One is the Haldi. The Haldi is a time of cleansing the bride and groom and blessing them. It includes lots of prayers, some music, a chance to place seed on the groom's (or bride's) head and bless them. Afterwards, the groom/bride is scrubbed down with turmeric paste. The paste is good for the skin and gives it a nice glow. It also cleanses it and cools the body. There are either 3, 5, 7, or 9 of these ceremonies. My friend's family does 5 of them. We participated in the 5th and final Haldi the morning of the wedding.
The wedding ceremony is very formal and much like ours back home. One significant difference is instead of exchanging rings (which is done at the engagement) a necklace is tied around the bride's neck by the groom. This act seals the deal. Another difference is all important people taking part in the service sit on stage. There aren't any traditional bride's maids or groom's men. It is a very long service with several readings, songs, speakers, and messages. The end signing of the marriage certificate is part of the service. Unfortunately, the camera men were in the way most of the time so I didn't get any good pics.
If you are on Facebook, you can look up the group: Sagar's Big Phat Banjara Wedding. There are pictures posted from various people who attended. If you are friends on Facebook with Robbi or Sagar's brother, Vijay, then you can also check out even more pictures.
The wedding ceremony isn't the end of the event. The next day was a huge reception thrown by the groom's family. The bride's family held one immediately after the ceremony. The day after the groom's reception there is a ceremony where the groom officially goes and takes the bride from her home and brings her into his family's home. After some other final visits and formalities the happy couple will be off to their honeymoon.
One key thing to remember about weddings here is that it is more about two families joining than two people. Yes, this was an arranged marriage but they did meet before their engagement. Please feel free to email any questions.
Another note: Banjara is the tribal group my friend belongs to. They are the origin of all gypsies.
