Pre-Wedding Occasions

Indian weddings generally last about a week. The wedding starts out with a ritual bath known as a haldi, which is where the bride and groom are both bathed by married women with oil, turmeric and water. After the bath the bride will go to a ceremony called a Mehendi, were the soon to be brides feet and hands are painted with detailed designs using an ink called henna. It is said that the darker the henna the more the groom loves the bride. A good perk on having the henna would be that the bride does not have to do any house work until the henna is gone.

Wedding Garments

Most likely the bride will wear a sari that contains gold and silver embroidery. The color of the sari is either yellow, white, green or red. Red is the most common color worn by Indian brides as it represents fertility, wealth and a happy marriage. The bride will be decorated with very elaborate gold jewelry, along with precious stones while her hair is decorated with jewelry and flowers. In some weddings the bride will wear a veil over her hair as a gesture of respect to her elders and their gods. The groom will wear his choice between a sherwani or a dhoti and the color is usually either beige or white. In some weddings the groom will wear a turban and carry a sword.

Maui Wedding Photographer- Nicole Sanchez