Hindu Wedding Ceremony

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Hindu Wedding Ceremony
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• The Hindu Wedding usually takes place in the
  brides hometown or city
• It is organised and paid for by the brides
  parents
• The Bride is known as Dulhan and the Groom is
  known as Dulha

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What is Hindu Wedding?

• A Hindu Wedding is a religious ceremony and one
  of the most important of the sixteen Hindu
  Sanskars or sacraments. It is not only bond
  between two people but bond between two families.
• The ceremony lasts minimum 4 to 5 hours but the
  preparations and celebrations begins weeks before
  the actual ceremony and continue afterwards
• The Hindu service is performed by male Brahmin
  (priest) in accordance with the holy verses
  (mantras) from the Vedas the Hindu holy book
• The ceremony takes place in a venue chosen by the
  brides family. This is normally brides home, or
  a town hall, or community hall, or a hotel
  depending on the budget of the brides family.

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• Engagement (The ring ceremony)
• This event is held to exchange the gold
  rings by the couple before wedding called Mangni
  in the presence of very close friends and
  relatives.

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Mehndi Party This is the festive occasion
celebrated by the brides family. The bride and
close female members of her family have henna
painted on their hands and feets while the rest
of the family celebrate with songs. Mehndi
signifies the strength of love in a marriage
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Ganesh Puja

• The wedding day starts with a prayer Lord
  Ganesh whose divine grace dispells all evils and
  promotes a successful and peaceful completion of
  the ceremony

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Arrival of bridegroom

• The groom arrives at brides home or
  ceremonys place with his relatives and friends
  which is called Baarat. The brides mother
  welcomes the groom and she then escorts him to
  the Mandap. The father of the bride washes the
  right foot of the groom with milk and honey

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Arrival of the Bride

• The bride is escorted to the Mandap by her
  maternal uncle, female cousins and friends

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Garland Ceremony

• The couple put garland (mala) around each
  others neck in the presence of all relatives and
  friends. It is the symbol of acceptance and
  pledge to respect each other as a partner.

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Kanyadan (Giving Away of the Bride)

• The father of the bride places her hand in the
  groom's hand requesting him to accept her as an
  equal partner. The concept behind Kanyadan is
  that the bride is a form of the goddess Lamxi and
  the groom is Lord Narayana. The parents are
  facilitating their union

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Taking seven steps

• Agni Panikram (Going around the fire) - This
  is the main part of the ceremony. The bride and
  groom go around the fire seven times, six times
  led by the bride and the seventh time is by the
  groom. It is believed by all Hindus that in the
  first seven years of the brides married life she
  is protected by the moon then followed by the sun
  for the next seven years and then by Agni.

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Saubhagya Chinha (Blessing the bride)

• The Groom blesses his bride by giving her a
  Mangalasutra (sacred necklace) and putting
  Sindoor (vermilion powder) on her forehead.The
  mangalasutra represents the couples
  togetherness, love and sacred union.

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Viddai (Brides departure)

• The farewell to the bride by her family and
  friends is very emotional moment. The bride is
  leaving her parents home to build a life with her
  husband and his family.