India is such a mélange of sights, sounds, tastes and people. Not to mention a diverse geographical and cultural melting pot that is begging to be explored. A great idea for Indians / Non Indians residing abroad and people who haven’t been to this part of the world before, wedding tours in India are a fantastic way to get a fun holiday in as well as the nuptials. We can help you conceptualize and plan a beautiful private wedding in India with a well planned itinerary and come up with the perfect options to explore the country while you are here.
You can put together a wedding tour in India that involves travelling as well as other arrangements for the wedding at a destination of your choice, and a leisure tour as well. Once the wedding is over you could plan to explore the city or nearby surrounding regions and even tour different parts of the country and the must-sees, if time permits. If you want to take some fabulous and out of the box wedding photographs at various locations of your choice and certain spots in the city or country, those can be arranged as well and combined with a tour of India after the wedding is done with. With the option of traditional and contemporary wedding tours in India, your wedding day will be a part of a larger, more pleasurable experience.
We offer those ever-so-important services related to Indian style of weddings. In fact, we love all things in weddings to such an extent that we take pleasure in managing all aspects in a bid to make your special day an extraordinary one that will be forever remembered.
Looking to plan a multi-day celebration with elaborate and regal touches? Do you want your wedding to take place at a destination of your choice, but you have no idea how to go about it? Or, maybe you just need some help to pop the question in the most beautiful setting. We can handle it all!
Location Selection-
With gorgeous landscapes and stunning architectural wonders to pick from, our destination wedding packages in India offer the ideal synthesis of culture, tradition, and vibrancy. Trust us for one of a kind extravaganza that includes all the razzmatazz of a big fat Indian wedding! We promise a one-of-a-kind experience that you and the guests will remember forever.
Royal Wedding Choices-
| Udaipur | Jaipur | Jodhpur | Jaisalmer | Neemrana | Delhi |
Beach Wedding Choices-
| Goa | Kerala | Andaman |
Exotic Wedding Choices-
| Goa | Kerala | Rajasthan | Cruise | Hills |
Budget Management-
Planning and monitoring the budget related to weddings and events to execute your special day
Vendor referrals, attending vendor meetings and coordinating and managing deliverables right up to overseeing the execution of vendor services on the event date.
Assisting in the design and coordination of every aspect of wedding-related print material in keeping with the event theme
Food and beverage consulting and coordinating right up to offering menu design, styling, and managing the bar
Conceptualising, designing and coordinating all aspects of wedding design and décor, including lighting, floral set-ups and execution of themes, after understanding your vision
Arranging wedding photography specialists for every wedding-related event, pre-wedding shoot, engagement shoot and bridal photo shoot, in keeping with your vision
Wedding Videography / Cinematography–
Arranging wedding videography specialists across a diverse set of styles including traditional, documentary, quirky and Bollywood, in keeping with your vision
Traditional Indian Wedding Ceremonies–
Making arrangements for the actual wedding ceremony and every wedding-related event, including community-specific priests and arrangements
Bridal Styling: Makeup & Hair–
Consulting and coordinating with designers and professional stylists for hair, makeup, mehndi, accessories, wardrobe and sari draping in keeping with the latest trends and your body type
Bridal Styling & Personal Shopping–
Assistance with complete trousseau planning, shopping and packaging
Referring and coordinating a range of options relating to entertainment at the wedding and related functions, including live acts, live music, DJs, VJs, celebrity appearances, performers, dancers, artists, pyrotechnic shows, audio requirements, lighting design & special effects design
Suggesting and booking choreographers for dance performances including sangeet, special first dance, and planning locations for rehearsals
Ideating, sourcing and packaging themed giveaways or favours, event-related giveaways, gifts for Mehndi ceremony, and welcome hampers for guests
Organising and coordinating on-ground transportation services for the couple, family and guests
Organising and coordinating for private security services, chauffeurs, valet services and event staffing, as required
Designing a wedding website or app to offer information and fun facts about wedding to guests
Setting up and managing wedding and event registries at your choice of vendors
Assistance with insurance to offer protection for your events
Arranging for the procurement of wedding and event-related licenses
Ideating, proposing and designing timelines and production schedules complete with detailed itineraries and checklists for every event
Coordinating all aspects of décor, sound and light checks, transport, parking, welcoming guests, F&B management, and every other area that requires coordination for the smooth execution of the event
Arranging for your pre-wedding photography shoot — be it on an exotic beach, on the romantic streets. We arrange for everything from a professional photography team, travel, accommodation, styling, and more.
Pre-Wedding Planning Services–
Working together with the couple and families to plan and coordinate personal training services, spa and facial therapies, grooming and etiquette sessions. Our services also include planning all pre-wedding events like bridal showers, bachelor and hen parties.
Making arrangements for travel and hotel bookings, airport pickups, managing RSVPs, assisting with guest check-ins, hospitality desks and curated tours for your guests to experience the culture, nightlife and shopping of the wedding destination
We can help you with as much or as little as you require, from the extensive list of services above.
There are some common wedding rituals performed at both the groom and bride’s side. Let’s know them one by one and understand their importance and exuberance among families.
Roka or Shagun is a process of exchanging sweets, fruits, dry fruits, and clothes between a couple’s families. This event marks the consent of both families and the couple about their decision to get married. This ritual is also considered the first official step towards the new beginnings of life.
Barakhsa is a ritual when all dear one of the bride’s family, usually male members, gathers and goes to the groom’s home to bless him with gifts such as clothes, sweets, fruits as shagun. The ritual meant that the boy will now be the son in law of the family.
This ceremony usually takes place in front of close-knit family members. Traditionally, gold rings and gold chains are offered to the groom by the bride’s family members as a token of love, respect and acceptance in the family.
Just as Baraksha is performed at the groom’s home to bless the groom, Godbharai is a ritual performed to bless the bride from the groom’s family. In this ceremony, all the women from the groom’s family gather and go to the bride’s home and bless her.
A girl’s godbharai means that she is accepted as a daughter in law of the family. Just like Baraksha, a priest is invited to perform the rituals to get the god’s grace for the couple. The ‘to-be bride’ is also adored by gold products like chain or ring or bangles or all from the groom’s family member.
Instead of organizing two separate ceremonies at two different days in two different locations, families now choose one day with a common venue to host Baraksha and Godbharai. Now we call this day the Ring Exchange or Engagement Ceremony.
With the acceptance of marriage proposals, a couple come face-to-face and exchange rings in a private event amid close family members of both families. A priest is called so that he can perform all the worship that needs to be done for the couple so that they can receive God’s grace before beginning their new life. Gifts are presented to ‘the would-be bride and groom,’ such as sweets, and other gifts, including return gifts to all the guests.
A feast is also thrown with delicious cuisines and sweets. These days, dance performances and couple dances have become highly popular among many families.
An Indian wedding is a several day event filled with many rituals and requires all the near and dear ones to participate. The most interesting thing is these rituals start five or seven days before the wedding day based on the auspicious date or subah din shared by the priest.
These ceremonies mark the beginning of the wedding days leading up to the actual wedding day. Together it creates excitement and fun filled wedding memories. Let’s get the glimpse of a roller coaster ride of five or seven days pre pre-wedding ceremonies that are considered auspicious, significant, and involve participation of all sorts of people of the society along with extended family.
Chakri Matmangra, also known as Ghan Dhareti in some parts of the North Indian states, is marked as the beginning of wedding ceremonies. Seven married women come together to perform the ritual using emery stone by grinding bengal gram.
These Bengal grams flour are collected and is used on later days to prepare ubtan or an age-old face/body mask for bride/groom to help them cleanse their body. These women come forward either from the family or from the neighbourhood to perform the ritual. After this, all women together play dholak and sing shagun sangeet.
In Hindu pre-wedding ceremonies, a Mandap that translates to covered structure with pillars is set up at both the bride’s and the groom’s home. A priest is called to call the significant mantras while setting up Mandap means he invites all the gods and goddesses to sit and enjoy at the wedding home till the weddings get over and shower their blessings to the couples.
The mandap is adorned with floral decorations and bells, and consists of four pillars, symbolizing the four parents who worked hard to raise their children. The mandap is significant to Hindu weddings as it serves as the stage for which guests and family witness the couple wed.
In the same event, Lagna is written by the priest on a paper after which to-be bride and to-be groom are not allowed to step out much from the home till their wedding day.
The same lagna paper is sent later to the groom’s home in time for the tilak ceremony. The dholki and dance celebrations start from Lagan Day.
Ancestors or forefathers hold a crucial place in Indian families even in Hindu weddings. Cylmain or mantri pooja is the ceremony when priests send invites to forefathers or ancestors for the wedding as a guest and bestow their blessings to their children and grandchildren.
This is the ceremony when food is cooked and served to the extended family for the next few days till the wedding day. All the extended family members and guests eat together in the wedding house which is a celebration in itself.
Haldi function is the most fun-oriented ceremony in an Indian wedding. One can find different rituals that happen in various parts of the country in the Haldi ceremony. The thick turmeric paste is applied to the bride in the morning before the wedding. In north India and a few other parts of India, the Haldi ceremony happens after the Mehndi night.
Applying haldi brightens the skin by detoxifying the skin of the bride and groom for the big day, and the yellow color indicates purity and glowing health. In some parts of the nation, the bride and groom with all the relatives wear yellow colored dresses on that day.
As per the beliefs, yellow color stands for prosperity and goodwill and invites happiness in newlyweds’ lives.
Mehndi or Henna represents growth, harmony, and freshness. It is the reason, the mehndi ceremony is held the night before the wedding and is beautifully applied to the hands and legs of the bride. In some families, the groom’s hands are also beautifully filled with henna designs. The purpose behind the ceremony is to wish the couple good health and prosperity.
Not only this, females of the house also apply henna designs on their hands. Earlier, the girls of the family took the responsibility of prep for the ceremony. These days, henna artists are called for the ceremony.
Sangeet ceremony takes place before or after the Mehndi according to the rituals of different parts of India. Sangeet was initially a part of the engagement, but it is taking place separately nowadays.
All the relatives and guests dance with joy, and everyone blesses the groom and bride for their bright married life. The sangeet function is commonly happening in a few parts of north India, but it is slowly expanding its legs over South Indian weddings. Those having a wedding planner will have a perfect sangeet function. The planners arrange dance performances having everyone a part of it.
However, this is the most witnessed. Usually, the bride’s brother performs all rituals. Apart from this, music and dance also take place in some families.
At the bride’s side, all the preparations begin to welcome guests and the groom for the wedding, but at the groom’s side several rituals are followed as said by or performed by generation to generation. Let’s also have a look at these groom’s side wedding ceremonies.
At the time of marriage, the boy and the boy’s mother are worshiped in a nearby temple after the groom sits on the horse. In a soup, 2 earthen balls, skewer rice, turmeric, and batase are kept. The mother worships the well with rice, turmeric and batasha, after that the groom makes seven rounds around the well, which means seven rounds.
Picks up a skewer for every circumambulation and puts it in the well. That’s why I keep seven skewers in the soup. The mother then pretends to be angry and threatens to jump into the well. The groom laughs and celebrates the mother and says mother, don’t be angry, I will bring a red daughter-in-law for you.
After that the groom leaves the procession without looking back without looking at his face in the bowl of oil. It’s an old custom and is performed in almost every family the same way narrated here.
Vidai is an emotional moment for the bride and her family. It indicates the end of the wedding function. The bride throws five handfuls of rice grains back to their family to show that she has paid whatever she got from her maternal home. The throwing back of rice doesn’t take place in every part of India.
As the bride leaves her house, father and brothers push the vehicle in which the bride sits to move to be welcomed in a new home, symbolizing a helping gesture of love towards the bride. The post-wedding functions are renowned with different names across the country with the same feelings.
The dwar rokai ceremony is commonly happening in northern parts of India. It takes place when the bride comes to the groom’s home after vidai. The sisters block the entry of a newlywed couple to enter the house and confront the wish of getting gifts from the groom in exchange of allowing him to enter the house with his wife. There is a little light-hearted argument that takes place, and everyone enjoys the moment.
After the dwar rokai, the griha pravesh ceremony takes place. The bride is allowed in the house with all respect and joyful hearts. A small arti also takes place. The bride then pushes the jar/kalash full of rice with the right toe and then enters the house. This moment specifies that the family has not only allowed her in, but also accepted her as a family member.
One such awesome and fun-filled post wedding activity is “find the ring” or “Fishing the ring”. Hindus follow their wedding rituals with full enthusiasm and fun. This fun filled ritual is performed by the bride and bridegroom. In this ritual, a ring will be hidden deep inside a thaal or bowl filled with milk, water, Kangnas, flowers, vermilion, and other objects placed in front of the bride and groom.
This thaal is placed by the sister in law of the bride and the couple is asked to find the ring from the thaal. Both the bride and groom are meant to put their hands into the bowl or thaal together and search for the rings by using one hand only.
It is the best of seven series, and the one, whosoever finds the ring four times is announced as the winner of the game. At times the audience also starts prompting cheer whosoever they wish to favor.
Mooh Dikhayi ceremony is the crucial post-wedding affair. The relatives get to see the bride and offer gifts like gold or silver ornaments to her. Especially the groom’s mother offers gold or presents as a token of love and welcome.
The reception function is the official introduction of the bride to the groom’s family. A feast is thrown by the groom’s family that welcomes the family of the bride as well as all significant people from the community and neighbourhood. These days, music and dance have become a common part of the reception ceremony.
The pag phera takes place after the wedding chaos ends. The bride is taken to her maternal home by her brothers, where she stays there for a few days. After that, the groom visits her at her maternal home to take her wife back to his home.
The couple receives gifts from the bride’s father as shagun. This marks the end of the three-day-long auspicious wedding ceremonies and a new beginning for the couple as married people.
Wrapping Up
Hindu weddings and their ceremonies are full of rituals, fun, and emotions. It’s a moment where two families form a strong bond. The above-mentioned post and pre-wedding ceremonies in Hindu families may differ from region to region but the joy of celebration and feelings remain the same.
We don’t offer set packages — that’s because we believe that no two weddings should ever be alike. What we do offer, instead, is a complimentary consultation session that lets you choose from our list of extensive wedding planning services. Based on your budget, taste, vision and requirements, we then come up with a personalised wedding proposal that suits your needs and preferences.
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