Many people from India live in UK and they like to add a little bit of Indian traditions to their wedding ceremony. I hope you don’t expect to find all the nuances of this country’s marriage traditions in a single article, since it would be quite a daunting (or impossible) task. With more than 1500 spoken languages, over 9 religions and 28 different states, in every realm of life, you can see that India defines diversity. Even Indian wedding cards can be quite different if the couple is Muslim, Hindu or Sikh, for example. For that reason, we will focus only on Hindu weddings in this article.
In Hindu culture, marriage symbolizes more than just the sacred union of two people. It is the coming together of two families (with all the relatives and cousins) as well. Because the level of involvement is very profound, it is common for the family to choose the bride and/or groom. As a matter of fact, until a few decades ago, the two individuals saw each other for the first time on the day of their wedding! Nevertheless, this trend has significantly changed in urban (especially in UK) areas. In the past families were searching for the right partner for their child through marriage priests or word of mouth, but now online matrimonial websites are quite popular.
In India, a time and date of the wedding ceremony is decided based upon horoscopes. There are wedding games for the couple created to lighten the mood. For example, the couple has to untie the ball of knots, by working together, using only one hand each. This game symbolizes their willingness and readiness to resolve issues that might come up in life together. Approximately, Indian wedding is celebrated 7 days! And, with so much of color, rituals, people, music, fun and (vegetarian) food, the Hindu wedding is quite a festival! Namaste!