Wedding Blog

As I’ve mentioned before, our wedding ceremony is going to be a combination of Buddhist and Hindu traditions. A few months ago, Mr. Margarita and I reviewed the details of our ceremonies/traditions and came up with an integrated ceremony. Buddhist ceremonies are about 30 minutes long, while some Hindu ceremonies can last for over two hours. Mr. Margarita and I, however, would like to keep our combined ceremony to 1.5 hours. It’s still a pretty lengthy ceremony so I am going to break it up into three posts.

Baraat
An important and festive component of the Hindu ceremony is the baraat, or arrival of the groom. The groom generally rides in on a decorated horse or elephant and is accompanied by his family members, relatives and friends in big procession with dhol player(s), and dancing.

Mr. Margarita will actually be riding in on a elephant from Have Trunk Will Travel. Mr. Margarita’s younger cousin (if he will cooperate) will also be riding the elephant.

Image courtesy of Andrena Photography

Aarti/Milni
When the groom and his procession reach the wedding location, they are welcomed by the bride’s parents and elder members of the family. The mother of the bride performs Aarti, a traditional Hindu ritual, and applies tilak to the groom’s forehead to welcome and bless the groom. The bride’s family then greets the groom’s side with an exchange of garlands and introductions known as the Milni.

An example of Aarti (image from Flickr)

An example of Milni ceremony (image from Flickr)

Ganesh Puja
The groom’s side will then be offered refreshments and guests will be seated. Mr. Margarita and his parents will join the Hindu priest on the Mandap (a sacred platform/tent for Hindu ceremony)/Poruwa (wooden platform for traditional Buddhist ceremony). We will be using one large structure to serve as both a Mandap and a Poruwa.

Example of a Mandap

Example of a Poruwa

Traditionally in Hindu ceremonies, the bride’s maternal uncle walks the bride down the aisle. I am having both my parents walk me down the aisle instead. So while my parents make their way back to me, the Ganesh puja will be performed. The Ganesh puja is the worship of the deity Ganesh who is the remover of all obstacles and a symbol of wisdom and prosperity.

Coming up – My arrival

*Please note that although many of the core elements of a Hindu wedding traditions/customs remain constant, elements of the ceremony can vary due to differences in region, caste, family tradition, etc.