Indian wedding season generally each year starts around Sept/Oct till Dec. Most couples consult the astrology for the auspicious date. Indians love festivities and this is the festival time, with Diwali as well. Brides will be on the look out for the most fashionable and unique indian wedding outfits like lehenga, sari or western wedding gowns for the modern indian brides. Colours are vibrant with chilli red, maroon, yellow, orange, gold, white and red combination but never white on its own. Families will spend big on jewellery – gold being a traditional choice and some even spend on silver coins to send out with wedding invitations. Flowers are also very important for bridal garlands, hair decorations and wedding decor. Check out ozshaadi indian wedding directory for suppliers for indian weddings.
Archive for the ‘Indian Wedding’ Category
Indian wedding season approaching
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011Indian Wedding Directory
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011Dear OZShaadi readers,
Thanks for your positive feedback. We have launched an indian wedding directory for suppliers of Indian, South Asian (including Sri lankan, Malaysian, Nepalese, Pakistani, Bangladeshi) weddings. Please spread the word and invite your recommended suppliers to be part of OZShaadi community.
Hindu Priests and Religious Considerations
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Hindu religion plays a major role in an indian wedding. Traditionally, this starts from the birth time astrological readings of the couple to determine compatibility. This custom has carried on from yesteryears which involved formal arranged marriages. Nonetheless, even in modern times, this custom is still followed. I did it for the curiousness and ‘check’ the customary steps.
The next most important steps is choosing an auspicious date and time for the wedding ceremony. The hindu priest is consulted for this task. In Australia, some hindu priests can also conduct the legal marriage, which is just as important. For a complete list of indian temples and priests in Australia, contact the Hindu Foundation of Australia and the Hindu Council of Australia.
In all the fun and festivities of organising your indian wedding, don’t forget to organise to be legally married in Australia. You must visit the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in your relevant state for the information. In Victoria, the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages provides guidelines and answers to most frequently asked questions.
Firstly, there is a bit of paperwork to fill out like a Notice of Intended Marriage among other things. In Victoria, you can be married by an authorised minister of religion or a civil marriage celebrant. The Hindu Council and Hindu Foundation can help you in this regard.
Please comment if you think, I may have missed something or need to explain further.
* Image by Flickr
Traditional or Contemporary Indian Weddings
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
Ladoos
I am more finding more and more non-resident indians (NRI’s) who have lived overseas are chosing contemporary indian weddings. Traditional indian weddings have purely vegetarian menu with non-alcoholic beverages. There is also strictly no dancing and socialing with guests. Contemporary indian weddings, some call it their fusion wedding of two cultures maintains their indian culture but also the western culture that they are living in.
Increasingly, couples are choosing a cake cutting ceremony with the bridal waltz at their reception. Some couple are choosing to get married at the beach rather than the temple. Others are choosing more of a cocktail wedding rather than the formal luncheon or dinner affair.
There are many clever ways to fuse the elements of indian weddings with a western culture. As an example, instead of the wedding cake, have an assortment of indian sweets. You can also have a large pyramid of indian sweet ladoos instead of the wedding cake. Yumm…And don’t think that this is a cheaper or less classy option by the way. A kilo of indian ladoos will cost approx $22 which has approx 15 pieces. And to create a pyramid display would easily set you back more than $300 depending on the size of the display.
Do you have any other suggestions instead of a wedding cake?
Image by pavangupta, Flickr
Indian wedding preparations
Monday, March 16th, 2009Indian weddings are celebrated these days usually over 3 three days with the main wedding being held on the third day.
Day 1: Engagement / Tilak Ceremony
Day 2: Haldi & Mehndi Night.
Haldi by Avani B Patel
The bride has haldi (turmeric) applied all over her hands, feet, face and arms to make her skin glow in preparation for the big day. This is celebrated at the bride’s place and attended by women. After the haldi ceremony, mehndi is applied to the brides hands and feet in elaborate decorations and her nails are painted to get her ready for the main wedding event which is on the next day. This is a fun night with lots of songs. Other women also apply mehendi for fun.
Henna (mehndi) is also applied to the groom at his place by women to make him look really handsome for the big event. Although, the celebration at the groom’s place is more low key when compared to the festivities celebrated at the bride’s place.
Wedding Mandap by Fred Hsu
Day 3: Main indian wedding day. The wedding is conducted under a mandap (canopy like structure) by the priest. The bride’s parent’s give their daughter away and the couple make their vows by making seven rounds around a small contained fire. This ceremony last about an 1-1.5 hours. Most bride/groom chose to have the reception at the same time. But if money is not an issue, then elaborate evening reception follows after the wedding ceremony.