In India, marriages and weddings are grand and auspicious events. Marriages in India are mostly arranged marriages. It’s a big thing and celebrated at a large scale when two individuals are tied in a holy matrimonial, it’s not just the union of two people but also a union of two families.

Every culture, every religion prevailing in India follows different tradition and style of marriage, be it – Bengali matrimony, Guajarati matrimony, Orissa matrimony, Punjabi matrimony, Sindhi matrimony, Bihar matrimony, Tamil matrimony etc, all have their own unique style and customs to conduct the wedding. There hundreds of cultures and religions prevailing in India and it is fascinating how each has a distinguished set of rituals that are conducted during their weddings. Though there are few things that are common in almost all marriages irrespective of the culture like:

 Kundli – kundli is made on a Child’s birth based upon calculations and planetary positions at that time. Matching of the kundli of both the bride and groom before fixing the marriage.

 Mehendi – mehendi or henna which is a paste prepared by crushing fresh henna leaves is applied on the hands of the bride in beautiful patterns, adding to her make up and enhancing her beauty on the D day. In the US, mehendi is also termed as temporary tattoo.

 Pundit – pundit is the religious person also known as the priest who actually commences the entire ceremony of marriage; the pundit recites the chants and prayers to bless the couple as per our holy Hindu rituals.

 Puja – puja is a very essential part of every wedding , though the style might change depending upon the religion but the basic essence remains same.

 Shehnai – no happy occasion is complete without music, most of the marriage functions till today include traditional shehnai in their celebrations and joy.

 Sarees and bangles – sarees are the traditional attire for women, ladies on both the sides, the bride and the grooms, buy exquisite sarees and bangles to wear as well as to gift.

Indian marriages are not just a brief one day affair but a prolonged celebration that lasts almost an entire week. Each day dedicated to one new function, each day signifying a new belief; like – sangeet, haldi ki rasam, mehendi raat, roka, sagai etc. Besides, if we trace back to our history as per our Vedas and Holy Scriptures each tradition, each custom, each prayer and day has its own story and a reason for its practice till today.

Though in today’s date, the trend has changed a lot with the change in era and mind sets, a lot of show and money goes into marriage parties, it involves a lot of grandeur. People in today’s date are very particular to the things that they would have in their marriage like – decoration, music, caterers, food, venue, dresses etc. but even with the changing trends, marriage in India symbolizes tradition, rich culture, faith, and customs.

Few useful links:

http://www.jeevansathi.com/