Wedding bells are ringing as the wedding season is about to come. In Asian countries, weddings usually take place during the fall as the weather is ideal for the arrangements. In Asian countries like India and Pakistan, wedding trends vary from time to time but festivities remain the same. In this post, I will be featuring my cousin’s wedding which took place just two days ago. I was so excited to share the pictures and experiences with you guys especially my non-Asian followers. I would love to read what they think about the traditional Asian weddings in the comments down below. First of all, we will talk about the basic functions of a Pakistani Wedding.

Mehndi:

The day of marigolds, Mehndi is the first and foremost function of the Asian weddings. In this festival, family and friends of the groom prepare a thaal (tray) comprising of bangles, mehndi (henna), clothes, floral jewelry, shoes, candles, hair accessories, ubtan (turmeric paste) and oil in cute compartments. When the thaal is prepared, they take it to the bride’s home. The bride wears floral accessories and the minimal makeup on the day of mehndi. The whole place is decorated with marigold flowers and candles. Yellow is the color code of the day and everyone is supposed to follow the theme. After the bride comes, all the guests give her gifts and money while rubbing oil in her hair and ubtan on her face. Groom’s family also decorate the bride’s hands and feet with henna. After this compulsion, they all dance and sing songs with dholki. (two-sided drum)

Baraat:

The day of roses! Baraat is the major and the prime function when it comes to marriages in Pakistan. This function is arranged by the family of the bride while groom’s family are the guests. They are welcomed by the rose petals and fancy medals by the bride’s family.  This is the function with most hustle-bustle. Bride and groom wear heavy clothes and jewelry on this day. In baraat, the bride and groom officially declare themselves as a married couple in the presence of witnesses; three each from both the side of the bride and groom. After signing the petetion of nikaah, all the guests pray to God for a happily ever after of the bride and groom. This is called Nikaah. After the compulsion of nikaah, the bride enters the room in a very royal and traditional way. Women are considered as vulnerable and delicate part of our society that needs protection from evil eye due to which the bride enters the room in some kind of carriage or under the shade of flowers. Groom receives her at the stage and then they have the dinner with their guests. If we talk about the Baraat’s decor, the setup is much grandeur and gigantic as compared to other functions. Roses are used in the bulks especially. After the dinner, there is another custom where the sisters of the bride hide the groom’s shoe and ask for the money in return. This is a playful festival and is celebrated with the exchange of laughter and lovely moments. In the end, the bride says goodbye to her family under the blessings of Holy Quran held over her head. Baraat always ends with the tears of joy.

 Walima Reception:

Walima is the terminating function of the Pakistani weddings. This function is arranged by the Groom’s side while the bride’s family is the guest. Bride and groom welcome their guests together and have a hearty dinner with them. Walima is a soft function when the bride wears lighter hues both in wardrobe and makeup. Soft and pastel colors in pink, blue and grey hues are preferred by the maximum women. 

Mehndi, Baraat, and Walima are the three main functions of a Pakistani wedding whereas people have also introduced other functions like Mayun (a function in which family and friends sing songs and dance) and Bridal shower as well. Now I will talk about some customs, traditions, and trends of the Pakistani marriages.

The bride proceeds with holy Quran over her head:

The bride proceeds for her new home with the Holy Quran (Holy book of Muslims) over her head. This gesture shows that the bride is being sent to her new home under the blessings of God. Holy Quran is usually held by the elder male members of the bride’s family.

Love for fireworks:

Pakistani weddings are incomplete without firecrackers and lanterns. Boys and kids enjoy a good deal of fun with fresh explosives. Fireworks and crackers are usually used at the moment when the bride and groom arrive at Baraat.

Heavy Jewelry and makeover:

As compared to western brides, Asian brides wear heavy makeup and jewelry. They are very generous with the amount of makeup on their face. Sometimes, the face of the bride really transforms into someone else after the bridal makeup that is not very appealing but yes, for some girls, it is a lifesaving trend. The brides wear heavy dresses full of embroidery and diamonds plus, the tradition of gold jewelry could never terminate.

Expensive Car decor:

Another custom that Asian people literally can’t ignore at marriages is an expensive car decor. My cousin got his car decorated for about 8000 pkr. This custom has no logical existence but yes people do it habitually at the marriages.

Hearty dinner menu:

Dinners are in the form of a buffet where we have a variety of food starting from Bbq items to the main course, from types of lush salads to the cold splash of drinks, from delicious appetizers to mouthwatering desserts. Most popular appetizers or entree in Pakistan are crackers, chicken corn soup, pina colada and the mint margarita. In bbq items usually, there are finely roasted chicken breasts, chicken tikka, grilled kebabs, hunter beef, roasted meat or lamb chops. While in the main course, there are dishes of rice either a spicy biryani or Chinese rice. Curries including white chicken, namkeen gosht (salted beef), chicken curry, beef curry, Haleem (a curry made from boiling different lentils), and any kind of vegetable are served in the main course as well. Side dishes like sauteed vegetables, pasta, and cheesy nachos are also there. Salads include bean salads, Russian salad, Chickpea salad, salsa and fresh vegetables. In the end, dessert/pudding is served which could be a traditional sweet called Gulab jamun or any cold treat like kulfi-falooda. (A frozen ice cream scoop served with vermicelli made of rose syrup, sweet basil seeds and pieces of jelly with milk at the top)

Grandeur celebrations:

As compared to the west, big wedding arenas or marquees replace lawns, gardens, farmhouse, and halls. Asian weddings have a grandeur setting which I think is the major imitation of the Mughal empire in our culture and traditions. Loads and loads of people are invited to the wedding both from the side of the bride and the groom. There are grand halls or marquees, prominent decor, and floral shower whereas weddings in the west are more sophisticated and have a unique delicacy in their nature.

Photo sessions:

There is this useless yet compulsory trend of the photoshoot by a professional photographer at home first and then at some outdoor place and finally at the wedding hall. Plus, there is a solo shoot of the bride and groom as well. This is quite funny and I would never like to have such a prolonged photo shoot because your face cannot change with the destination. Just go for any scenic area and capture some memories with your partner that’s it! 😀

Room decor:

Room of the bride and groom is decorated with flowers, scented candles, fairy lights, incense diffusers, bouquets, polished furniture, floral wreath and garlands and beautiful curtains. It cost my aunt around 10,000 pkr for this room decor for my cousin’s wedding.

Bridal Room Decorations

Wedding night gift:

Wedding night’s gift, also known as moo dikhai (face showing gift when groom takes off his bride’s veil), is also a historical trend where the groom gives an expensive gift (usually) to his bride. Popular wedding night gifts in Pakistan are gold jewelry sets, any gold or platinum accessory, diamond ring, earrings etc. This is a love token and a gift from the groom to the bride to welcome her in his life and home.

While writing this post I had this idea of writing a post on variations in the brown wedding and the white weddings 😀 It would be huge fun because I have this steep fascination of doing research on western weddings 🙂 For today, I wish all the Asian followers who are getting married sooner or have already married a very very happily everafter <3

Adios,

Zarbakht Bilal xx