Wedding Ceremony

The bride and groom arrive the the wedding separately. The bride arrives first and goes into the bridal chamber to wait. The groom arrives and is greeted by the bride's family at the wedding venue entrance. The priest leads the groom in a prayer in the Shaadi Mandap (wedding gazebo). The bride enters the wedding hall and after removing her shoes joins the groom in the Mandap. The couple exchanges flower garlands before sitting with the priest to pray. The Kanya Dan (the donation of a young girl) is preformed which symbolizes the giving away the bride and entrusting her care to the groom. It is considered the highest charity in Hinduism.
The bride & groom walk around the fire 7 times exchanging vows of duty and love, fidelity, respect and a fruitful union – stopping after each point marked. The Groom fills the bride’s hair parting with red vermillion powder signifying she is now married. The groom then puts the Mangalsutra (gold and black bead necklace) on the Bride as a token love and respect which shows the world that she is married (very similar to a wedding ring in Western culture). After entire ceremony is done couple lean down and touch parent’s feet asking for blessings. After the ceremony the bride and groom go into private dressing area to play games (finding coins/bangles in colored water). The winner of the games is said to be the one who will run the household.