The significance of traditional rites is valued in all Indian weddings and the West Indian weddings are no diverse. The West Indian weddings include Gujarati Weddings, Maharashtrian Weddings, and Marwari Weddings. Many ceremonies are caught up in these sorts of weddings and the celebrations start much ahead of the real wedding. Some weddings can be sumptuous while others are simple and it all depends on the families.

Generally the West Indian weddings take place at the rented halls, homely venues and mandaps. The wedding scheduled in Maharashtrian wedding is in the morning or late evening, which is called as the ‘Goraj Muhurt’. At the wedding, the maternal uncles of the bride escort her to the dais.

A partition called ‘antarpat’, which is a piece of cloth, is held amid the bride and the groom, and spiritual hymns are chanted. One thing is common in West Indian weddings; is the farewell to the bride, which is known as ‘bidai’. In Maharashtrian Wedding there is also the post wedding ritual called Laxmi Narayan puja.

Rituals and Customs

The Gujrati kind of West Indian wedding has the ‘Madhuparka’ ritual in which there is the washing of groom’s feet. He is welcomed with a combination of honey and milk. ‘Kanya Daan’ and ‘Hasta Milap’ are the two significant ceremonies in this sort of Indian Wedding kinds. Pheras and Saptapadi are a further two significant ceremony in the wedding ceremony.

In Gujrati marriage, marriage is called “Lagan”. Gujarati wedding is a ritualistic notion just like the other Indian marriages. It is inescapably a warehouse of diverse fun-filled ceremony and many a devout occasion. Gujarati wedding begins with the prayers invoking Lord Ganesha’s blessings, followed by sangeet, mehndi mehfil and all-purpose gaiety. In Gujarati marriage Gujaratis make matches for their daughter and sons inside the group of people. Gujaratis prefer that the boy and girl see each other and take the decision of marrying.

Bridal Wear

Saree is the natural bridal wear for the Gujarati girls. They dress- in the saree in a tad diverse style though. Red color is the most fortunate for the event.

Groom’s Attire

The Gujarati bridegrooms wear the traditional kurta dhoti. But Nowdays they are going for the formal suits or the designer kurta pyajamas for the big day.

Marriage Rituals

Hathialo (Joining of the Hands) is the ceremony in which the corner of the brides sari is tied to a scarf which is worn by the groom. The right hands of the couple are tied with a thread that has been blessed with religious incantations. The typing of the hands signifies an eternal bond that will join them forever. The couple then pray to the Gods to give them strength and bless their union.

After this the “Varmala” ceremony takes place in which a cord is tied around the couple’s necks to protect them from evil influences. And finally, the bride’s father gives her away to the groom, thus doing the “Kanyadaan”. “Mangal Phera” takes place after this, which has the couple taking four circles of the auspicious fire instead of the customary seven. These four circles symbolize the four cardinal principles of life i.e. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.