Weddings are not only one of the most important milestones in the journey of any family, they are also some of the most dazzling events, full of beauty and color. This makes them not only wonderful celebrations of the family but endlessly inspiring events for any artist or designer—Indian weddings doubly so. We want to take you on a journey into our big fat Indian weddings.
In the past year, we attended three spectacular weddings in three different cities. In December 2021, we attended the wedding of Namrata’s nephew Rohan in Jaipur, and a month later, we were in Nagpur for the wedding of DK’s niece Neha. Just a few months ago, we visited Udaipur to see Namrata’s nephew Aayush get married. Jaipur and Udaipur, by the way, are in the state of Rajasthan, in the northwest of India, while Nagpur is right in the heart of India, about 400 miles northeast of Mumbai. For all of these events, dozens of relatives from all over the world came together to celebrate.
No Simple Affair
Indian weddings are not simple one-day affairs. The festivities can start up to a week before the marriage ceremony, with a number of parties, gatherings, and ceremonies taking place.
The first ceremony is the Haldi ceremony. If you’re a fan of Bridgerton, you’ve probably seen this ceremony performed. The Netflix series is one of the few times this wedding tradition has been depicted in Western media, but nothing can beat actually being there and taking part in this beautiful ritual in which the bride and groom are immersed in a turmeric and sandalwood paste before the wedding day. At Neha’s wedding, the bride and groom sat in golden lotuses and were showered with flowers by all the guests.
Everyone’s favorite event, however, is the Sangeet night. We spend the night singing and dancing to everything from traditional songs to Bollywood and Hollywood favorites. Only those of us with the most stamina made it to the after-party, which went on until 5 am the next morning!
Seven Pheras
The wedding ceremony consists of seven pheras, or circles around a sacred fire, while the panditji (priest) recites mantras and the couple takes their vows. During the ceremony, the bride wears a wedding dress that is a gift from her maternal uncle.
All of the men at the wedding wear a turban. The color of the turban changes at every wedding, with family from the bride’s side and the groom’s side wearing different colors of turbans. There are special people who drape the turbans on men at every wedding, an art form that not many know.
Guests sit down to a lunch called Sajjan Goth, which is hosted by the bride’s family to honor the groom’s family and bid them farewell. The food is always the traditional Dal Bati Churma (dal = lentils, bati = baked wheat ball, churma = sweetened crushed wheat).
Note the traditional ornate silver peacock seating presentation at the Sajjan Goth. Each event has its own décor and every wedding has its own style, but the aesthetic is always ornate without looking cluttered. The color palettes are always vibrant and lively but refined and never jarring.
We hope you enjoyed this look into Indian wedding traditions. As you browse our collections, maybe you’ll see the influence of these vibrant yet refined and sophisticated styles. Enjoy!
