Tips for Attending your First Indian Wedding
Attending the weddings of friends and colleagues can be both joyous and stressful. It often takes a fair amount of planning to get to a wedding, purchase a gift, and ensure that you have the right attire for the event.
If you’ve been invited to an Indian wedding for the first time, you’re in for a treat. This cultural celebration is beautiful and breathtaking. However, when viewing everything from outside the Indian culture, it can seem overwhelming.
Here are some helpful tips for attending your first Indian wedding.
Understand the Dress Code
There are a few essential rules to remember when dressing for an Indian wedding. The most important rule is to dress in vibrant, cheerful colors. Black and white are considered mourning colors in the Indian culture. It’s also important not to wear red, as that is the traditional bridal color.
Instead, opt for bright blues, yellows, and greens with fun patterns and textures. Feel free to get a sari from a shop like Nihal Fashions to truly embrace the event. Men who prefer to wear suits can dress it up with a brightly colored shirt and tie. Women should avoid wearing short dresses and should consider covering their shoulders, as some ceremony venues have a conservative dress code.
Prepare for a Long Day
Indian weddings can span over three days, with various family rituals and events. In most cases, guests from outside the family are only invited to partake in the main event. However, it’s not uncommon for the festivities to take place over many hours with breaks in-between, or take place at odd times.
Take a closer look at the scheduled events to determine when you’ll be attending a ceremony and when you have downtime. This will allow you to plan your day and night accordingly.
Take Time to Understand the Customs
Indian wedding customs are fascinating and wonderful. Instead of taking a passive approach to your attendance, study up on what’s happening so you can understand and appreciate what you’re witnessing.
For example, you may notice that the bride and other female members of the family are adorned in henna. The henna is a part of the pre-wedding ritual, in which the female friends and family members of the bride are adorned with mehndi patterns.
The Holy Fire ritual often takes place during the ceremony, in which the priest lights a fire and the couple steps around it. This ceremony can take hours!
Taking the time to understand the customs will help you enjoy and appreciate the events more thoroughly. Of course, some couples choose to include some traditions and not others. You may only see a few of the many rituals during the wedding.
Consider Gifting Money
It’s a cultural expectation that the couple will receive money as a gift. Of course, this has evolved over time as customs blend. However, many couples prefer money or gift cards as opposed to boxed gifts at the wedding. While they may not come out and ask for monetary gifts, you can tell they prefer cash if they do not have a wedding registry.
When gifting money, the idea is to pay for your meal and attendance at the event. Use this as a guideline to choose an appropriate amount.
Book Your Accommodations ASAP
Another thing to note when attending an Indian wedding is that there are often hundreds of guests. So, if the couple has blocked rooms at a hotel for their guests, book one as soon as possible. Otherwise, you may find yourself scrambling to find nearby accommodations as the day gets closer.
Embrace the Spectacle
Finally, attend the event with an open mind and an open heart. The ceremony, traditions, food, and decor may seem foreign to you, but it’s still a celebration of love and togetherness. Try everything, be an active participant, and have fun!
Photo by DreamLens Production from Pexels
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