permitted to leave the house. This is so no evil eye will fall upon the bride to be. She is also not permitted to see the groom till the wedding ceremony.
The final day is the wedding ceremony. Usually in Hindu weddings there is a specific auspicious time in which a wedding can take place. It can vary by geographical location, the bride and groom’s date and time of births and the astrology of stars. Our wedding time was held between 10:30am-1pm. There are various rituals that take place in an Indian wedding and can vary from region to region. Since my parents are from South India and my husband’s parents are Gujrati, we had to intertwine our wedding rituals. The two main factors in our wedding was the tying of the thali/mangalsutra (a necklace the groom ties on the bride’s neck) and circling around the holy fire. These two rituals signified the bond of marriage in our cultures.
The ceremony was followed by an evening reception. The reception included speeches from our family and friends, food, drinks and lots of dancing. We also added something a bit unconventional: in addition to the couple first dance, father-daughter dance, mother-son dance, we decided to add a parent dance. In this dance, I danced with Parthiv’s dad and he danced with my mom. My parents don’t have any sons and his parents don’t have any daughters. We both figured this would be a great way my mom and his dad could be involved in the formal dances of the wedding. Of course following the formal dances was a full on dance party!
To say the event was unforgettable would be an understatement. The amount of effort, collaboration, planning that goes into any wedding is inexplicable. I will always be thankful to my family, my husband’s family and our dear friends for helping us make this new chapter in our lives so special.
Wedding Day Photographer: Shandro Photography | Wedding Day Decor: M Weddings & Events | Henna: Yeg Henna