If you’ve been to an Indian wedding before, you probably realized that they are very different from western weddings. Like, “over-the-top-oh-my-goodness-look-at-all-the-colors-look-at-the-beautiful-bride-oh-my-where-do-i-look!!!”
Because in all honesty Indian weddings, and all South Asian weddings for that matter, are awesome. So fricking awesome! And I have 9 reasons why Indian weddings are awesome.
The Bride
Rubina & Rizwaan’s Muslim Vintage Chic Wedding by Straylight Studios.
It’s a universal truth that brides are always beautiful. But Indian brides get to look beautiful in not just one outfit, but several outfits!
And, as part of the tradition, Indian brides aren’t supposed to be happy on their wedding, they are supposed to be somber. Of course in reality, they are gleaming with happiness, their exterior experience is cool, calm, and collected. But every once in a while, you’ll see their smiles come through and it is a magical moment.
The Food
Deeba & Ali’s Chic Pink Pakistani Wedding by Kimberly Photography.
If you don’t like Indian food, then this is going to be the best wedding for you as a wedding guest to lose weight. Because almost everything is Indian (well, dessert is a full bar of goodness). Hot samosas, yummy mitai, fresh naan. YUMMMMMMMM!
It takes so much to control myself from jumping into a tikka masala bowl and eating my way out.
The Colors
Celia & Amit Catholic-Hindu Fusion Wedding by Day 7 Photography.
I don’t need to say more about this, do I? I mean look at all the weddings we featured! Color, color, color. Amazing! Men, bring out the colors in your suits, and ladies, don’t be afraid of being too colorful. There really is no such thing.
The Unity
Tharshini & Dushant’s Sweet South Indian Wedding by Divinemethod Photography.
Weddings are about family unity. While the focus in a western wedding today is on the couple, traditionally, weddings were about uniting families. Asians consider family unity the cornerstone of their culture. It’s no wonder that everyone plays a role in an Indian wedding.
From the maternal uncles who buy the bride’s wedding outfit, to the moms who plan and decorate, to the cousins who run around, there is part to play for every family member.
The Love
Anokhee & Mital’s Maryland Wedding by Mathy Shoots People.
All weddings are about love. It’s important we all remember that love keeps us together and love carries us through difficult times in life. And love makes life wonderful.
The Guests
Preeya & Pramod’s Hawaiian Wedding by IQPhoto Studio.
A South Asian wedding isn’t a South Asian wedding without a zillion people attending. Okay, I joke. A “big” wedding is at least 700 people and a “small” wedding is around 300 guests. Personally, the bigger the wedding the more overwhelming for the bride and groom. But for the guests, it’s a true party.
The Mehndi
Kerry & Jason’s Pink Peacock Wedding by Gucio Photography.
Who doesn’t love mehndi? I can never get enough mehndi at a wedding. The designs, the details, oh my oh my!
The Events
Eun Ju & Shawn’s Korean-Indian Fusion Wedding by Timmester Photography.
Indian weddings are never a one day affair. Whether the family chooses to have the other events be family only or on a small scale, an Indian wedding several days long. For both Hindus and Muslims, we take our weddings seriously, and that means a lot of festivities.
If you have the opportunity to be invited to most of the wedding festivities (like the mehndi, haldi, sangeet, etc), attend! You won’t regret it.
The Culture
Samina & Majhar’s Sweet Bangladashi Wedding by Kelly Ewell Photography.
Just about everything in an Indian wedding is culturally significant. If you ask, “what does this mean?” chances are there is an answer (although it’s hard to keep track of all).
I just want to go to weddings every week! Way.too.much.fun.