Indian weddings are sacred religious ties between the
families of the bride and the bridegroom. They are elaborate, expensive
and emotional events, which are eagerly awaited, by all the young girls
and boys when they are treated like kings and queens of the day. Though,
different communities have different rituals throughout India, the basic
turnout of the marriage event remains the same. Most of the Hindu
weddings are announced on the auspicious times as predicted by the Hindu
Vedic astrologers. The traditional weddings used to be more than a week
long though people cut short the events these days. There is an event
for almost everything. Adorning the bride with turmeric to cleanse her
skin is celebrated as a ceremony for ladies known as 'Haldi', while
painting her hands and feet beautifully and intricately with henna paste
is celebrated as 'Mehandi'. There are ceremonies to celebrate the
occasion when the families visit each other before the wedding and send
costly gifts to each other along with sweets, fruits and dry fruits.
These pre-wedding ceremonies are followed by the Big day, when the
nuptial knots of the bride and the bridegroom are tied. There is an
elaborate wedding feast for all the family and friends that are invited.
After the main day function is over there are various pre wedding
rituals to be done.
Indian wedding is not just the matter of one day it is an elaborate
process, which involves various rituals and customs. Before the wedding
the areas, which are to be looked after are like deciding on the budget
of the wedding, venue of the wedding, the theme, decoration, menu, etc.
In the main day preparation we have the wedding feast, stage or mandap décor,
etc. So these are some of the areas to be looked after before marriage.