Through my travels I have found that Punjab is a land onto itself. While the people share many traditions and customs with the rest of India, Punjab seems to have its own way of doing things. Marriage in India is always a special occasion but in Punjab it can last for more than a week. Indeed, my own wedding celebrations lasted nearly three weeks! It is important to note as your are reading information about Hindu Punjabi Weddings, that this is the general set-up. Not everyone follows these guidelines precisely when marrying. However, tradition has carried India a long way, and it would be important to realize that the actual marriage ceremony and words of the priest have not changed in thousands of years. There is something timeless and ancient about Hindu weddings no matter what part of India you are marrying in. The presence of fire, rice and water in the ceremony reminds us all of our link to the earth and its bounty. I hope you will enjoy my little wedding presentation and please contact me if you want to ask any questions, make any general comments, or just to chit chat. One final note: I have done my best to present the information here as accurately as I can, but I am human :-)

Well just like anywhere else in the world, you have to have a groom and a bride. The difference in India is that 9 times out of 10, the bride and groom are part of an arranged marriage. Please click here for more onarranged marriages After a bride or groom is selected there must be an acceptance of the alliance which is called Rokna or Thaka.

Also known as, Sagai. Often the engagement is formally announced after the bride and groom exchange rings among a small group of family, friends and perhaps a Hindu priest or pandit. While Sagai has existed for some time, the idea of having the bride and groom come together before the wedding is relatively a new concept. Until the past 20 years or so, it was very common that the bride and groom would not actually lay eyes on each other until the wedding night.
It is also important to note that the exchanging of rings is not always used. Uniting the idea of rings to marriage came much later. * In fact, my ring ceremony did not occur until our marriage vows were said and over on the night of the wedding. While it was highly documented on video and in photos, and received with great rejoicing from family members, there was no special significance placed on the ring ceremony itself. Unlike in Western cultures, words of love and promise are not said while the rings are being exchanged.

Also known as Chunni Chadana, this is one of the most beautiful traditions of Northern India in my opinion. Close female relatives of the groom travel to the bride's home bringing gifts mostly from the groom's mother. This could include clothing, jewelry, mehndi (henna), fruits, bangles, sweets and a red duppatta/chunni (a huge scarf). Most families today see their potential daugther-in-law as another daugther to bring pride and love to a household. Since the majority of brides live with their in-laws in India, this is a great way to make them feel welcome and cherished. * Of course sometimes, this is not possible because the bride's family home may be too far away as was the case with my own marriage. I came to India alone while my family had no choice but to remain in America. Please click here for more on cross-cultural marriage. My husband was very concerned about all the preliminaries before marriage being overwhelming for me and so he did his best to rearrange things in a way that would be suitable for our circumstances.

To this end, my mother-in-law, lovingly called Mummy, helped bring things together for us. This particular aspect of the marriage could not be carried out given the circumstances but that did not stop the women in my husband's family from making me feel welcome. They lavished gifts, food and love on me (a perfect stranger at the time). It is my belief that the beauty of India lies in her women.