Indian weddings are some of the most lavish affairs on the planet, to the extent that many Indian couples will open an account to save for the wedding of their daughter as soon as she has been born. Just a small amount put away every month can mount up into a lot of money 20 years or more later.
This is just as well, because an Indian wedding and reception can easily run to 500 guests or more. Indian weddings are Muslim, Sikh, or Hindu celebrations, and while there are certain differences because of the religion or the regional area, there are some celebrations that are present in all of them.
There are all the different ceremonies that go on for days, starting with the Haldi, then on to the Mehndi, Sangeet/Raas-Garba, and finally the ceremony and reception.
Mehndi
The Mehndi is the ceremony during which the bride has her hands, arms, and feet painted in complex designs by a skilled artist using henna. As we have said before, it is more or less party time for the girls with lots of food, drink, singing and dancing. At Kenza Creations, we provide Mehndi decor and a Mehndi stage on which the bride can relax as the painting takes place, because it can take some time. Very often, the artist will include the name of the groom hidden somewhere in the design and then all the guests can have fun trying to find it.
Sangeet
The Sangeet is typically held on a Friday, and then the wedding itself and the reception on the Saturday. They are pretty much back-to-back party days with the Sangeet also complete with décor, food and drink and lots of Bollywood style dancing, the Raas-Garba being fun and energetic Gujarati folk dances that everyone can have a go at.
Then there is the wedding itself, which is no small ceremony, often taking place outdoors in the summer with the bride and groom under the Mandap which is a beautifully decorated canopy where they exchange their vows and follow ancient traditions. The groom often arrives astride a decorated horse, or in India it may even be an elephant, but today he may equally be sitting on top of a convertible.
Of course, the wedding reception follows, and for this we can create some stunning wedding table centrepieces for you. The food and drink go on and on, and so does the singing and dancing, usually well into the night.