The Marriage Ceremony of

XXX

And

YYY

May 27, 2006

8090, Albert hall, NY, USA

Milni (Meeting)
XXX and YYY parents will meet and exchange garlands signifying the union of the two families. This also signifies that both families accept the match. YYY cousins help XXX dismount from his horse and the guests are invited to follow both families into the wedding hall.

Swagatam (Welcome)
XXX, escorted by YYY cousins, is greeted by her family in front of the mandap. YYY escorted by her sister and friends, also arrives at the mandap.

Jaimala or Varmala (Exchange of Garlands)
Var means to accept as your own. The bride and groom meet and greet each other in the presence of their parents, family members and friends and exchange flower garlands to formally convey their mutual acceptance, respect and love for each other. The sweet scent of flowers symbolizes happiness of married life.

Vedi Pravesh ( Entering the mandap)
Keeping the tradition of giving special care to the guests, YYY offers XXX a special place of honor to her left. At this time her father offers him water for symbolic absolutions.

Ganesh and Navgraha Puja ( Prayer to lord Ganesha and the nine planets )
In Hindu tradition, lord Ganesha is invoked before any undertaking or journey. The ceremony commences with the invocation to Ganesh, the lord of good fortune and auspiciousness. The priest recites hymns to seek his divine grace and blessing of success, peace, happiness, and the removal of all obstacles for YYY and XXX. A prayer to the nine planets asking their blessing for peace and wealth follow this.

Kanyadaan (Giving away of the Bride)
Daan in Sanskrit means “to give away free”. Kanyadaan, Go Daan, Bhoomi Daan and Swarna Daan are the most auspicious Daan. Kanyadaan is a specially significant because the Bride’s parents are giving their daughter away so that the Grooms family can continue their family line. YYY parents place her hand in XXX hand and with holy water flowing from their hands, they give away their daughter. XXX promises YYY parents that henceforth, YYY will be his responsibility and that he will protect her and take care of her. Her happiness shall be his happiness and prosperity.

Ganth Bandhan (Tying the knot)
Ganth Bandhan means nuptial knot. YYY and XXX scarves are tied together to symbolize their life long union.

Havan (Fire)
Havan is a small sacred fire used in Vedic ceremonies. Agni (Fire) denotes the presence of the creator and is considered to be the ultimate eternal witness of YYY and XXX marriage as well as a symbol of purity. XXX with his bride to his right sits in front of the holy fire and offers his prayers for purity and prosperity. Offering’s to Agni represent a commitment made in the presence of God.

Mangal-Phere
YYY and XXX walk around the ceremonial fire clockwise seven times as the pandit bestows his blessings for an eternal happy and healthy marriage. During the first four rounds, the couple seeks the four basic goals of human life:

Dharma – To lead a life of morality and self – righteousness.

Artha – To be meaningful source of wealth, prosperity and happiness.

Kama – (Love of family) – To love each other and have a happy family life.

Moksha – (Eternal happiness) –To lead a life of purity, compassion, kindness and grace that eventually paves the way for eternal happiness.
 

Saptapadi ( Seven steps – seven marriage vows)

YYY and XXX accept the following marriage vows at each step:

Together we will share the responsibility of home and family.

Together we will develop mental, physical, and spiritual strength.

Together we will prosper and share our worldly goods.

Together we will fill our hearts with great joy, peace, and happiness.

Together we will raise strong and virtuous children.

Together we will remain faithful and life long partners

Together we will cherish each other and our families in sorrow and happiness.

Sindoor (Love and happiness)
XXX places Sindoor in the part of YYY hair to symbolize their marriage.

This signifies that the bride is now his wife. XXX and YYY now exchange their positions, indicating that they are married. From henceforth, YYY must always be seated closest to the groom’s heart. YYY mother brings sweets to the couple for the bride and Groom to feed each other to signify that their life remains sweet always and that they continue to share at all times.

Mangalsutra
XXX puts a Mangalsutra around YYY neck. Henceforth, now XXX is a married woman.

Anguthi Rasam (Ring ceremony)
XXX and YYY exchange wedding rings.

Ashirvaad (Blessing)
The newlyweds seek the blessings of Panditji, their parents, their relatives and friends. The family and guests shower them with rice and flowers

Thank You

Dear Family & Friends,

We would like to thank all of you for sharing this special day with us.  It was only with your love and support that we have arrived at this point in our lives. It means so much that you are able to join us to celebrate the beginning our new lives together. We would like to give a very distinctive and elite thanks to our parents and siblings, and a very special thanks to our relatives, family-friends, friends, those who have traveled a great distance to be here with us on our special day, the wedding organizers, and the entire wedding party, for putting in the time and effort to make our wedding possible. And a special thanks to those who could not be here with us but are present in our thoughts and our hearts. We love you and will always cherish you.

- XXX & YYY