Featured Indian Wedding : Divya & Gaurav

October 19, 2010 Posted by: Shawna Comments

I am a traditional girl at heart, so what makes Indian weddings so delightfully fun to me are the plethora of the tradition, customs, and parties that come along with it. The wedding celebration officially kicks off with the tikka ceremony, (also called the Sagai) and is held a week-ish before the wedding. Jade Studio Productions was on hand to capture Divya and Gaurva’s beautiful tikka, that took place at the Fairmont Hotel, in San Jose, California.

So here is what happens in the tikka ceremony. The Maharanis side visits the grooms side and bring beautifully wrapped gifts and the items for the tikka. The bride’s father applies 'tikka' to his son-in-law's forehead and gives him his blessings and some money. In return for the father’s blessing, the bride’s family receives baskets of seven dried fruits: almonds, cashew nuts, chuahara, coconut pieces, raisins, khurman (dried apricots) and phoolmakhana. For modern Indian brides, it is common to combine the tikka ceremony and the engagement. First, the bride to be is draped with an ornate chunni. She is then presented with jewelry, which her mother and sister-in-law help her wear. Next, a tiny dot of mehndi is applied to the bride’s palm for good luck, and the ceremony ends with the exchange of rings.