A friend of ours once said “There’s no such thing as an Indian wedding outside of India” and now we understand why. A wedding in India is a multiday celebration consisting of an abundance of food, colours and dancing. Definitely something to attend, if you’re ever lucky enough to be invited.
Not only were we fortunate enough to be invited to a wedding, but it was also the wedding of our beautiful little sister. In this post, we will share our experience and things we learned along the way.
Something that we learned early on, is December is the peak season for weddings in India. We spoke to several other people who were also going to weddings on our flight, let alone all the other celebrations we ran into along during our trip.
In Northern India, day time temperatures can reach as high as 39°C during the rest of the year. Whereas they are a balmy 20°C in December, making it the perfect weather for the wedding festivities. That being said the evenings in December get as cold as 6 degrees and all the events took place outside in some manner.
Also, heating isn’t commonplace inside, making it colder inside than outside sometimes. So be sure to bring extra warm clothes.
Tip: If visiting Northern India in December, be prepared to dress warm both outside and inside.
The wedding was hosted in Hisar. A small steel town, where my brother in law’s grandfather had built their family home. Located about 2.5 hours from Delhi. The Aerocity JW Marriott was where we would meet up with our family from around the world and relax before the wedding.
Tip: If you are coming from a different timezone. Be sure to take a few days to adjust and rest before the wedding.
Our transportation between Delhi and Hisar was prearranged by the groom’s family. A convoy of cars to bring us to their hometown for the wedding.
There were also cars available throughout the wedding to take guests to and from their designated accommodations and different venues. One of the friends of the bride had even taken his ride to Amristar and Chandigarh, before the wedding.
Tip: It is customary for the family to arrange rides. If not book a prearranged driver to help get around.
The drive to Hisar through rural northern India was surreal. We would pass by rice paddies, tons of small towns, roadside markets and all sorts of animals roaming the streets.
Celine loved taking it all in especially since she didn’t need to be in her car seat.
Tip: A baby car seat is not required in India. None of the cars we took even had seatbelts in the back seat.
Once we arrived, we were greeted by the groom and his family. After some chai and initial introductions, we were whisked away next door, where the family had beautifully decorated a park that would be our home base for many of the wedding’s day time activities.
The next 3 days were packed with activities and events starting as early as 8:00 am and some running until 2:00 am.
Tip: Be prepared for a ton of events, take rest when you can.
The wedding was broken down into 8 main events:
Door Games
Starting off the events were the door games. Common for Chinese weddings, the groom and groomsmen must complete a set of challenges set up by the bridesmaids before he can meet his bride.
Tea Ceremony
A traditional Chinese ceremony. The bride and groom will offer tea to married family members in exchange for blessings for their life ahead together.
Mehendi
A ceremony commonly held a day before the wedding celebrations, Mehendi is a celebration where friends and family of the bride and groom are invited to have henna applied.
The Mehendi was hosted at the beautifully decorated park by the family home and all the guests were dressed in bright and vivid colours. With tons of music and dancing, this event had a very celebratory feel.
Cocktail Evening
Typically hosted the night before the ceremony, this event would be the equivalent of a reception for a western wedding.
The event was hosted at Surya celebration, an event space consisting of a beautifully decorated outdoor space with a dance floor and large tent in the centre.
Additionally, there was a small indoor space to stay warm, as it was quite cold that evening. This epic evening consisted of tons of food, alcohol, music, singing and lots of dancing.
Shaint
Taking place first thing in the morning, the day of the wedding. The Shaint ceremony consists of three parts the Kangna Bandhana, Chooda Chadhana and Kalide. During the Kangna Bandhana, a sacred thread called the mouli is tied around the wrists of the bride and groom by a Hindu priest, using 7 knots.
The knots represent problems that the couple will face in their marriage and how they approach undoing the knots, will be reflective of how the couple will resolve the issues in their new life together.
After the Kangna Bandhana is the Chooda Chadhana, roughly translating to “placing bangles”, a set of 21 red and ivory bangles are gifted to the bride from her eldest uncle. The bangles are purified with milk and rose petals, then placed on the wrists of the bride. Representing happiness and prosperity for the newlywed couple, the bangles are worn for a period of 40-45 days after the wedding.
Lastly is the Kalide, a set of umbrella-shaped figures called kalide are tied to the wrists of the bride, adorned with little golden betel nuts, dry fruits or coconuts. Similar to a bouquet toss in western weddings, unmarried females are invited to sit under the kalide while the bride shakes it above their head if a piece of the kalide falls on them, they will be the next to be married.
Haldi
Hosted the morning of the ceremony, friends and family of the bride and groom are invited to rub a turmeric paste onto the bride and groom.
Known as a holy spice in Indian culture the turmeric is believed to cleanse and protect the bride and groom from the evil eye until their wedding. Additionally, the color yellow is an auspicious color, believed to bring the couple prosperity in their life together.
Baraat
The traditional procession for the groom & his party to the wedding venue. Quite the epic experience, my brother in law rode atop a horse wearing a large golden turban, sabre and covered from head to toe in jewelry and money.
Leading the procession was his family and band dancing their way from their family home, to the hotel where the ceremony was held. An uproarious celebration, you could hear the drums and trumpets long before you could see the procession arriving.
Taking almost 2 hours to get from the home to the hotel, it is very typical for the procession to purposely be delayed by the groom’s family.
Once the groom arrives at the venue, the groom’s family must bargain with the bride’s family to allow him to come in to claim his bride.
Saptapadi
A traditional Hindu ceremony known as the seven steps. Starting just before and ending after midnight, this is the ceremony that unites the couple together in marriage.
The ceremony begins with the family of the bride bringing the bride to be given away to the husband. Then lead by a shaman, the bride and groom recite seven vows to their future together.
Then after midnight, the couple walks 7 times around the holy fire, uniting the couple as husband and wife.
Tip: Expect to be well fed. All the events had buffet-style dining. Keep in mind, it is typical for the food the night of the ceremony to be only vegetarian.
Overall the wedding was such an incredible experience Each day being more incredible than the last.
From the beautifully decorated home to the early morning tea ceremony to late-night cocktail dinner, that felt like something out of a Bollywood movie to my brother in law arriving on a horse for his Baraat.
There are so many experiences that I will remember forever.
By the end of it all, we were all exhausted and needed a day to recover.
Tip: Plan some time to rest after the wedding.
