Traditional Indian Wedding on a Cruise Ship
Get your colorful saris and flower garlands ready — it’s time for a traditional Indian wedding! Traditional Indian weddings are jovial, multi-day events full of bright colors, music, dancing, and many religious rituals to unite the bride and groom, as well as their families. Family is very important in Indian culture, and both the bride and groom’s families play a central part throughout a traditional Indian wedding ceremony.
A traditional Indian wedding takes place over the course of three days. It begins with several pre-wedding rituals that are thought to bring good luck and fortune to the couple, and culminates in the official wedding ceremony on the final day. Imagine colorful pre-wedding rituals, the pageantry of Baraat, a customary Mehndi, Milni, and Mandap, innovative fusion cuisine and authentic Indian flavors, a time honored Hindu wedding ceremony followed by modern dancing to Bollywood music, perhaps?
With experienced wedding planners, most of the components of an Indian Wedding on are cruise ship are possible. We appreciate that in Hindu culture a marriage is not only an eternal bond between the bride and groom, but also a union between two families. We aim to support and assist you in creating and flawlessly executing a memorable and joyous event for everyone.
Before we go into more detail about the options on a cruise ship, we would like to share with readers the most important components of an Indian wedding.
Indian Pre-Wedding Rituals
Pithi is an intimate ritual that is performed for good luck in the days leading up to a traditional Indian wedding. The bride and groom generally have separate Pithi ceremonies where family and close friends wish them luck and apply the Pithi paste to their skin. The paste is made up of turmeric, chickpea flour and rose water, and is thought to have great skin benefits, as well as being auspicious in Indian culture.
On the day before a traditional Indian wedding, the bride and her female family and friends will take part in a Mehndi ceremony. During this ritual, guests draw intricate henna designs on the bride’s hands and feet to symbolize joy, beauty, and spiritual enlightenment. The Mehndi ceremony is thought to bring the bride good health and prosperity in her marriage.
Following the Mehndi ceremony, it is customary for both families to come together and celebrate the union of the bride and groom in a Sangeet. Sangeet loosely translates to “music” in Sanskrit, and the festive gathering involves the bride’s family singing and dancing to traditional music to welcome the groom’s family to their family.
Indian Wedding Ceremony
On the third day of a traditional Indian wedding, the main wedding ceremony and reception take place. The wedding ceremony begins with the groom’s procession, called a Baraat. During the Baraat, the groom arrives to the venue on a horse and is accompanied by family and friends singing and dancing to the beat of an Indian dhol drum. The bride’s family greets the Baraat at the entrance in the Milni ritual, or meeting of the families, and the two families exchange floral garlands as a symbol of acceptance.
Following the Milni ritual, the bride’s family walks the groom’s party to an altar called a Mandap. The Mandap is colorfully decorated with flower garlands and symbolizes the home that the bride and groom will share. The priest then leads the Ganesh Puja, a prayer to the destroyer of all obstacles, Lord Ganesh. In Hinduism, all auspicious ceremonies begin with a prayer to Ganeshe.
After prayers and offerings have been made to Lord Ganesha, it is time for the bride to approach the Mandap. The arrival of the bride is called Kanya Aagaman in Sankrit, and during this ritual the bride is joined by family members to signify their approval of the marriage. Once the bride arrives, the bride and groom exchange floral garlands in the Jai Mala ritual. The exchanging of garlands symbolizes the couple’s offering and acceptance of one another.
The father of the bride then gives away his daughter in the Kanyadaan ceremony. In the Kanyadaan ceremony, the bride’s father pours water through his daughter’s hand and places her hand in the groom’s hand. In Hinduism, a woman is not able to be married unless she is given away by a man. This is followed by the Granthi Bandhanam, a ritual where the groom’s family members tie the groom’s scarf in a knot with the bride’s sari to symbolize the eternal bonds of marriage. During the Granthi Bandhanam ritual, family and friends come forward to offer blessings to the bride and groom and wish them good fortune.
The priest then begins the Vivah Havan, or lighting of the sacred fire. Fire, agni in Sanskrit, is sacred in Hindu culture and the Vivah Havan ritual symbolizes the presence of the divine as a witness to the wedding ceremony. Depending on which region of India the family comes from, the bride and groom then join hands and perform either the Mangal Phera ritual or the Saptapadi ritual. Both rituals are variations of the couple walking in circles around the sacred fire seven times, while affirming their commitment to the four ultimate goals in Hindu life: Dharma (moral values), Artha (prosperity), Kama (passion), and Moksha (spirituality). During this ceremony, the bride leads the groom in the first three rounds, and the groom leads the last four rounds to symbolize balance. All the while, the bride and groom are surrounded by their family, who make offerings of rice to symbolize their support.
Next, the bride is seated on the groom’s left side, the side closest to his heart, and the groom applies a red powder called sindoor to the bride’s forehead and hair. The bright red powder signifies the bride’s status as a married woman. Red also symbolizes prosperity and fertility in Indian culture. To show his devotion to his wife, the man adorns his bride in a black and gold beaded necklace called the Mangala Sutra ritual. At this time, the new husband and wife also exchange rings and feed each other traditional Indian sweets.
The final ritual of a traditional Indian wedding is the Ashirwad, or blessings. The couple thanks their guests for witnessing their marriage, then they seek Ashirwad from their elder family members first, followed by the remaining guests. Guests shower the new husband and wife with flowers and rice, while offering their blessings to the newlyweds.
Cruise ships offer a number of venues that can be used from the main theater, to ballrooms, lounges and restaurants. Decor and menus will be catering to accommodate all types of traditional celebrations. From choose the ship and sailing date, to the type of wedding package and private venues needed, let our cruise group wedding specialist help you decide on the perfect trip. Another helpful blog to read is Planning a Large group cruise which provides a bit more information on where to get started.
