India, a country that is avowed for its unity in diversity, is home to a host of people from disparate religions, castes, and backgrounds. It’s presumably the only country where you get to see this much assortment in terms of beliefs, customs, religions, and traditions. Unlike other nations, people in India choose different ways to get married.
Here are a few preeminent weddings that are famous in all over the world.
- Hindu Wedding
- Muslim Wedding
- Christian Wedding
- Sikh Wedding
Hindu Wedding: Hundreds of thousands of guests, a lot of rituals, a night long party, seven vows, and millions of rupees, that’s Hindu Wedding for you. Such marriages don’t end in just one day. Celebrations that kickoff with a broad range of rituals like Ganesh Pooja, Mehandi, Sagai, and Sangeet, end with Jaimala, Sindoor, and Kanyadan. If you want to see how crores of rupees can be spent within a matter of few hours, attend a Hindu Wedding, especially the ones that take place in Northern India.
Muslim Wedding: Just like Hindus, Muslim weddings also have a host of pre and post wedding rituals. Mehndi ceremony is an important pre-wedding ritual that usually take place at bride’s home on the wedding evening or a few days before the wedding. On the wedding day, a few rituals like welcoming the barat, Nikah and Ijab-e-Qubul are performed. Bridegroom proposes the girl in the presence of a Maulvi, close friends, and relatives. The marriage is considered solemnized, only if the bride accepts the proposal.
Christian Wedding: Christians have the simplest yet most mesmerizing ceremony that takes place at a church. The best man greets the girl with a bouquet on the marriage day, after which she is escorted by her father to the alter. The bride and groom declare themselves each others’ wife and husband in the presence of a priest and a couple of witnesses from each side. The groom takes the wedding vows followed by an exchange of rings between the two. A wedding reception is held afterward in which wedding cake is cut.
Sikh Wedding: Just like Hindus and Muslims marriages, Sikh Weddings also comprise of a host of customs and rituals. The most important among all is the Reht Maryada, which enumerates that as long as the bride and groom follow Sikh religion, they are united in wedlock by Anand Karaj ceremony. Sikh marriages forbid astrology, dowry or any other type of superstitions concerning date and time of the wedding. However, there are at least a dozen other types of marriages take place in India, but these four are followed most among all.
