A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vows by a couple, presentation of a gift, and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or celebrant. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers, or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony, as well as superstitious customs.
A white wedding is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding originating in Great Britain.
A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures and Anglo-Saxon cultural spheres, the wedding dress is most commonly white, a fashion made popular by Queen Victoria when she married in 1840. In Eastern cultures, brides often choose red to symbolize auspiciousness.
Baraat or Varayatra is a groom's wedding procession in Indian subcontinent. In Indian subcontinent, it is customary for the bridegroom to travel to the wedding venue on a mare, accompanied by his family members.
A wedding invitation is a letter asking the recipient to attend a wedding. It is typically written in the formal, third-person language and mailed five to eight weeks before the wedding date.
A Hindu wedding, also known as Vivaha, Marathi: Lagna (लग्न), Bengali: Bibaho (বিবাহ) Kalyanam or Pelli, is the traditional wedding ceremony for Hindus. The wedding ceremonies are very colourful, and celebrations may extend for several days. The bride's and groom's home—entrance, doors, wall, floor, roof—are sometimes decorated with colors, flowers, and other decorations.
A Mangalsutra, or Tali, is a necklace that the groom ties around the bride's neck in the Indian subcontinent, in a ceremony called Mangalya Dharanam within a Hindu wedding. The necklace serves as a visual marker of status as a married Hindu woman.
The traditional Vietnamese wedding is one of the most important ceremonies in Vietnamese culture, which is influenced by Confucian and Buddhist ideologies.
A Bengali Muslim wedding is a Bengali wedding in accordance to Muslim faith.
Jain symbols are symbols based on the Jain philosophy.
Punjabi wedding traditions are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture with ritual, song, dance, food, and dress that have evolved over centuries.
Hindu wedding cards and invitations have a significant role in Hindu marriage, helping symbolizing eternal affection and bonding. These invitations are intricately designed on handmade paper with vibrant colors in order to better express the emotions felt by the bride and groom. They embody the joy, liveliness, and celebration of the Hindu matrimonial ceremony. Hindu invitations often feature religious symbols like Lord Ganesha and Mangal Ghat in order to seek divine blessings. Over time, the significance of these Hindu cards and invitations has evolved with the widespread growth of Hindu culture. Additionally, it is customary to present the wedding cards to the eldest members of the family first, seeking their blessings. Hindu wedding cards serve as a means to invite and honor the presence of loved ones in the family.
Indian wedding clothes are elaborate set of clothes worn by the bride, bridegroom, and other relatives attending the wedding.
Muslim marriage and Islamic wedding customs are traditions and practices that relate to wedding ceremonies and marriage rituals prevailing within the Muslim world. Although Islamic marriage customs and relations vary depending on country of origin and government regulations, both Muslim men and women from around the world are guided by Islamic laws and practices specified in the Quran. Islamic marital jurisprudence allows Muslim men to be married to multiple women.
The Telugu Hindu wedding ceremony is the traditional wedding ceremony of the Telugu people in India. In the 19th century, the ceremony could last up to sixteen days. In modern times, it can last two or more days, depending on the family's financial and social status. The pelli or wedding is considered the strongest of social bonds, and is said to spiritually merge two souls opening the doors to gruhastaashramam. There is a Telugu saying that "Marriage is supposed to be a family union and not an individual formality." However, with changing mindset of the younger generation and due to globalization, marriage these days is being mainly focused solely on the union of the young couple only.
Bahaghara is a wedding ceremony performed by Odia Hindu people in the Indian state of Odisha. There are subtle differences in the rites observed by different castes. In Odia marriage rituals, the mother of the bridegroom does not take part in the ceremony. The Utkala Brahmins have their weddings only in the daytime, preferably at midday or in the morning, while the other caste weddings are done during the evening or night. There is the custom of sending betel nuts to family friends for inviting them to the marriage. The first invitation is sent to the family deity as a respect to the lord. Marriages in Odisha are mostly fixed and arranged by the parents. Marriages for serving or capturing is not common.
Traditional Hajong marriage is a ceremonial ritual that involves a marriage established by pre-arrangement between families. Within Hajong culture, romantic love and widow re-marriage was allowed, and monogamy was the norm for the Hajong people.
A kautuka is a red-yellow coloured ritual protection thread, sometimes with knots, found on the Indian subcontinent. It is sometimes called a kalava, mauli, moui, raksasutra, pratisara, kaapu, kayiru, charandu or rakshadhara. A kautuka is a woven thread, cord or ribbon, states the Indologist Jan Gonda, which is traditionally believed to be protective or apotropaeic. The pratisara and kautuka in a ritual thread context appear in the Vedic text Atharvaveda Samhita section 2.11. An even earlier reference to ritual "red and black" colored thread with a dual function, one of driving away "fiends" and the other "binding of bonds" between the bride and the groom by one's relatives appears in hymn 10.85.28 of the Rigveda, states Gonda.
Weddings in Myanmar, considered auspicious occasions in Burmese culture, reflect various ethnic, religious, and regional traditions. Depending on an individual's family social economic status, personal preferences and titles held, Burmese weddings can be religious or secular, and extravagant or simple. Wedding expenses are covered by the groom's family. Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country, and many wedding customs and traditions are influenced by Buddhism.
