According to Hindu tradition, marriage is a sanskar or sacrament which celebrates the setting up of a new family unit and, because it is regarded as important, a lot of formality surrounds the event.
The bride will start the event by wearing a white sari with red and gold embroidery to represent purity and then, during the ceremony, she will put on a red sari, representing fertility.
The groom’s outfit will be ivory or white trousers with a traditional Nehru jacket.
There are up to eight different types of Hindu marriage preamble.
Brahma is where the bride’s father extends an invitation to marry his daughter to a well respected man and accepts a jewellery and other valuable items in return. Arsha involves the swapping of said daughter for a cow and a bull. Prajapataya sees the bride’s father blessing the couple with words about performing life’s duties as a couple. There are also several rather alarming ’Rites’ where a woman is forced into marriage whether she is physically or mentally able or not.
But, in all events, the bride’s father always does the giving, a factor which plays a large role in the Hindu marriage ceremony.
At some weddings there can be a lot of processions and preliminary celebrations at the homes of the respective couple’s families; the main marriage ceremony takes place under a temporary covered structure made of wood with pillars and incorporating chairs for the bridal couple and their parents plus a special place for the sacred fire. This sacred tent is known as a Mandap.
Because of the intricate movements involved in the various rituals in such a confined space, it is crucial that the wedding photographer who will be capturing these emotional images for the future is in the right position.
This integral part of the marriage ceremony consists of up to 13 traditional sections starting with the welcome of the groom’s family by the bride’s relatives and the receipt of a gifts.
The couple go around the fire four times, sometimes touching a stone in each revolution to represent overcoming any changes and responsibilities in their daily lives - to signify health, prosperity, being good parents and salvation.
The bridal couple then face north and take seven steps together. This is Saptapadi where they ask God to bless them. The first step is for food, the second, strength, the third, prosperity, the fourth is wisdom, the fifth fertility, the sixth health and the seventh and last symbolises friendship forever.
The groom shows that he welcomes his bride into his life by making a mark on her forehead with red powder. He also gives her a necklace of black beads - a mangalsutra as a symbol of the eternal bond that binds them
The bridal couple then feed sweets to each other to symbolise the promise to love, cherish and be faithful to each other forever.
Blessings then follow by the priest, parents and family. The wedding party and their guests move on to a feast and games.
Eventually the party has to finish and the bride says goodbye to her parents and family and is escorted by her brother, her husband and several other people to her new home, where she is received by her new husband’s mother and sisters and given a piece of jewellery to welcome her to her new home.
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