This article is a real treat! We were lucky enough to get a first hand account from someone living in India on their tradition of wedding dinners.

Well… in India there is no wedding cake. India has a mixture of cultures and each culture has its own methods. I’m from south India and here we have a wedding dinner. Marriage is a 2 day ceremony and the first day we have the bride brought to the place of marriage which is usually the bridegroom’s birth place.

Next the worshiping of God is done and it is traditionally accepted that God is happy with the pair getting united in matrimony. Then comes the first dinner, consisting of various traditional food from our place like the payasam ( a sweet drink ), kesari (a sweet), boiled rice, sambar and kaara khozhambu ( curry to accompany rice), appalam( crispy and crunchy side dish), rasam, thair (yoghurt), boiled potatoes all served on traditional plantain leaves because it is considered to add more taste to the food when so done . Also the entire catering is done only by family, from both the bride’s and bridegroom’s side to all people who have come to attend the marriage.

The second day is officially the day of marriage. The bridegroom ties a holy knot after it has been after several prayers made by the tantri to ward off all evil spirits. Then after the Holy knot is tied (a yellow thread with a “thaali” in the middle) the couple is declared united in matrimony. After this is the 2nd food service depending upon the time of the day the marriage is taking place (usually several tantris are considered to fix the time… muhurtham) the couple is allowed to eat the food together first followed by the blessers. Usually both the food services have plenty of sweets and sweet drinks offered because matrimony is something is very sweet and to rejoice it.

Today not everyone is following tradition and the food and ceremony depends on the money they are putting in into the marriage.

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