Wedding Day is on 20th July 2008.

The wedding day will start with guests arriving at Goosedale

The groom's family arrives amidst a blaze of singing.

The Welcome

The Bride's mum welcomes the Groom with a garland and she then escorts him to the mandap. At the end of the welcome, a shawl is held to prevent the groom seeing the arrival of the bride.

All guests will then be seated.

Arrival of the Bride

The bride is escorted to the mandap by her maternal uncle (Mama).

Kanyadaan (Entrusting of the Daughter)

Consent of the parents is obtained for the wedding to proceed. Bride's parents give their daughter to the Groom by putting the Bride's right hand into Groom's right hand (Hastamelap, joining of hands) while reciting sacred verse.

The Hastamelap (joining of hands)

The curtain separating the Bride and Groom is then lowered and the couple exchange flower garlands. The elders of the house place an auspicious white cotton cord around the couple's shoulders to protect them from the evil influences. This also symbolises the couple's bond. Groom holds Bride's hand and they both take vows to love cherish and protect each other throughout life.

Ganthibandhan (tying the knot)

The priest ties the wedding knot as a symbol of the permanent union between Groom and Bride as husband and wife.

The priest sets up a small fire in a kund (copper bowl). Agni (fire) is the mouth of Vishnu and symbolises the illumination of mind, knowledge and happiness. The remainder of the ceremony is conducted around the fire.

Mangalfera (walking around the fire)

The couple walk around the sacred fire four times. Each time they stop to touch with their toe a stone in their path. This symbolises obstacles in life that they will overcome together. These four rounds stand for the four basic human goals:

Dharma - righteousness
Artha - monetary accomplishment
Kama - energy and passion in life
Moksha - liberation from everything in life.

Groom, signifying his contribution in helping the union to attain dharma, artha and kama, leads the first three rounds. Bride signifying their continual journey and spiritual liberation leads the last round.

Saptapadi (seven steps)

Bride and Groom take seven steps together around the fire. It is said in Hindu philosophy that if two people walk seven steps together then they will remain lifelong friends. They exchange sacred vows at the beginning of each encircling walk. At the end of each walk, the open palms of Bride are filled with puffed rice by her brother, signifying wealth and prosperity. The seven steps and their promises are:

to provide for our household, keeping a pure diet and avoiding those things that might harm us.
to develop our physical, mental and spiritual powers.
to increase our wealth by righteous and proper means.
to acquire knowledge, happiness and harmony by mutual love, respect and trust.
so that we may be blessed with strong, virtuous and heroic children.
for self-restraint and longevity.
to be true companions and remain life-long partners by this wedlock.

Photographs

When photos are being taken, guests can go into the Crystal Hall, bar area or outside for drinks.

Dinner

Meal will be served at 14:15 hours once all the guests are seated.

Viddai (Bride's departure)

The farewell to the Bride by her family and friends is a very emotional episode. Bride is leaving her parents home to build a life with her husband and his family. She leaves with tears of joy and sorrow.

Pilucinchuanu

Before the wedding car departs for the Hindu temple, the priest will place a coconut under the front wheel of the car and wait for it to be broken by the weight of the car. The historic significance of this is that in the old days the couple would use a horse drawn carriage and the breaking of the coconut ensured that the vehicle was roadworthy for the journey.

The pilucinchuanu concludes the entire ceremony.