Weddings in India vary according to the region, the

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, the community and the personal preferences of the bride and groom. They are festive occasions in India, and in most cases celebrated with extensive decorations, colour, dresses, music, dance, costumes and rituals that depend on the community, region and religion of the bride and the groom, as well as their preferences.Sari nights and henna parties
, Amy Yee, The Financial Times, May 17, 2008 India celebrates about 10 million weddings per year, of which about 80% are Hindu weddings. Hindu marriage ceremony offering

Ceremonies in Hinduism

While there are many festival-related rituals in Hinduism, ''vivaah'' (

wedding 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 vo ...

) is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life.Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, Rajbali Pandey (1969), see Chapter VIII, , pages 153–233The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, James G. Lochtefeld (2001), , Page 427 Typical Hindu families spend significant effort and financial resources to prepare and celebrate weddings. The rituals and process of a Hindu wedding vary depending on region of India, local adaptations, resources of the family and preferences of the bride and the groom. Nevertheless, there are a few key rituals common in Hindu weddings – ''Kanyadaan'', ''Panigrahana'', and ''Saptapadi''; these are respectively, gifting away of daughter by the father, voluntarily holding hand near the fire to signify impending union, and taking seven steps before fire with each step including a set of mutual vows. After the seventh step and vows of ''

Saptapadi Saptapadi () is regarded to be the most important rite (Sanskrit: ) of a Hindu wedding ceremony. After tying the sacred knot known as the mangalasutra, the newly-wed couple takes seven steps together, during which the marriage is solemnised. Aft ...

'', the couple is legally husband and wife.P.H. Prabhu (2011), ''Hindu Social Organization'', , see pages 164–165 Jain and Buddhist weddings in India, share many themes, but are centered around their respective religious ideas and texts.

Other religions

Indian Sikhs get married through a ceremony called

Anand Karaj Anand Karaj ( pa, ਅਨੰਦ ਕਾਰਜ ānada kāraja) is the Sikh marriage ceremony, meaning "Act towards happiness" or "Act towards happy life", that was introduced by Guru Amar Das. The four ''laavaan'' (hymns which take place during ...

, a ritual started by the third leader of Sikhism,

Guru Amar Das Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Befo ...

. The couple walk around the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib four times. Indian Muslims celebrate a traditional Islamic wedding, with rituals include ''Nikah'', payment of financial dower called ''Mahr'' by the groom to the bride, signing of marriage contract, and a reception.Three Days of a Traditional Indian Muslim Wedding
, zawaj.com Indian Christian weddings followings traditional Christian marriage customs. Among Protestants in India, the betrothal rite celebrates the engagement of a couple, with prayers being offered for a couple and engagement rings being blessed by a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

. A day before the wedding, the Haldi/Ubtan/Mayun ceremony (as it is known in northern India) or the Roce ceremony (as it is known in the Goa area of India) is held, in which "haldi or turmeric paste is applied on North Indian Christians and coconut paste is applied on South Indian Christians." After some time, Indian Christians are married in a church wedding, during which, the couple meet in the presence of a minister, often in a church or place of worship. Readings from the Bible take place. The bride and groom take their marriage vows. The bride and groom often exchange rings as a sign of their endless love. Interfaith marriages in India, especially between Hindus and Muslims, have been the subject of legal constraints in some states, vigilante harassment, and fears of violence.

Marriage age

In the past, the age of marriage was young. The average age of marriage for women in India has increased to 21 years, according to the 2011 Census of India. In 2009, about 7% of women got married before the age of 18. Arranged marriages have long been the norm in Indian society. Even today, the majority of Indians have their marriages planned by their parents and other respected family members. Recent studies suggest that Indian culture is trending away from traditional arranged marriages. Fewer marriages are purely arranged without consent and that the majority of surveyed Indian marriages are arranged with consent. The percentage of self-arranged marriages (called love marriages in India) have also increased vastly, particularly in the urban areas of India such as

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

Wedding industry

Weddings are a major business in India. According to a report by

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

in 2017, the Indian

industry is estimated to be around $40–50 billion in size. It is the second largest wedding market after USA, which is at $70 billion. While the industry is very unorganised with small and medium scale businesses, there are also corporates who are trying to tap this industry. The prime factors for growth in the industry are the rise of middle class in India, an overall booming economy and use of social media. It is estimated that the cost of an Indian wedding ranges between ₹500,000 to ₹50 Million (from US$6,747.14 to US$674,743.50, respectively). An Indian is likely to spend one fifth of his total life time wealth on a wedding.

Destination weddings

Many Indian celebrities choose destination weddings, and Indians take inspiration from them. Both domestic and international destinations are popular for weddings in India. The destination wedding industry in India is estimated to cross ₹450 Billion in 2020.

Wedding photography

Pre-wedding shoots along with wedding photography are also having a big stake in Indian weddings. Average Wedding shoots can cost ranging from ₹15,000 to ₹100,000 per day.

Roka Ceremony At Indian Wedding

The “Roka ceremony is the first step toward marriage”. It is one of the most significant pre-wedding ceremonies in Indian weddings. In an Indian system, the boy, along with his parents and other family members, first see the girl. If the girl and boy like each other and give their consent to get married to each other, then the girl’s family will give some money, sweets, and gifts to the boy; similarly, the boy’s family will give money, sweets, and gifts, like gold jewelry, etc., to the girl.

References

External links

New York Magazine: "10 Things I Learned at My First White-People Wedding" By Beejoli Shah
September 26, 2014
Brass Bands: Tradition, Change, and the Mass Media in Indian Wedding Music (Baaraat)
Gregory Booth {{World topic, Weddings in, noredlinks=yes

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Indian wedding traditions