Are you a believer in Christian weddings? Do you follow the Christian faith? If yes, then you may plan for a traditional Christian wedding. However, there are flexibilities in choosing the tradition that you want to include in your wedding rituals. Even in your vow exchange, you can add an appreciation of the experience to gain a deeper understanding.
A Biblical marriage suggests a lifelong commitment to love and respect for one another. Taking vows and commitments before your loved ones creates a beautiful moment. If you have ever been a part of a South Indian Christian wedding, you may feel the magical essence of the ambience. Christian wedding tradition is a combination of cultures and classics with love, family and friends. Like other cultures of weddings in India, Christian weddings, too, are enchanting. So, if you’re interested in Classic wedding traditions, then you must read this up to the end.
Source- Deviantart
All About Classic Wedding Traditions
Matchmaking and Badalchan
An arranged marriage is based on matchmaking, the first step of a relationship. After the end of finding a suitable match, it comes to a formal proposal that comes from the groom’s family to the bride’s. According to the classic wedding traditions in the South Indian Christian community, the proposal is secured by performing the Badalchan ritual. In this ritual, both of the families exchange betel leaves and betel nuts with each other.
However, if you look at matrilineal societies of states like Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram, girls and boys are free to choose their partners. Moreover, it isthe girls who propose the boy for marriage.
Engagement
Among the classic wedding traditions, Engagement is one and most significant. This ritual is not only for a Christian wedding, but most cultures have adapted it. It is an intimate event where the family celebrate the union of two souls. They gather and bless the couple while they exchange the wedding rings. For Catholic Christians, the priest or the Father bless the wedding rings.
Moreover, this ceremony gives the couple an opportunity to get to know each other along with the family members. The Engagement ends with a dinner engaged by the family members from both of the family. The bride becomes the groom’s fiance he gifts her something as a ritual.
Bridal Shower
The friends and female members of the bride plan a bridal shower where they offer her favourite dishes. Throwing a bridal shower signifies the final meal as a bachelor. However, it also suggests that showering the bride with gifts.
In general, sisters and girlfriends of the bride-to-be plan for a party that includes games, gifts, music, a lot of food, and a delicious cake!
Sometimes, Bachelorette parties take place instead of a bridal shower. and is planned wilder and more party-oriented version of the same. You may find a classic wedding tradition in bridal shower where the cake contains a hidden thimble inside and whoever gets that first, is believed in getting married next.
Bachelor’s Party
The groom, too, has fun at their wedding. Similar to a bachelorette party, a bachelor party is planned by the close group of the goom. It is one of the classic wedding traditions that the groom and his groomsmen have fun before the groom gets married. With time, the methods of celebrations have changed, and now there are lots of options for the groomsmen to choose. Whether it could be an adventurous trip or a night out at a club, groomsmen plan it based on their preferences for the groom. The ultimate purpose is to lift up the mood of te groom for the entire wedding shenanigans and get some time off to relax.
Mehndi
Yes, it sounds unusual, but India, having a blend of cultures, some Christian women like to stain their hands with Mehendi. However, as inter-cultural weddings have become popular, traditions drip into one culture from another. There is no exception for Mehendi, especially in North Indian Christian weddings.
On The Day Of The Wedding
The Bride’s Entry
On the morning of the wedding day, the bride received the wedding dress from the groom’s family. They share gifts, sweets, and fruits with each other. According to the catholic tradition, the priest will bless the bride’s dress first.
For the next classic wedding tradition, we are almost all familiar with it. This is the time when the bride enters wearing the traditional wedding attire, and as a gesture, everybody stands while the flower girl leads the way. As the groom waits for the bride to arrive, everybody stands, and the flower girl leads the way. The groomsmen and the bridesmaids enter the aisle, followed by the bride, who is escorted by her father and walks down the aisle towards the groom.
The Catholics play music and the announcement at the entry of the bride, whereas the Protestant Christian wedding welcomes with a hymnal. Sometimes, the priests of the church or a choir sing, and even guests joins in.
The Wedding Mass
A catholic family prefers a parish priest to read the Testaments from the Bible on the wedding day. After that, he will share a sermon where he will describe the rituals and religious significance of marriage and the unity of two people. Following the speech, the guests of the choir from the church start singing prayers for the couple. On the other hand, a protestant wedding occurs by a bishop or a priest, and the wedding guests become part of the services. The guests take part in sharing hymns, reading and responding while the couple exchanges the vows.
The Wedding Vows
We are familiar with the scene where the bride and the groom recite their vows, which is a traditional way of sharing feelings with each other about life and the future. If the couple belongs to the Protestant beliefs, they can write the vows and they can recite them while holding their hands. In the contemporary years, the couple exchange the vows that they have written, including the touching and emotional moments. It creates a beautiful moment, and the guests too witness the wedding, which reflects the symbol of their love and promise.
The Declaration Of Consent
After exchanging the wedding vows, it is time to declare the consent by saying ‘I Do’. The priest asks the couple for their consent about taking each other as husband and wife. Once the priest announces, “Do you take the ‘name of the person’ to be your lawful husband or wife?” the couple proceeds with “I Do”. Saying your consent in front of the priest defines you as accepting and staying with your spouse in every situation.
Solemnizing The Wedding
This is a unique ritual of Indian Christian tradition. In this ceremony, the groom ties a mangal sutra around the neck of the bride. This is the part of the wedding where two cultures blend with each other. However, exchanging wedding rings represents the commitment of the couple and using a mangal sutra makes it more personal. In most cultures in India, tie mangalsutra is an important ritual. This is a simple necklace with a gold pendant in the middle.
Bouquet Toss
Sometimes, weddings appear boring for some people as there are extended rituals. However, bouquet toss is the fun part after the wedding ceremony. The unmarried ladies put up a line to catch the flower bouquet, which will reveal who will marry next. The bride turns her back towards the ladies and backs the bouquet towards them. Whoever grabs the bouquet is supposed to be the next bride to marry.
The Reception
Planning a grand reception party following the wedding ceremony differentiates from other Indian weddings. The couple enters their Reception venue as newlyweds, and the guests cheer for them and throw flowers or confetti on them. Families of the couple plan for fun activities and games at the reception party. Sometimes, close friends and relatives perform dance or music. The couple are engaged in games and performances, and even bridesmaids are a part of them.
For Indian wedding traditions, having a suitable, ample space for a wedding venue is quite significant. Other things like classic wedding decorations, a wedding cake, good food, and a lavish bar are organized by the families according to the headcount of the guests. Moreover, the reception includes speeches by friends and close family members, a cake-cutting moment, and entertainment.
