If you've seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and thought, "Wow, this is HUGE!" try attending an Indian wedding. Indian weddings are usually large and extravagant, with ceremonies lasting as long as six hours. Based on one's religious or regional culture, these wedding rituals can vary. Generally weddings have a haldi (turmeric) ceremony, henna ceremony, sangeet (singing and entertainment) ceremony, the marriage/suhag raat (wedding night) and "day after" ceremony where close family friends come over to exchange gifts (bao vat in Bengali). When you go to an Indian wedding, expect to not have any other plans. There are several amazing and unique things to expect of Indian weddings including the food, entertainment, colors, and idiosyncrasies. Here is a list of reasons why Indian weddings are "the best":
1. The food
This is usually the leading reason why Indians attend wedding ceremonies. Once there is a banquet lined up, you can expect a herd of people to run for their plates. At a vegetarian wedding, you can expect paneer masala (spicy diced cheese stew), potato dhosa (potato crispy crepe), basmati rice, vegetable sambar soup, puri (fried bread), and fritters. At non-veg weddings, you can expect chicken khichdi, stuffed ground beef samosas, and chicken tikka masala. There's a mix of spicy and sweet delights. Your host may offer you drinks such as rooh afza (fruit juice), mango lassi (juice/smoothie), or lemon sharbat. At any Indian wedding, you can almost always expect there to be sweets: ladoo, kheer, or my favorite -- syrupy jalebis.
2. The entertainment/unique ceremonies
Indians have some very unique traditions. At a Punjabi wedding, you can expect a showcase of Bhangra dancing, while there is Garba-dandiya at a Gujrati wedding, Indian classical dance, or Bollywood dance. At the "sangeet ceremony" there is a whole lot of singing. People can expect their parents or relatives to randomly get on center-stage and join in. There may also be "Antakshari" which is a game wherein a person starts singing a song and the next individual joins in, starting a song with the last syllable sung in the previous one. There are also competitions like musical chairs or "pass-the-pillow-before-the-music-ends." The winner may receive a gift from the bride or groom. It's overall pure enjoyment.
Here's a sampler from a Bollywood movie:
3. The beauties
At Indian weddings, everyone is expected to be decked out in colorful clothes and excessive jewelry. The brides typically wear romantic red saris, bangles, and head pieces, while the grooms may wear turbans, flower face covers, suits, or sherwanis. However, before this display the wife and groom have separate ceremonies where they may bathe with milk and cover themselves in turmeric paste in order to enhance their wedding glow. Both the bride and groom may wear henna temporary hand tattoos and flower garlands.
4. The funny/awkward/memorable situations
At most Indian weddings many funny situations take place, such as when the guests look for prospective brides or husbands, quite different from the flower-throwing ceremonies that American brides have. You can always expect juicy gossip, too. Oh, and there's also one strange ceremony in which the bride's family friends try to grab the groom's shoes when taken off during the wedding in exchange for money. This is while the groom's side tries to steal the shoes back to avoid excessive money spending.
5. The mode of transportation (pimp my ride)
One can expect the groom to ride on a horse to the wedding venue. While brides are treated as princesses, grooms are treated as princes. As alternatives, wedding cars are decked in flowers and ribbons or people may even use pedicabs or large wedding vans for travel.
6. The decorations
Wedding decorations are over-the-top. There are huge LED lights, and flowers -- mainly lilies, marigolds, and roses. LED lights may be strewn over buildings and reception areas while flowers and petals are strewn everywhere, with streamers.
7. The pictures: you'll have them forever
Indian weddings typically have great photographers and camera crews. Save these weddings in your memories.
