VIBRANT INDIAN BRIDES & INDIAN WEDDING TRADITIONS : Breathless and full of emotions

Practically everyone dreams of getting married someday to someone. After an individual attains maturity the wait for that perfect individual starts. Some people are lucky to be blessed by the feeling of love while the others wait further, to meet that someone special. Wedding is therefore a cherished moment, which is more of a dream come true.

There are many rituals performed during the marriage ceremonies and each ritual has its own importance.

I bring to you, the most important rituals of Indian marriages and the emotions associated with them.

MEHANDI & THE MEHANDI FUNCTION :

MEHANDI : Mehandi is a kind of body art which is being performed in India since ancient times by Indian women. As part of applying mehandi, decorative designs are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant.

Mehandi is applied to hands and foot of a woman because it is considered auspicious and make the bride look beautiful. The darker the color of mehandi comes out after applying, more her groom loves her (this is just a saying associated with bridal mehandi in india).

Below pictures show brides with them decorated in mehandi, all so beautiful and special :

There is a special function organised for brider by her family where mehandi is applied to her hands and foot by mehandi specialists and her cousins and family celebrate and have a party there.

Below pictures shows how mehandi functions are organised. A picture of the bride with her brothers in the background is a trend of these functions nowadays :

Here is a cool bride with her gang of girls at her mehandi function :

ENTRY OF BRIDE AT THE WEDDING :

Bride's entry in the wedding is made really special because that is one very big moment for her. There are various styles in trend for that.

Below is a bride entering with her brother in which she walks under the flowers and her brothers hold that for her:

This bride makes her entry sitting in a boat which is a very different style :

VAR MALA/JAI MALA:

First major ritual performed at an Indian wedding is VAR MALA also called jai mala, in which bride and groom put big necklaces-type things(garlands) made of natural flowers to each other and it signifies that they are accepting each other as BE MINE.

7 PHERAs/ 7 vows :

The seven vows of marriage are the seven promises which the bride and the groom make to each other for a happy and prosperous life. They are bound together by an unseen bond protected by these promising words. Without exaggeration, the seven vows can be said to contain the idea of an ideal marriage that is to be practiced by the bride and groom.

The bride and groom walk around the sacred fire. Any Hindu marriage is incomplete without these vows and is deemed complete once they are conducted.

Here are the 7 vows translated in english that are said by bride and groom to each other at the PHERAs:

Vow 1 : You will offer me food and be helpful in every way. I will cherish you and provide welfare and happiness for you and our children.

Vow 2 : I will be by your side as your courage and strength. I will rejoice in your happiness. In return, you will love me solely.

Vow 3 : May we grow wealthy and prosperous and strive for the education of our children and may our children live long.

Vow 4 : I will shower you with joy, from head to toe. I will strive to please you in everyway I can.

Vow 5 : You are my best friend, and well-wisher. You have come into my life, enriching it. God bless you.

Vow 6 : Now that you have taken six steps with me, you have filled my heart with immense happiness. Will you do the kindness of filling my heart with happiness like this for all times.

Vow 7 : We are now husband and wife, and are one. You are mine and I am yours for eternity.

SINDOOR :
The most important custom of every Hindu wedding is Sindoor Dana.Here, the groom puts SINDOOR (ausipicious red powder) in his bride’s hair partition, thus symbolising her marital status. This is done during the PHERAs.

VIDAI/BIDAI :

In India, Vidaai is a post wedding ceremony, which takes place after the wedding rituals are completed. During the vidai ceremony the bride is accompanied by her parentsand associates, which lead her outside the doorstep of the house. Before crossing the doorstep, she throws back three handfuls of rice and coins over herhead, into the house. This symbolizes that the bride is repaying her parents for all that they have given her so far.

Moreover, in India girls are considered the manifestation of Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth and prosperity. Thus,while leaving, the bride practices the ritual to keep wealth and prosperity intact in her home. This is the most emotional moment of the complete marriage ceremony as the bride's familyand friends bids her a teary farewell. With this they also bless her for a happymarried life. The father of the bride takes her to the car or the Doli and hands her to the groom.

After this he requests him to care of her and to forgive her for any mistake, guiding her constantly through their marital journey. The occasion presents mixed feelings as everybody is happy for the bride as she is going to start her new life but at the same time tears well up to think that she no more belongs to them.

After the bride comes with groom and his family, she gets a grand welcome at her new home with traditional games.

Below is bride praying to god at her In-laws home with the bride family and relatives in the background :

The most interesting traditional game is FIND THE RING :
A ring is being put into ausipicious water in a pot and the bride and groom are given 3 chances to find it. Whoever finds it first the maximum times wins. The one who wins is said to dominate their married life.

At the end i would like to show you the best signature poses trending among Indian brides now-a-days :

To end my article on a beautiful note, a few decoratory pictures i took at my cousin's wedding :

Sources : All the pictures used in this article have been taken from open sources and some of my freelancing photography work.