Hi there,
I am planning to have two ceremonies on my wedding day next year, one Indian and one American (FI's heritage is American), and am trying to figure out how short we can make the Indian ceremony while still doing justice to the traditions. I am South Asian but grew up in the US and have been to very few Indian ceremonies, so I don't really know what parts of the ceremony are "must do" and what is "nice to have."
We would like to do a bharat for some time coming upto the venue, but once we are seated at the mandap, I am hoping we can keep the ceremony to 45 min -- does this seem doable? I don't want to shortchange the culture but at the same time, am wondering how much meaning a longer ceremony would have to my extended family, given that it's typically conducted in Sanskrit and they can't understand anyway...
I have heard that one issue can be selecting the right priest -- some just get up there and take a lot longer than you expect them too -- I am hoping to avoid that. Any tips from brides who have been successful at limiting the length of an Indian ceremony? Any suggestions on parts of the ceremony that are critical versus not as important? I come from a Gujurati Jain background by the way, in case that matters.
thanks!