Pakistani weddings

If we talk about a typical Pakistani family, you should know that a marriage ceremony lasts from 3 to 7 consecutive days. Each day is full of traditions, customs, and exciting events, adding much more to the celebrations. With lots of ceremonies and games, the whole event becomes wholesome and exciting for everyone.

Typical Pakistani wedding traditions involve religious rituals and ceremonial celebrations, and these marriage events include beautiful colors, lively music, and extravagance. Like so many other cultures around the world, Pakistani weddings celebrate the union of two families with fervor and glee.

Pakistani Wedding Traditions:

• Sending Wedding Proposal. The first step to any marriage is sending a wedding proposal. ...
• Mangni. The first of the wedding events is the engagement ceremony, a mangni, and it is essentially the couple's engagement. ...
• Mayan/Mayun. ...
• Dholki. ...
• Nikkah. ...
• Mehendi. ...
• Baraat. ...
• Walima.

1. Dholki

Several days before the legitimate Pakistani wedding starts, the bride, groom, their families, and close friends will gather for a dholki. Close friends and family who don’t live in town will travel to the bride and groom’s homes and stay there until the end of the wedding festivities are over and participate in dholki functions.

During a dholki, everyone gathers in a circle on a floor with beautiful rugs and cushions to sing Pakistani wedding songs to the beat of a dholak. The grandmothers bless the bride and groom with prayers and well wishes.

Typically, the dholki traditions are separate, and the bride and groom each have their own. The dholki tradition allows for bonding with all the family members separately before the union.

2. Mehndi Night

You probably heard about mehndi night even if you know nothing about Pakistani weddings. Pakistani mehndi is famous for its intricacy and vibrancy. Mehndi night is one of the first Pakistani wedding traditions the bride will participate in, where she gets henna on her hand in mehndi designs.

Other women will spend time performing dances for the bride throughout the night while she gets her bridal henna finished. They spend weeks preparing the dances, and there’s plenty of music to fill the air. The henna takes quite a while, but patience and skill make it look stunning for her wedding day.

Brides typically wear a yellow mehndi dress, but they can wear whatever they want and wear little to no makeup throughout the process. They’ll have beautiful fresh flowers as their jewelry and plenty of orange flowers throughout the space. You’ll see delicious food served like halwa poori paan, barbeque, and other Pakistani delicacies.

3. Mayun

A Mayun is a Pakistani wedding tradition that is more important in certain parts of Pakistan than others but worth mentioning. This tradition occurs a few days before the wedding, where the female family members and friends surround the bride and perform various Pakistani rituals.

Some rituals include putting oil on the Pakistani bride’s hair and then ubtan on her arms, feet, and face. This ritual is rooted deeply in tradition and passed down from Pakistani ancestors. Usually, the ceremonies are performed chiefly by the grandmothers and other older adults because they’ve been through it before.

The Mayun represents preparing the bride for her wedding day, and Pakistani people believe it helps enhance her natural beauty. During the Mayun, the bride isn’t allowed to leave her house because they consider it bad luck. Not everyone follows that part strictly anymore, but elders are very superstitious about it.

4. Nikkah Ceremony

Before the incredibly fun receptions of Pakistani weddings can happen, the Nikkah ceremony needs to happen. The Nikkah ceremony is when the bride and groom sign the legal marriage contract. They get to choose at least two witnesses from both sides to witness the ceremony.

The Nikkah ceremony is an emotional time for the bride and her family because it’s officially her transition to her new life. Her name is now signed under the name of her new husband forever. This intimate event is only open to the couple’s immediate family members or close friends.The attire for a Nikkah ceremony is pastel colors. The bride wears white and a red dupatta with a natural makeup look. The groom will wear a shalwar kurta that has a golden waistcoat.

5. The Barat

After the Nikkah comes to the Barat, this is a massive event in Pakistani weddings. The Barat is the day when the Pakistani groom and his family come to take the bride away. Sometimes, his friends will join in the tradition. The bride’s family arranges the event, so it’s not as aggressive as it might sound for the groom to “take her away.”

A modern-day Barat is hosted at a large wedding hall with delicious food and many photo opportunities. The Barat is a massive event with hundreds of guests, but they can be smaller depending on the preferences of both families.

The groom will wear a traditional sherwani while the bride is in an Anarkali lehenga dress. More minor traditions are scattered throughout the Barat ceremony, many of which are personal to the bride and groom’s family members. It’s a fun event that all enjoy, regardless of whether the guests are Pakistani or not.

6. Rukhsati

Once the Barat is over, the Rukhsati happens. While this is a major tradition in Pakistani culture, Rukhsati is a sad day for the bride despite the excitement and happiness that her new marriage is bringing her. It’s a ceremony all about her leaving her parent’s home and leaving behind her childhood memories.

The bride and groom will leave the venue at the same time in the presence of their elders. It’s like a send-off, and it’s basically the bride’s family giving her permission to start a new chapter in her life.

The parent’s bride will give her away with the Holy Quran above her head. This symbolizes them sending their daughter off to her husband with the blessing and protection of Allah. So, while the bride’s family is very emotional, feeling sad and happy simultaneously, the groom’s family is elated.

7. Walima

Walima is the final event of any Pakistani wedding, which is what Western cultures call the reception. Usually, Valimas has a comfortable atmosphere with beautiful flowers and lighter-colored decor. Unlike the big parties many people have, the music is quieter at a Walima.

The music is quieter at this reception to allow everyone to mingle and bond over their happiness for the couple. Everyone dresses in formal attire like suits and dresses in light colors with extravagant jewelry. The groom is in charge of organizing the Valima, which stems from Islam’s religious traditions.

Usually, they throw this the day after the Barat or several days after, whatever is more convenient for both families. Grooms wear a two or three-piece suit, and the bride wears a sharara in a pastel color. As with most traditions in Pakistani weddings, this is a very long reception and symbolizes the happiness the new marriage should bring the couple.