This past weekend we celebrated Heritage Day in South Arica; a day on which we’re encouraged to honour the diverse cultures and traditions in our country. Since our language is ‘weddings’, we have decided to celebrate our heritage by sharing 5 weddings over the next couple of weeks that pay tribute to the diverse range of cultures that make up our colourful nation. We began with a Jewish wedding, and now present you with a Hindu wedding. We still wait to present to you a Zulu, Greek and, finally, Muslim wedding.
Hindu weddings are full of colour, vibrance and family! I fell in love with this couple as soon as I started documenting their special day. Not only because these two are serious hotties, but because Sapna + Sashkin did their wedding, their OWN way. Something us Hooray girls, hold in very high esteem.
Their wedding was intimate and beautiful in every single aspect and I knew it would be a perfect fit for our Heritage Day series.
So read further about this sensational wedding day and learn a little bit more about the in’s and out’s of a HIndu wedding – the traditions are really so special!
Photography : Christy Hosking
Hooray: How did you and your fiancé meet?
Sapna: We met at University in 2007 and started dating in 2008. Sash was showing off his soccer skills with his lunch foil and kicked his DIY soccer ball into me and that was the first time I noticed him. We then realised that we had mutual friends and started hanging out together and I guess our friendship blossomed into a lifelong romance.
Hooray: What was your dream for your wedding?
Sapna: Exactly as it panned out. All we wanted was a simple, beautiful day to celebrate our love with our closest friends and family. We wanted our day to be slightly different to the usual Indian wedding – we wanted the menu, the décor and the location to all be a unique representation of us and the things that are special and important to us as a couple. To be a reflection of the things we find beautiful, the things we enjoy eating and the atmosphere of the day. Everything went perfectly according to plan and the day was exactly as we had hoped it would be.
Sashkin: To have a unique, personal and intimate wedding with those closest to us.
Hooray: Tell us about the lead up to your wedding, are there any pre-ceremony rituals?
Sapna: There are a couple of things that happen before the actual wedding and the traditions around these vary slightly from family to family. For me, there was a Pithi ceremony, a Satak and my Mehendi. During the Pithi ceremony, a paste of turmeric, yoghurt and rose water is applied to the bride’s face, legs and arms for a bright and even skin tone. Usually, this is done by the women in the family and female friends. In Sash’s family, this is known as a Hurdee and is held the night before the wedding. In my family, this was held two days before the wedding.
The second function, a Satak or Grah Shanti is a ritual where Lord Ganesh is invited to be present to remove all obstacles and provide the newlyweds with happiness and prosperity. The ceremony involves the couple and their parents. However, the couple are not together – the ceremony is held separately for the bride and groom, a day or two before the wedding. For Sash, this was combined with his Hurdee ceremony and for me, this was held in the evening two days before the wedding.
The mehendi is usually a big colourful celebration at which the bride has her henna applied. I opted for a quiet, relaxed night in with family instead :p no one wants a sleepy, hungover bride!
Hooray: What was your favourite part of your day?
Sapna: Tough one! I’m not really sure I can pick a favourite part of the day. I guess:
- It was exciting hiding in the restaurant, hearing Sash arrive and all the commotion outside.
- Seeing his face when he saw me walk down the aisle.
- The ceremony itself was just beautiful – the weather, the flowers, the stage, the smells, the breeze – it was like the universe was just as happy as we were.
- The moment Sash applied my sindoor (traditional vermilion red or orange-red coloured powder, usually worn by married women along the parting of their hair) and put my mangalsutra on (necklace or ‘sacred thread’ that is worn by a married woman to mark her marriage) symbolising that we were officially married.
- Watching everyone’s faces from the stage during the wedding.
- When all our family were up on stage to bless us once we were married and there were flower petals and confetti streams all over the show and everyone was laughing and smiling – that was just such a happy moment.
- Listening to all the special speeches.
- Seeing everyone having so much fun during the reception.
These were a few. It’s impossible to pick one. Every moment of the day was special.
Sashkin: Watching Sapna walk down the aisle, seeing my gran’s face as she watched me tie the knot and the speeches.
Hooray: What does a Hindu wedding ceremony entail?
- Arrival of the groom and his family
- Welcome of the groom and his family by the bride’s mother and family
- Prayer to Lord Ganesh (remover of obstacles) by the bride’s parents and the groom
- Arrival of the bride
- Exchange of garlands between the bride and groom
- Giving away of the bride by her parents to the groom
- Tying of the bride’s scarf to the groom’s shawl to symbolize the union of their lives
Ceremony around the sacred fire.
Hooray: What is your favourite wedding tradition?
Sapna: this is also a tough one. The pithi for me was really fun and again, the way the ceremony is carried out differs from family to family. Mine was a fun morning with all the ladies in my family and all my close girlfriends followed by a delicious high tea. It’s just a really jovial, messy morning with lots of laughs.
Sashkin: The number of celebrations leading up to the big day.
I personally am not a religious man, but the number of rituals and ceremonies that I was forced to participate in allowed me to share special experiences with a lot of people. That will remain with me always.
Hooray: You had an incredibly small wedding, most Hindu weddings have anywhere between 200-500 (or even more) guests. How did you and Sash get away with this?
Sapna: Firstly, the venue we selected was relatively small so there was no way we could invite that many people, this let us have the kind of wedding we wanted. There were a couple of arguments and head butts in the beginning although, at the end of the day, I think my parents respected the fact that we wanted to keep it small and only have immediate family, and really close friends that we spend most of our time with, at the wedding. We also agreed to compromise by inviting the friends and family we missed to our other pre-wedding functions.
Sashkin: My family were not as happy about a very small wedding, however they respected our decision and at the end realised that the type of wedding we chose not only suited us perfectly, but was substantially more intimate and romantic with limited numbers. (My parents had a huge night before function to make up for a smaller wedding)
Hooray: If you could have changed one thing, what would that be?
Sapna: I wish I had stressed less about things going wrong and just taken the time to let everything sink in a bit more. Everything goes by in a blur and you are on a bit of a high so you forget the little details of your day. I also wish we had practiced our first dance a little more! That was a fail. But no one knew besides us. I hope.
Sashkin: I would have wanted my dog (Vegas the German Shepherd) there to share the experience with us. He plays such a huge part in our happiness and it would have been perfect if he could have been our ring bearer. I would have also served meat at the wedding. Hindu’s don’t serve meat on auspicious days, but I am far from traditional and would’ve loved the option of a meat dish. I also would have traded the Indian wedding outfit for a 3 piece suit from the beginning. And I would definitely not have gone surfing the day before…I was horribly sunburnt!
Hooray: Tell us a bit more about your outfits.
Sapna: Red is the traditional colour for a Hindu bride but, again, I wanted something a little different so I opted for cream and gold with a touch of red, green and pumpkin which are traditional Gujarati colours. I had something much simpler in mind but when I tried my outfit on, I knew it was the one. Regarding the jewellery, I have always dreamed of wearing a heavy, antique looking set including the nose ring so I could be the full picture of an Indian bride and I managed to find exactly what I wanted.
Sashkin: I hated the traditional Indian outfit. It was certainly not my style – however, I think it allowed us to look more connected during the ceremony. (I have since gotten the coat tailored into a Michael Jackson styled jacket.) The suit I wore for the reception was a custom-made 3 piece layered suit from Frank Bespoke (LOVED IT!).
Hooray: How did your families react to your decisions regarding your wedding?
Sapna: My family were extremely supportive of our decisions and quite frankly, the day wouldn’t have been as successful as it was without them. They were key in organising much of the day, even coming up with many of the ideas for the day. My family are really open minded and our tastes and preferences are very similar.
Hooray: Was there an incredibly special moment that you will treasure forever?
Sapna: Definitely, when my Dad sang.
Hooray: Tell us about the most important aspects of a Hindu wedding?
Sapna: The seven steps taken together around the fire is the final and probably most essential ritual of the wedding. The bride and the groom take seven steps around the fire, reciting the seven vows of marriage, considering the sacred fire as witness. By the end of the seventh vow, they are considered man and wife.
Step 1: The promise to nourish each other
Step 2: The promise to grow together in physical, mental and spiritual strength
Step 3: The promise to preserve our wealth and prosperity
Step 4: The promise to serve each other with happiness and harmony
Step 5: The promise to care for our children
Step 6: The promise to be together forever in all responsibilities
Step 7: The promise of everlasting and true companionship
Thank you so much Sapna + Sash for sharing your wedding story with us and for offering insight into the traditions and culture of a Hindu wedding.
Click here to view Part 1: Orthodox Jewish Wedding and be sure to check out the blog later next week to view our Zulu, Muslim + Greek weddings we have lined up!