Major Wedding Events

Custom and usage of henna (Mehndi):

Henna is practice which has become habitual with the members of a particular social group and passes current with them. The majority follower of this custom is Pakistan and India (Muslim, Hindu, Sikh). Henna is an event of wedding and people celebrate it according to their practice, this is not for the brides and groom but also for their relatives. People apply designs on their hands and for brides on their hands and feet.Henna is a practice of Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) in Muslim countries and for Muslims. For others it  is a custom. There are some beliefs of henna that if henna becomes dark red, the mother in law will love her or groom will love her very much.

Mehndi the Henna ceremony, or the Rasm-e-henna ceremony, typically takes place one or two days prior to the main wedding day. The event is traditionally held separately for the bride and the groom The henna is symbolically placed on the couple's hands. The groom's friends and family bring along sweets and henna for the bride, and the bride's family does the same for the groom. On the bride's ceremony, the groom normally does not participate and similarly, on the groom's event the bride stays at home. Female guests are sometimes offer mehndi at the host's discretion.

Traditionally, since there were separate functions for both the bride and the groom, the groom's function was called 'Tael' (oil) where female guests put some oil into the groom's hair. With the ceremony now held simultaneously for both the groom and the bride, the use of the term 'tael' has diminished greatly. In some cases, the entire ceremony is instead referred to as "Tael Mehndi" (Oil and Henna) ceremony.

The bride normally wears a green dress or yellows/orange for the Henna celebration and uses only light, or mostly, no make-up. The groom will typically wear a casual Shalwar Qameez. The bride and/or the groom are brought forward in the ceremony under a decorative dupatta by their close relatives. In the bridal ceremony, a certain number of married women who are closely related to the bride apply henna to her hands, and feed her sweets. This ritual is supposed to bring good luck and longevity to the bride's married life. Similarly, on the groom's side, oil is applied to his head and sweets are fed to the groom.

A song competition also occurs in the Rasme Henna or Mehndi celebrations between the bride and groom's side. Young women and men will sing teasing songs about the other side (where the bride's side pokes good natured fun at the groom's side and vice versa) and try to compete in this ritual sing song. Sometimes elaborate musical and acting performances are part of the Mehndi celebrations. Elaborate dance sequences and competitions between the bride and groom's families are also quite common these days.

Traditionally, the Mehendi was considered a women's event and men did not participate in it. The sing song etc. was left almost entirely to women. However, this has changed substantially in recent times with males featuring prominently in the Mehndi celebrations as well. A recent trend gaining popularity is to announce a color theme for the mehndi whereby guests are supposed to dress up in a particular color. Commonly used colors are bright reds, oranges and yellows.

Custom and usage of henna (Mehndi):

Henna is practice which has become habitual with the members of a particular social group and passes current with them. The majority follower of this custom is Pakistan and India (Muslim, Hindu, Sikh). Henna is an event of wedding and people celebrate it according to their practice, this is not for the brides and groom but also for their relatives. People apply designs on their hands and for brides on their hands and feet.Henna is a practice of Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) in Muslim countries and for Muslims. For others it  is a custom. There are some beliefs of henna that if henna becomes dark red, the mother in law will love her or groom will love her very much.

Mehndi the Henna ceremony, or the Rasm-e-henna ceremony, typically takes place one or two days prior to the main wedding day. The event is traditionally held separately for the bride and the groom The henna is symbolically placed on the couple's hands. The groom's friends and family bring along sweets and henna for the bride, and the bride's family does the same for the groom. On the bride's ceremony, the groom normally does not participate and similarly, on the groom's event the bride stays at home. Female guests are sometimes offer mehndi at the host's discretion.

Traditionally, since there were separate functions for both the bride and the groom, the groom's function was called 'Tael' (oil) where female guests put some oil into the groom's hair. With the ceremony now held simultaneously for both the groom and the bride, the use of the term 'tael' has diminished greatly. In some cases, the entire ceremony is instead referred to as "Tael Mehndi" (Oil and Henna) ceremony.

The bride normally wears a green dress or yellows/orange for the Henna celebration and uses only light, or mostly, no make-up. The groom will typically wear a casual Shalwar Qameez. The bride and/or the groom are brought forward in the ceremony under a decorative dupatta by their close relatives. In the bridal ceremony, a certain number of married women who are closely related to the bride apply henna to her hands, and feed her sweets. This ritual is supposed to bring good luck and longevity to the bride's married life. Similarly, on the groom's side, oil is applied to his head and sweets are fed to the groom.

A song competition also occurs in the Rasme Henna or Mehndi celebrations between the bride and groom's side. Young women and men will sing teasing songs about the other side (where the bride's side pokes good natured fun at the groom's side and vice versa) and try to compete in this ritual sing song. Sometimes elaborate musical and acting performances are part of the Mehndi celebrations. Elaborate dance sequences and competitions between the bride and groom's families are also quite common these days.

Traditionally, the Mehendi was considered a women's event and men did not participate in it. The sing song etc. was left almost entirely to women. However, this has changed substantially in recent times with males featuring prominently in the Mehndi celebrations as well. A recent trend gaining popularity is to announce a color theme for the mehendi whereby guests are supposed to dress up in a particular color. Commonly used colors are bright reds, oranges and yellows.

Bridal Showers(Mayon)

Bridal Showers (Mayon) is a gathering held for the bride-to-be who is showered with gifts and blessings by close relatives and friends. Planning a bridal shower is full of fun. The bridal shower ideas run around what the bride-to-be likes.Bridal shower theme parties are highly enjoyable and people can work out numerous themes and activities to make it a memorable event. Here are some bridal shower themes:

‘Pink for girls’ can be a good theme. The party room can be decorated with different items that are pink color. The windows can be covered with pink curtains. Vases with pink flowers (especially roses) can be placed at all the corners. The dress code for the ladies should be a pink outfit. One can arrange for a strawberry cake to be placed on a table at the centre of the room. Gifts for the bride should be wrapped in a pink colored gift paper. A large sized greeting card autographed by the invitees can be presented to the bride-to-be along with a big floral bouquet.

Colorful lights and candles for decoration can be an ideal theme for a cool evening.A warm welcome of the bride-to-be, by showering rose petals will be a great surprise. The presence of some close friends or relatives whom the would-be bride has not met since long will be a grand surprise to her. ‘Styles and fashions’ theme – organize a variety of accessories like nail paints, eye shadows, lipsticks and other cosmetics. The invitees need to come for the party in an outfit, the theme of which is pre decided. The girls can help each other with the make-up and other accessories for hair styles. A fashion show can be set for fun with a light music in the background.Good old childhood days are the most unforgettable! Decorating the venue with soft toys and dolls, placing bowls filled with chocolates and toffees will be a memorable theme.

Light snacks can be arranged to munch around during the party. Pastries, Sandwiches, Fries, toppings etc are some of the delightful munchies for the girls to enjoy. Cold drinks, fruit juices and cocktails etc will be good enough in addition to the eatables.Activities add more enthusiasm to the party. Gift wrapping competition can be organized. Invitees should wrap the gift in the most creative way to be the winner.Activities for a bridal shower can have competitions like greeting card making with an innovative message for the Bride-to-be.The bride’s chair can be decorated with satin ribbons and flowers. Cushions can be placed all around to make the guests comfortable.

The invitation card for bridal shower can be designed as per the theme and the activities planned. The card can be of the following shapes: wedding bells, wedding cake, bridal gown, floral bouquet etc. Flowers made from colorful craft papers can be used to decorate the invitation cards.Take away gifts, as a token of the event, can be planned for the guests. It may be an attractive show piece, a coffee mug with a ‘Thank you’ message, a small carton of sweets or a bunch of fresh roses.Bridal showers are one of the events in ones life that leave a long lasting memory in the years to come. Creative themes and ideas make such events unforgettable for lifetime.

Mayoon or Mayon in Pakistan:

Mayoon or mayun is celebrated at the bride's house. Usually the bride's friends and close relatives get together at her house to dance and sing, often accompanied by drum music. Generally, the bride's family give bangles and sometimes clothes to her friends, depending on what the family can afford. The evening also usually includes a henna where the women decorate each others' hands with Henna. The mayoon can last up to late night. The bride usually wears a simple yellow Shalwar Kameez. Traditionally, Mayun meant the custom of the bride entering into the state of seclusion eight to fifteen days before the wedding. She is made free of all the chores and errands during this time. However, since most women work in present times, Mayun has been reduced to a single night celebration of singing, dancing and applying Ubtan to the bride. The bride and groom are not allowed to see each other after the Mayun begins.

The beautification rituals begin during this time, such as the application of Ubtan. Ubtan is a paste made from turmeric, sandalwood powder, herbs and aromatic oils, which groom's mother brings for bride. She blesses bride and applies “ubtan’ to the bride's hands and face. Groom's sister also does the same, and a thick string called a “gana" ( Bangles made of Flowers) is tied to the bride’s arm. “Ubtan” is applied to the bride's skin each day leading up to the wedding. It was supposed to encourage a glowing, fresh complexion for the wedding day.

Wedding Ceremony:

Wedding is a new start of life with someone, with hopes and trust. Wedding ceremony is celebrated with full of joy and according to the customs of people. on this occasion people want this day to be most beautiful day of their life and spends lots of money on their customs and arrange great meal t and all the relatives, friends and neighbor invited to celebrate their joy. people used to invited by  Invitation cards.

A Wedding (Shaadi) is when the bride's reception formally takes place. The event takes place at the bride's house where large wedding tents may be set up in the garden or a nearby place. It has also become very common to hold the event in a marriage hall or hotel. The bride's family is responsible for the reception and arrangements of the day.

The barat or grooms procession indicates the arrival of the groom's family and friends to the bride's house. The barat is often accompanied by the rhythms of a dhol (drum) as it arrives and is greeted with flowers and rose petals by the bride's family. It is customary for the bride's sisters and friends to stop the barat from entering the arena until a sufficient amount of cash is given to them. This can lead to bantering, but usually harmless and just for fun, between the bride's sisters and friends on one side and the groom's brothers and friends on the other side.

The bride traditionally wears a red,pink or purple gharara, lehenga or shalwar kameez which is heavily embroidered. However, other bright colors may also be worn. The dress is always accompanied with heavy gold jewellery. The groom may wear a traditional dress such as sherwani with a sehra or turban though some may prefer to wear a western inspired suit.The nikah is the Islamic marriage contract ceremony. It either takes place at the Shaadi itself or on a separate day at the bride's house, before the shaadi event.

It is performed by an imam which formally indicates signing of the marriage contract. The bride and groom must both have two witnesses present to ensure that the marriage is consensual.A dinner is served which consists of several dishes with meat featuring heavily in the meal. Some of the well represented dishes serve in a wedding meal.

Reception Party or Walima:

 The next day after the marriage the groom holds a grand feast called reception party or Walima. Relatives,friends and neighbours are invited it's a way to announce to others about the new marriage.

Walima is the final day of the wedding held by couple as they host their first dinner as husband and wife. The groom's family invites all of the bride's family and their guests to their home for a feast at their home or a marriage hall. The walima is typically the most festive event of the wedding ceremony and intends to publicize the marriage.

The bride wears a heavily decorated dress with gold jewelry provided by the groom's family. Typical color palettes are green or pastel shades.

Welcome to the Wedding Centre

Marriage, a Beautiful relation between a man and a women. Marriage is that relation between man and woman in which the independence is equal, the dependence mutual, and the obligation reciprocal. Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that create their relation and two lives joined together, two heart that beats as one. Marriage signifies the birth of a new spirit, a spirit which is a part of each of us, yet not of any one of us alone. This "birth of spirit" reminds us of spring, the season when all life is reborn and blooms again.

Marriage is a relation to build each other up, to strengthen and sustain, to keep companionship lovely and alive with dignity respect and understanding. Almost every marriage starts out as a huge celebration. Together with their family and friends, each couple is full of hopes and dreams for their future life together.A happy marriage perhaps represents the ideal of human relationship, a setting in which each partner, while acknowledging the need of the other, feels free to be what he or she by nature is: a relationship in which instinct as well as intellect can find expression; in which giving and taking are equal; in which each accepts the other Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that create their relation.

Marriage is the union of two different surnames, in friendship and in love, in order to continue the posterity of the former sages, and to furnish those who shall preside at the sacrifices to heaven and earth, at those in the ancestral temple, and at those at the altars to the spirits of the land and grain. Marriage is a relation in which three things remain Faith, Hope and love. These three things are the key to successful marriage.

 A marriage is usually formalized at a wedding or marriage ceremony. The ceremony may be officiated either by a religious official, by a government official or by a state approved celebrant.

 Pakistan and other Muslim countries Marriages:

Marriage in Islam is sacred, not just in terms of the ceremony itself but as a stage in life as a whole. In many Muslim countries  Marriage is recommended as a religious requirement. In muslim cultures and countries like Pakistan, U.A.E, Iran, Iraq etc ,living together is not allowed before marriage.Therefore,the couple needs to go through the marriage rituals before they can live together their lives. Traditional muslim marriages are always big events.In muslim culture marriage is an occasion where friends,family and neighbours are all invited. Brides wear heavily ornated dresses and gold jewellery.


For a marriage to take place certain conditions are required:
1. Consent of both parties.
 2. Mehr which is gift to the bride from the groom.
3. Witnesses.
4. The marriage should be publicized not kept as secret.


Nikah and Mehr:
The only requirement for Muslim weddings is the signing of a marriage contract called" Nikah".The bride and the groom mutually agree and sign the contract and it shows their consent.. At the nikah ceremony two witness are required the nikah contract also includes Mehr. The new couple repeat the word Qabul which means in Arabic “I accept” three times. After the mutual acceptance, bride and the groom and the two witnesses sign the nikah contract. Which makes the marriage legal according to the religious and civil laws. The next day after the marriage the groom holds a grand feast called Walima.Relatives,friends and neighbours are invited it's a way to announce to others about the new marriage.


European and some Latin American countries Marriages:
 There any religious ceremony must be held separately from the required civil ceremony. Some countries – such as Belgium, Bulgaria, France, the Netherlands, Romania and Turkey– require that a civil ceremony take place before any religious one. In some countries – notably the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Norway and Spain – both ceremonies can be held together; the officiant at the religious and civil ceremony also serving as agent of the state to perform the civil ceremony. To avoid any implication that the state is "recognizing" a religious marriage (which is prohibited in some countries) – the "civil" ceremony is said to be taking place at the same time as the religious ceremony. Often this involves simply signing a register during the religious ceremony. If the civil element of the religious ceremony is omitted, the marriage is not recognized by government under the law.
While some countries, such as Australia, permit marriages to be held in private and at any location, others, including England and Wales, require that the civil ceremony be conducted in a place open to the public and specially sanctioned by law. In England, the place of marriage need no longer be a church or register office, but could also be a hotel, historic building or other venue that has obtained the necessary license. An exception can be made in the case of marriage by special emergency license, which is normally granted only when one of the parties is terminally ill. Rules about where and when persons can marry vary from place to place. Some regulations require that one of the parties reside in the locality of the registry office.
Within the parameters set by the law of the jurisdiction in which a marriage or wedding takes place, each religious authority has rules for the manner in which weddings are to be conducted by their officials and members.

India and other Hindu Countries:
 The Indian subcontinent has historically been home to a wide variety of wedding systems. Some were unique to the region, such as Brahma marriage, Daiva marriage, Arsha marriage, Prajapatya marriage, Gandharva marriage, Asura marriage, Rakshasa marriage and Paishacha marriage. Their religious requirement is that their religion should be same, and sometimes there is insistence that the sub-denomination should be the same as well . Astrological signs/attributes should be compatible, if the two families believe in it; certain attributes are given weight, for instance mangal dosh, which was believed to cause marital discord, poor health and an early death for one of the spouses if an incompatibility existed.

Overall, marriage is a legal or religious ceremony by which two persons agree to spend their lives with each other until death. Marriage is your destiny, to begin each new day together, to share our lives together so we may with one voice glorify God.One of the good things that come of a true marriage is, that there is one face on which changes come without your seeing them; or rather there is one face which you can still see the same, through all the shadows which years have gathered upon it.  ~George MacDonald