Indian Wedding Traditions Strengthen the Bonds of Matrimony

Indian Wedding traditions unlike other weddings are full of verve, ethnicity and brilliance. The wedding traditions in India vary on account of language, geographical differences, caste and religion. As compared to the weddings on the foreign lands, Indian weddings don't happen by gathering just the family members and close friends, but the list of guests keep on increasing till the day of marriage. For this reason, many people appear strangers to both the bride and the groom.

Due to the coalescing of various cultures in India and the wave of modernity sweeping across the globe, the Indian Wedding Traditions have also undergone some changes maintaining the established conventions. For instance, only arranged marriages were witnessed in the olden era while in the contemporary world, people have started going for love marriages.

The list of Indian Wedding Traditions is endless and varies as per the social milieu in which wedding is talking place. But, the traditional weddings are usually seen in a three- tier structure of pre-wedding, wedding day and post wedding ceremonies.

The pre-wedding traditions include Mehendi Ceremony which is done a day before the wedding. In this ceremony the hands and feet of the bride are decorated with henna. The very next day which is the marriage day, ceremonial cleansing is performed and the bride gets ready for the wedding. When the bridegroom arrives at the entrance of the marriage hall, his to-be mother-in-law welcomes him. The bride's sisters block his way by tying a ribbon on the gate to ask for money/gift from the groom. This is really enjoying moment as the groom negotiates for the amount that he has to pay to them.

On a very happy note the groom cuts the ribbon and enters inside the wedding pandal after giving them the demanded money. With the reception of the baraat, the wedding feast begins. The elaborate display of lip-smacking dishes attracts the guests with its look as well as mouth-watering smell.

After this sumptuous dinner, as per the muhurat, the Circumambulation of fire ceremony takes place. Then Vida ceremony is held whereby the bride is sent along with the groom to groom's house. At the groom's home, the post nuptial ceremonies are held. The couple is welcomed by the grooms' mother with traditional Aarti. The bride then steps in the home by placing her right foot first in the vermillion paste made by vermillion and water and then kicking the pot full of rice and coins.

Indian Wedding Traditions do not end here. Still there is a lot of excitement and fun as the bride and the groom play some traditional games like find the ring and knotted rings. The entertaining wedding rituals indeed make the wedding a memorable moment of one's life.