There’s been so much wedding talk on this little blog of mine lately. And that can be expected until June 30, 2012 because that’s the day I marry my best friend and soul mate! Let the countdown begin!
Something I’ve come to quickly realize is that wedding planning is no joke. Luckily for me, my mom stepped in as my “planner” and has been absolutely amazing with everything. She has lots of business sense, is super organized, and is probably more excited about the big day than I am. Thanks, momma!
Another reason Vishnu and I are lucky is because we don’t have to prepare our own wedding vows. The ceremony is such that traditional Hindu vows are actually embedded into the process. There is already so much meaning and symbolism associated with every step that most couples don’t have to stress about saying something original and creative.
And really, how can we compete with the following beautiful shloka (verse) from the Vedas (the oldest Sanskrit scriptures in Hinduism)…
I am the sky,
you are the earth.
I am the music,
you are the melody.
I am the mind,
you are the speech.
Let us walk together through
the journey of life
keeping the peace and harmony
between us always.
Let us promise to be together
not only in this world,
but the one beyond.
And as far as specific vows are concerned, there is a part of the ceremony that involves Vishnu and I taking seven steps together representing nourishment, strength, prosperity, happiness, progeny, long life, and harmony and understanding. These seven steps are our vows to one another. And after that seventh step, it’ll be official – Vishnu and I will be husband and wife! It’s going to be so hard for me not to yell out “woo hoo,” but I’ll try my best!
This may not sound very romantic to some people, but I think it’s so exciting to be married the same way my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were. I love that kind of deep rooted tradition.
Over the next six months, I hope to write about different aspects of the planning process, ceremony, etc. If there’s something I blog about that isn’t quite clear or if you have random questions, please don’t hesitate to send me an email or ask questions in the comments section.
What’s your favorite part of any wedding ceremony? Mine is when the bride and groom see each other for the first time!
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i just love learning about the different aspects of a traditional Indian wedding and the meaning behind each. thank you for sharing 🙂
I feel like I learn something new everyday! Thanks for reading. 🙂
What a beautiful verse – I love it! You’re so right – a Hindu ceremony has so much meaning in it 🙂 And yes, takes the stress of writing something!! 😀
Since Evs isn’t Hindu we actually did have vows that we had written down in the ceremony booklets handed out to guests. Basically one vow for each round of the fire that we did.
I’m sure your ceremony was beautiful! I’ve seen a lot of couples change things up a little bit and it’s always fine.
Parita I am so happy for you!!!!
I think June is going to be an important month for both of us!
June is huge for both of us!!! When is the baby due again?
I think that sounds like a wonderful way to get married. Those vows are gorgeous.
Like Khusboo said, the ceremony is just magical!
I may be biased but Indian weddings are so magical! The pheras are so symbolic and watching others get married this way really gives me butterflies…and a few tears! At a recent wedding I went to, fortunately the priest translated the vows so the non-Indian-speaking portion of the audience (ahem me) could appreciate the true beauty of what was being said!
Magical is the perfect word to describe them! Our priest is actually going to translate the entire ceremony since our families don’t share a common language besides English.
Is there a Tamil translation to ” shloka (verse) from the Vedas”?
Thanks.
Hi Fatima! I’m sure there are translations available, but I have no idea where to find them. Sorry!
Brandon and I actually saw each other before hand because we did our photos before the ceremony since we got married after sunset. HOWEVER… we still had the first look moment captured on film and it is one of my favorite photos to this day and still makes me cry. As does any father/daughter dance.
We’re actually going to do a first look as well! I was actually pretty adamant about not seeing Vishnu before the wedding, but when I saw some sample videos from my videographer, I changed my mind. I definitely want that intimate moment captured on film!
i really loved that poem, it is beautiful. i didn’t know about that verse. Yes, the saath phere is nice. I think my favorite part about the tradition is walking down the aisle and stealing the show (haha), when you hold hands and they pour water in your hands, I guess to cleanse you or whatever. And definitely, the phere.. that’s really what we see in all the movies, so it’s something I associate with marriage and romance.
Oh yes, I’m looking forward to walking down the aisle! I’ve been dreaming about that for years. 🙂
I love Hindu weddings! I was lucky enough to see two of them, one of them being a cousin’s and the other being my mother’s cousin. If I ever get married, it is going to be the Hindu way for sure. Tradition is so important. 🙂
You’re absolutely right, they’re full of tradition and a whole lot of fun. 🙂
I absolutely LOVE THIS! I almost picked June 30th for my wedding date too but we are getting married June 23rd. 🙂
We’re practically wedding twins!