Earn cash as you plan. Get a $20 gift card for every 200 points with The Knot Rewards
South Asian Weddings
How to explain cutsoms?
I thought it would be nice to include an explanation of some wedding customs that will be foreign to most of our guests. But I don't know how to explain the few Indian customs we're using without feeling like I'm missing something or over-explaining.
In a nutshell, we're going to have a fusion handfasting/wedding under a mandap and a fire and possibly the seven steps. I'm not sure about that last one yet - I'm trying to figure out a way to make those seven vows work with the six vows for the handfasting and I can't decide if we should do the steps before the cord ceremony (which takes up the bulk of our ceremony) or after the cords are tied. Maybe we walk around with our hands tied instead of our clothes?
Anyway. Does anyone know how I can concisely but accurately explain these customs to our non-Indian guests without offending the Indian ones? He considers himself more American than Indian and has no clue how to explain them. I'd ask his family for help, but they aren't supportive of us. He's only inviting his parents and his brother, and at the moment they're against our relationship at all. We're including those few customs because I like them, but they aren't even willing to talk to me, let alone help me with ANYthing related to the wedding.
In a nutshell, we're going to have a fusion handfasting/wedding under a mandap and a fire and possibly the seven steps. I'm not sure about that last one yet - I'm trying to figure out a way to make those seven vows work with the six vows for the handfasting and I can't decide if we should do the steps before the cord ceremony (which takes up the bulk of our ceremony) or after the cords are tied. Maybe we walk around with our hands tied instead of our clothes?
Anyway. Does anyone know how I can concisely but accurately explain these customs to our non-Indian guests without offending the Indian ones? He considers himself more American than Indian and has no clue how to explain them. I'd ask his family for help, but they aren't supportive of us. He's only inviting his parents and his brother, and at the moment they're against our relationship at all. We're including those few customs because I like them, but they aren't even willing to talk to me, let alone help me with ANYthing related to the wedding.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: How to explain cutsoms?
Our Married Bio
I haven't included an explanation of the fire itself because I didn't know how to explain it without including religion. Neither Ritesh nor I is Hindu and it doesn't make much sense to point out the religious aspects of the ceremony when we aren't religious. But here's what I do have. Would you lovelies be kind enough to take a look and tell me what needs to be added or changed? Thanks in advance!
The Mandap:
The mandap is a large canopy with four poles, under which most of the wedding ceremony takes place. A small fire is kept in the center throughout the ceremony.
The Sapta Padi (Seven Steps):
The couple walks around the fire seven times while seven vows are spoken. Each circle represents another vow.
The Hindu wedding ceremony is more than 5,000 years old. The ceremony is conducted in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India. In Hindu scriptural writings, marriage is considered a sacrament and not a contract. It is meant to unite two persons so firmly together that although they retain their two separate bodies, they become one in spirit.
PANIGRAHANAM – YYGroom and XXBride hold hands and agree that they will pursue the purusharthas – the four ends of human existence – Dharma (righteousness), Artha (prosperity), Kama (life’s pleasures) and Moksha (spiritual values). AKSHATAROPANAM – YYGroom and XXBride shower turmeric and rice on each other, a symbol of fertility and prosperity.
SAPTA PADI – It is Hindu belief that if one person walks seven steps with another, they become friends. Because marriage does not exist without friendship, the bride and groom take seven steps together. With the first step, we have started our life as a household. Let us walk together.Walk with me the second step for strength.Walk with me the third step for wealth and prosperity.Walk with me the fourth step for happiness.Walk with me the fifth step for our future children and for a long life together.Walk with me the sixth step for the joys of all seasons.Walk with me the seventh step for everlasting love.
http://aprendizdetodo.com/wedding/
http://hinduism.about.com/od/matrimonial1/a/wedding_rituals.htm
http://www.getmarriedohio.com/ceremony/hindu.php
Our Married Bio
The Mandap
The mandap is a large canopy with four poles, under which most of the wedding ceremony takes place. The mandap is considered as a sign of prosperity. Hindu traditions also say that the four pillars of the wedding mandap symbolize the parents of the bride and the groom and the critical role they have played in bringing up their children. A sacred fire is kept in the center throughout the ceremony.
The Sapta Padi (Seven Steps)
It is Hindu belief that if one person walks seven steps with another, they become friends. Because marriage does not exist without friendship, the bride and groom take seven steps together around the fire. These steps are symbolic of the couple’s journey through life together.
Our Married Bio