Hello!

Hello,
I am an american girl and will get married in India with an Indian. I want to know everything about the wedding ceremonies there.

Am I replying to myself? How does it work?

Gordis

First of all a BIG WELCOME TO OUR INDIAN FAMILIES and Congratulations.

We have different cultures and different traditions in each and every part of India.. Every tradition is very beautiful n has its own significance.

so can we know whom u r marring and in which part the marriage is taking part..

Skavi

Hello Skavi,

Thank you for your reply. Let me give you some details. He is from Mumbai and we are going to get married there. He has 10 years living in USA.
When I met his mother I was affraid that his family would not accept me because I am not Indian but fortunatly they did accept me becuse now they know how mcuh we love each other.
Even he is not very religious, his family is; and I respect their traditions. But I am confused because I would like them to respect my religion too. My fiance says that I can continue with my religion and going to church as I usually do but, on the other hand, I do not understand why he ask me to convert into hinduism if he personally doesn't even go to the temple.
I've heard that India is a country with different kinds of religion and traditions. Considering such diversity, I hope I can keep my religion and still getting married through the Indian ritual.
Being from another country, I have a lot of questions.
I love him so much and I want to make him happy but it is sad for me to loose my beliefs.

I appreciate your comments.

congrats! mumbai is a great place and a very buzzing city.. you'll have a wonderful wedding..
not sure why your fiance asked you to convert, but yes you can get married as per hindu customs without having to convert or attend any classes like pre cana.. hindu customs are very symbolic, and though the underlying rituals are the same, it varies from state to state and within each (i apologize ahead of time for this) caste as well.. so you might want to read up on that depending on your fiance's lineage and you will better understand what's happening.. and if you have family attending from here, you can always make program booklets..

congrats and happy planning

Hi Gordis..

Regarding ur converting into Hinduism..as per my knowledge its not necessary and more over to my knowledge we don't have any ritual like that. or we won't force anyone to do like that. may be ur husband want to impress his parents by saying so.

U can ask ur fiance what exactly he means by converting into Hinduism.

In our marriage's they believe in astrology so in some cases if the bride's name is not suitable to groom's astrology, they just change her name in wedding cards...might be your inlaws will change ur name so that they and their relatives can relate it to you, that would be it. And there will be no force that u carry that name.


As iam from South part of India, i have less idea about mumbai marriages but i can tell you they are very colorful, happy and joyous ceremonies. You will cherish them for ever.

Congrats once more and God bless

Skavi

Hi Gordis,

I know you must be very excited about your impending marriage...:) Hope you have a wonderful time and cherish the moment for ever.

About keeping your faith - I don't know why your fiance is asking you to convert. You might want to have a frank talk with him about it before hand itself. Is he expecting you to stop practicing your faith??

My best friend is a Catholic and got married to a Hindu who is from a conservative Brahmin North Indian family.

She did not convert (her in-laws asked but she refused. Her husband did not ask and nor did he expect) and still goes to Church. In India, registration of marriages do not require you to be of the same faith. It is not required that you be a Hindu for you to participate in a Hindu wedding ceremony. You can share in the Hindu rituals that you are comfortable with and still keep your Christian faith.

About the various ceremonies, any Indian wedding is sure to have "Mehndi" (Henna ceremony) and a "Sangeet" (where all ladies sit and sing wedding songs together) before the actual wedding.

You can wear different lehengas for the different ceremonies. Any shade of red/pink/maroon/orange is considered auspicious for wedding dresses in Indian weddings.

Hope this helps,
Aarushi

Thank you Skavi, MrsV and Aarushi for such a helpful advice.
The information you gave me helps me to make a better decision. You were so kind and supportive. I really appreciate it.

I will get married in August and I will make another post by then telling you how beautiful my wedding was.

Gordis,

As Indians,we welcome you to Indian Diversified Culture and the land of Colorful Traditions.

To Start with
1) Do not worry about the Hindu Culture.Its a very Accepting Culture,not letting go of Ur Present Beliefs and Faith.So that means,U can follow Ur own beliefs as per Ur Self and as a Member of Ur Husband's Family,U r again at ease to follow theirs :)

2) You would enjoy the Colorful Wedding/Ceremonies/Functions and ofcourse the people,who are all colorful both dress-wise and celebration-wise when it comes to Indian Hindu Wedding

3)And last but not the least, since its a wedding not just b/w the both of U,but b/w families ie,His parents have also accepted U,wholeheatedly,Am sure,U will enjoy the new experience :)

God Bless U and Congratulations and btw,am newly married and it feels great pre and post marriage to be newly into a new life :) and Am sure,U will feel the same.