Marriage Images Representing Different Cultural Weddings & Rituals

Image Courtesy: Rituals Wedding Photography

India is a land of diversity and with that comes a vast cultural diversity as well - different communities and religions have unique customs and traditions and it all adds up to create weddings that are replete with a set of distinct practices.

From the kind of outfits worn in the weddings to the sacred chants, the food and the rituals to even the kind of decor and the music that plays is all a result of this precious diversity.

Although there are tons of different marriage rituals out there, we've covered a few of them. Read on to find out what defines the cultures of each community and what differentiates their marriages from the rest.

Jain Marriage Images

Image Courtesy: Go Explore

Jain Weddings are known for their three important pre-wedding ceremonies - the Lagna Lekhan, the Lagna Patrika and the Sagai. The Lagna Lekhan is a puja held at the bride's house to decide on an auspicious date for the wedding by the priest.

Once the date is finalised, it is then sent to the groom's family. The Lagna Patrika is a reading out of a letter at the groom's house by the priest. These ceremonies are then followed by the engagement ceremony. When it comes to the main wedding day, the two most notable rituals are the Pheras and the Kanya Daan.

Christian Marriage Images

In Christian Weddings, the bride walks down the aisle and up to the groom along with her father. The priest then officiates the couple while they take their vows. The distinct feature of  Christian Weddings is their reception where people eat, drink and make merry to celebrate the newly-wed couple.

Maharashtrian Marriage Images

The 'Shakar Puda' or the engagement precedes the wedding. On the D-DAY, a silk shawl is placed in between the couple to separate them. Once that is done the ' Mangalashtak' is recited and the shawl is removed thereafter.  After going through a few more rituals, the couple finally asks permission from their parents to tie the sacred knot. Once the consent is given, they proceed to take the Pheras.

Kannada Marriage Images

Just as the wedding is about to begin, the sisters of the bride escort her to the Mandap and seat her there. Thereafter, the bride's face is covered with a peacock feather fan. Towards the end of the wedding, the bride's parents give her away to the groom with a ritual called ' Dhare Herdu'. The final ritual or the 'Saptapadi' marks the end of the ceremony by taking seven circles of the sacred fire.

Muslim Marriage Images

Image Courtesy: Masoud Shah Photography

In a Muslim wedding, the Nikah is read in Islam by two priests. Consent for the marriage is asked from the bride and the groom, post which the sacred Nikah Nama is signed. The gathering is then addressed with the marriage sermon or the  Khutba-tun-nikah. There's also a mirror that is placed in between the bride and the groom and it is during this ritual that their eyes meet for the very first time.

Punjabi Marriage Images

The wedding day starts with the bride receiving the 'Chura' or the white and red bangles from her maternal uncle. After this, the ritual consists of the bride and groom bathing in the holy water brought from the Gurudwara. This ritual is also called the Ghara Ghardoli. At night, the bride and groom exchange garlands in the mandap amongst other wedding rituals. A Sikh wedding also has similar traditions with the Punjabi wedding, except for the fact that it takes place in the morning in the Gurudwara.

Assamese Marriage Images

Image Courtesy: North Eastern Beauty

Assamese weddings start with a bathing ritual where the couple's mothers fetch holy water from the holy river nearby. While in most Indian weddings, the reception or the feast is held after the wedding, in Assamese culture it happens before the wedding.

Gujarati Marriage Images

Image Courtesy: Pinterest

The beginning of wedding rituals is marked by exchanging 'Jaimalas' twice instead of one. While in other Hindu weddings, there are 7 pheras, Gujarati weddings have only four pheras called the Mangal Pheras. Each of these pheras represents the following principles respectively - Dharma’, ‘Artha’, ‘Kama’ and ‘Moksha'.

Kashmiri Marriage Images

Image courtesy: Pinterest

When the groom and his family arrive for the wedding, the couple's fathers exchange'nutmeg' as a representation of their newly-formed and lifelong friendship. These weddings also have a ceremony called ' Diugun' which is very similar to the 'Haldihanath Rasam.'

Pahari Marriage Images

Image courtesy: Pinterest

The wedding day is marked by a ceremony known as the 'Dhulyaraj' where the groom is auspiciously received. 'Pichorra' or the traditional dupatta is worn by the bride to get ready for the sacred pheras. All of this is then followed by the Vidai ceremony.

Buddhist Marriage Images

Since Buddhism is all about leading a simple and subtle life, Buddhist weddings also carry that tradition forward. They are mostly low-key with no strict rituals and customs.
The venue is always a Buddhist temple that is legally allocated as a marriage venue.

Bengali Marriage Images

Bengali weddings are distinct because of the 'Shaat Paak' in which the bride goes around the groom seven times with betel or 'paan' leaves covering her face. This is then followed by a ritual called 'Shubhodrishti, where the betel leaves are removed from the bride's face and the bride and groom see each other for the first time during the wedding.

Malayali Marriage Images

Image Courtesy: Vagabomb

Malayali weddings are a quick affair and are always held in the morning. The marriage ceremony is also called' Velli' which begins with the bride's father washing the groom's feet to welcome him and ends with the groom tying a yellow thread also known as thali' around the bride's neck.

Knowing about how weddings are so similar and yet so different is interesting right? These unique rituals and customs shown in different marriage images are what defines our country's beauty.

Did we miss out on something from the traditional wedding photographs and marriage images? Share with us in the comments below!