Hindu weddings are some of the most vibrant, colourful and interesting weddings around. There are a host of events, each filled with sacred tradition and meaning where not just two souls are joined together, but it is also the union of two families. For the uninitiated, it is easy to get lost in the rituals but since our team has experienced quite a few Hindu weddings, we’re here to help you find your way around if you’re ever invited to one!
There are a few important stages, which are the key elements of the Hindu wedding ceremony. The whole thing usually takes place under a canopy called a mandap. It is always beautifully decorated.
To have a smooth wedding ceremony, Ganesh Poojan is performed a few days before the wedding or even the night before. This is when the priest offers a prayer to Lord Ganesha (the elephant headed god) to remove any obstacles so the ceremony can proceed without hindrances.
The groom is welcomed as he makes his entrance during the Jayamaala or Vara Yatra ceremony, amidst much singing and dancing. In fact, music is a key component throughout the Hindu wedding! The bride’s parents, family and friends greet the groom and his party while blessing the groom with rice, applying tilak on his forehead and placing a garland over his head. He is then led to the mandap to await his bride-to-be.
The bride is then offered in marriage to the groom in a solemn ritual called Kanyadan, which means “gift of a maiden”. It is often accompanied by the giving of a dowry. In this ritual, the father places his daughter’s hands into the groom’s, signifying that she is separated from her family and incorporated into the family of her husband’s. Speaking of hands, the bride’s hands are usually decorated with intricate henna designs.
The groom takes his bride’s hands in his to signify his acceptance of the bride as his lawfully wedded wife and ties the first knot of the mangalsutra around the bride’s neck. His sister ties the other two knots symbolizing acceptance into the family. The mangalsutra is a holy thread with gold pendant, a symbol of marriage and the sacred bond between a husband and his wife. This is considered one of the most important rituals of a Hindu wedding.
The Saptapadi is the main and legal part of the ceremony. A marriage knot is symbolized by tying the end of the groom’s scarf to the bride’s dress. The couple then takes seven steps around the fire, representing the seven vows exchanged between them – for nourishment, strength, prosperity, health, happiness, progeny and harmony – sealing their marriage forever. No ceremony is complete without this.
The wedding ceremony ends with a benediction by the elders and priests in the Ashirvada. The couple is blessed for a prosperous married life ahead of them.
When the rituals are over, then comes the food and more dancing and singing! Everyone really gets into the groove, whether young or old. That’s one of the reasons why it’s simply so fun! Of course, there are a few variations to the customs and some additional ceremonies. Each one is timeless. Each one presents a wonderful photo opportunity and we love being a part of it!
If you’d like to see the ceremony in action, have a look at Jason and Seetha’s wedding ceremony here:
Contact us if you would love to have our team photograph your Hindu wedding ceremony.
When Poornima first met Puvan, she barely glanced at him. To her, he was just a typical, carefree teenage boy. It was only after 4 years of being batchmates in college did his true heart reveal itself to her. At this point, she kind of felt that he was the one for her, but they were studying in India, and after coming back to Malaysia, they were working in different states. The lack of time together and long distance proved to be much more of a challenge than they thought and it made them grow apart.
But during that 1.5 years apart, their hearts were still ‘together’ which lead to the clarity of their minds… that they will never find a better companion apart from each other. So they broke up as kids, but got back together as adults. Adults who are ready to move on to a better phase of life.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding day with us, Puvan and Poornima, including the Ponnurukku ceremony. What I enjoyed most about your wedding was seeing some of our older clients there at the wedding, and not to forget, jumping out of my car in the middle of Brickfields traffic to photograph your bridal car that broke down. Thank God everything went well after that! Looking forward to our years of friendship! May you be filled with beautiful memories from these images years from now.
It was Vijay’s tall frame with his broad shoulders that caught Anuja’s attention. They were studying their A-levels at the Methodist College Kuala Lumpur, and it was somehow fate that connected Vijay and Anuja together. Fate that came through the hands of Thanuja, Anuja’s twin sister. She was the best of friends with Vijay, and through her, Anuja got to know Vijay. According to Vijay, “Somehow, Anuja caught my attention as she was the lesser evil, quiet and quite shy!” (insert cheeky emoticon!)
Ten years later, they tied the knot.
Anuja said, “We wanted a traditional Southern Indian wedding (I a Malayalee and him being Ceylonese) that was celebrated in private with close family and friends. For the temple decorations, I wanted jasmine and marigold with a peach and gold cream colour so we worked around that theme with my wedding planner. For the reception, it was dark red roses with white hues.
Ensure you do your research before hand. We did ours at least one year prior to our wedding and knew what we wanted and where we would and would NOT compromise in terms of cost. For eg ,we booked our wedding venues a year before the wedding as to avoid the GST that was to be implemented April 2015. We had friends and relatives all over the world that came for our wedding- London, Australia, Bali, USA, Spain, Mauritius, New Zealand – so ensure you spend quality time with your family and loved ones and enjoy every moment! It is, after all, once in a lifetime!
Practicing the Viennese waltz (first dance as husband -wife) from scratch one week before our wedding reception was the highlight of the wedding for me. We did a crash course but it was really fun and allowed the both of us some personal time and a breather from the crazy wedding preparations.”
What a fun wedding it was. Have a look at their wedding video highlights and you’ll see what we mean!
There is just an unexplainable feeling that you get that makes you KNOW that he’s the one. I thought that all these kinda things happens in the movies but it was only then that I believed it…
How It Began
Kog and I first met in 2010 at a party and got introduced by a mutual friend. It wasn’t love or hate at first or anything like that. We consecutively met and got to know each other. The more conversations we had, we more attracted we got. Naturally, we just wanted more.
Finally, in Feb 2011, he asked me out on our first date. We were just so comfortable with each other from the beginning. We went out on more dates, and just after 2 weeks he asked me to be his girlfriend. I really did like him, but thought it was going too fast, and all he had to say for that was; what is there to wait for when I already feel that this is so right! And I felt exactly the same!
The closeness we felt towards each other and the sense of ease that we have with each other just makes us grow as a couple. There was no fuss about impressing each other, no sweet talks, just us being us.
Kog is the only guy who has actually made me feel so excited even thinking bout him, made me feel butterflies in my stomach and has actually made me speechless! (that’s a first). All the things that i did not go through in my teens, i went through then.
We just fell head over heels for each other!
