{"id":5414,"date":"2018-05-18T12:50:22","date_gmt":"2018-05-18T11:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/?p=5414"},"modified":"2025-02-06T15:58:59","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T15:58:59","slug":"our-guide-to-asian-weddings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/india\/our-guide-to-asian-weddings\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Guide to Asian Weddings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weddings can be a fascinating (and fun) window into different ways of life, whether the traditions have their roots in culture or religion and are recent or age-old. Here\u2019s what a traditional wedding would be like in Asia.<\/p>\n

India<\/h2>\n

\"Bride<\/p>\n

Big, brash and incredibly bold, an Indian wedding is a celebration full of customs and traditions, and an all-out party for hundreds of guests! A huge country full of different cultures, each region of India<\/a> has its own cultural nuances that influence the pre- and post- ceremony rituals, but all are focussed on the happiness, harmony and prosperity of the bride and groom.<\/p>\n

The date of a traditional Hindu wedding is divined by a pandit (priest) who uses the stars to find the couple the most auspicious date on which to wed. The whole wedding lasts about three days, with pre-wedding rituals like \u2018mehndi\u2019, where the bride and her female family members and friends have their hands and feet henna-ed, and \u2018sangeet\u2019, a sort of mini reception where the bride\u2019s and groom\u2019s families come together for the first time with dancing, singing and food, on days 1 and 2.<\/p>\n

Day 3 is the ceremony and reception, the whole thing lasting about 16 hours! The groom has his own processional, parading up to the \u2018mandap\u2019 where he greets his parents and the bride\u2019s parents, who all then remove their shoes and enter the sacred space to await the bride. The bride arrives with bridesmaids and flower girls, escorted or carried by senior male members of her family. The wedding ceremony itself includes being physically bound together and steps around a sacred fire; Hindu couples can choose whether to exchange rings. The bride and groom then greet all the guests and receive their blessings before processing out of the ceremony. You\u2019ll note there is no \u2018you may kiss the bride\u2019, to avoid offending the sensibilities of older relatives.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Image Credit<\/strong>:\u00a0By Will (Flickr: L1020322) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

The reception is a huge party with lots of delicious food and (depending on the couple\u2019s religious beliefs) drink, dancing, entertainment, toasts and speeches. The bride and groom will have had a change of outfit at this point, but you can guarantee that it will be beautifully bright and embellished! The most popular and auspicious colour for Indian weddings is red so you can expect to see a lot of red saris and sherwanis but really, apart from white, any colours goes, and the brighter, the better!<\/p>\n

There’s always time at the reception for India’s most popular dance, Bhangra:<\/p>\n