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.

Pre Wedding Preparations

Before the main day function there are various rituals and customs to be looked after. And it is not the matter of rituals and customs but other areas also, which is considered like what will be the budget of the wedding and depending on the budget and the size of the wedding the other areas will be decided like the venue of the wedding, the theme and the decoration. Nowadays if your budget is high then you can easily opt for a wedding planner he or she will look after all the matters. Be it the venue, theme or the menu. According to the budget you can decide everything. In the pre wedding ceremony there are rituals like engagement, tilak, sangeet, mehndi and haldi. Then there are areas like choosing the caterer, gift-wraps, party favor, gift for relatives, wedding invitation card, stage shows and function, flower decoration, etc. So according to the various functions on each day everything is decided before the main day function.

Post Wedding Preparations

The traditional Indian weddings used to be more than a week long though people cut short the events nowadays. There is an event for almost everything. The Indian wedding ceremony is divided into three parts pre wedding, wedding and post wedding. Rituals like 'Haldi', 'Mehandi' 'Sangeet" and 'Tilak' are pre wedding rituals. 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. They also bring in the dress for the bride or the bridegroom and display them to the other family as a part of their love and honor that they are willing to bestow upon their son or daughter in law. These pre-wedding ceremonies are followed by the main day wedding ceremony, 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.

The wedding itself is a long, stretched out process, when all the Hindu deities are called upon and asked to bless the new couple. The bride and the bridegroom take seven steps around the fire, vowing devotion and love to each other and agreeing to take care of each other in all circumstances. There are various events to ensure laughter in the wedding ceremony such as when the younger sister of the bride tries to steal the shoe of her new brother-in-law and asks money as ransom. After the wedding ceremony, there are the post wedding functions alike 'Vidaai' or 'Doli' when the bride leaves for her new home. This is the most emotional moment of any Indian wedding, when the bride take leave of all her family members to start a new life in her husband's home. Than in the bridegroom's home, various other post wedding functions are performed like an elaborate wedding reception is organized in the honor of the bride where the entire family member from both sides are once again invited. So there are various preparations to be made after the wedding ceremony for the post wedding function.