Sikh wedding

The essential Sikh wedding ritual guide

The Akhand Paath marks the commencement of the Sikh wedding ceremonies. Happens on a weekend before the official wedding, Khand Paath is the reading of the entire Guru Granth Sahib within 48 hours. Engagement or Kurmai is the next important wedding event in the line. Usually, performed a week before the marriage at the Gurdwara or at the home of the boy, on this day the bride's family gifts kara, kirpan, sweets, and other auspicious items like coconut, dry dates, sugar and money to the groom. After the engagement, Vatna ceremony takes place in the afternoon hours, which mainly involves rubbing of the vatna ( a yellow paste made of turmeric flour and mustard oil) on the body of the groom. On the same day in the evening, Mehndi function takes place, which at times is combined with Sangeet too. Mehendi is one of the most important pre-wedding ceremonies in India. The beautiful bride-to-be adorns her hands and feet with striking designs. At some homes, even the groom applies a bit of mehndi on his hands and feet. Next day to the Mehendi is the main wedding day. On the same day, early morning, a chooda ceremony takes place in which the bride's maternal uncle make her wear a set of red and white ivory bangles dipped in buttermilk (if not ivory then plastic can be the other option. After the chooda ceremony, the bride gets ready for the wedding, which takes place in the afternoon.

The most noticeable feature of the Sikh wedding is that they all take place in a Gurudwara. Religiously called Anand Karaj, the wedding ceremony takes place in the respected presence of the holy book ‘Guru Granth Sahib Ji’ and is held with extreme soberness. The ceremony starts with the morning hymn, Asa di var, and the Ardas (a prayer for important tasks). The bride and groom take fours round trips (pheras or laavan) around the sacred Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Each phera has a verse associated with it which describes the various stages of the marital love and the importance of a wedding. In between every phera, bride and groom bows in front of Guru Granth Sahib, while members of the wedding party sing hymns to seek God's blessings. The wedding concludes with the final phera. In the evening, reception also takes places but that doesn't have any spiritual significance. Some people take a lot of effort in planning a wedding reception. They make a point to hire a wedding planner to make it a memorable experience.

To plan that perfect Sikh wedding, Tour My India's wedding consultant are there to give the best services. One of the leading wedding planning agency in India, Tour My India have accomplished many weddings, be it unique, classic or contemporary in style. We take up complete wedding planning projects, which includes every minor detailing- from the invitations, travel, and accommodation to Give-Away tokens, Thank You Notes and more. We also organize destination Sikh weddings.