Baraat and Baraati's

The Baraat or Wedding Procession is the highlight of all Indian weddings. The baraati's are usually the family members, friends and relatives who accompany the Groom to the Wedding venue. Baraat is all about fun, music, singing and dancing to the popular Bollywood beats. The Groom and his horse are covered in the finest with Groom's head adorned with a Turban and his face partially covered by the Sehra or the Floral Veil to add Royal touch.


The main focus of the baraat is the groom who is traditionally mounted on either a white horse or a horse-led carriage or in some cases an elephant.

In some cultures, the groom is accompanied by a younger sibling, called “sarbaala” who they say acts as his protector.Today most modern grooms prefer to travel in classic vintage cars which are decorated with flowers or ribbons.







A traditional  Baraat consists of a group of 12 or more musicians, usually a brass band, playing a number of instruments to the latest Bollywood hits. The smartly dressed brass band members are a part of the dancing and merry making. Adding to this are the Dhol beats playing for the bhangra loving baraatis.

The entourage may be accompanied by light bearers who carry portable lamps on their head. A beautiful display of fireworks contributes to the excitement and enthusiasm of the crowd. The instruments commonly played in a traditional brass band are trumpets,trombones, tubas, clarinets, cymbals, tabla, base drum and saxophones. On reaching the venue, the baraatis are welcomed with garlands, a spray of rose water and refreshments. The groom is welcomed with an aarti and led to the mandap, where his bride awaits.

Types of Indian Weddings

Diversity of India reflects on every dimensions of Indian context and Indian wedding is not an exception. They say, “ marriages are made in heaven” and undoubtedly it is one of the prime event of life. In India where social and cultural restrictions are so strong, wedding is perhaps the most important part of one’s life. Its a social occasion for an individual and their family.

Indian wedding is nothing short of a festival as it reflects the social and Indian heritage in every possible way. Some typical Indian weddings include the Hindu wedding, Punjabi wedding, Indian Muslim wedding, and Christian wedding. In India every part has their own type of wedding ceremony, rituals and traditions that are totally diverse and interesting. 

A typical Hindu wedding day starts with selection of auspicious day. The day/date of the wedding is usually decided by the Priest, based on the stars and moon locations. Mehendi ceremony is usually a common ceremony all over India, where the bride's palm and feel are decorated by Henna (Mehendi) Henna or Mehendi is a paste made from leaves that give a dark orange color when applied on the hand/feet of the bride. 

The Hindu wedding wedding is a long term affair, where numerous intricate customs and ceremonies are performed over a couple of day.  The best part of Indian wedding is the procession of groom where the procession or 'Baarat' headed by a display of fireworks, accompanied by the songs and dance reach the bride place for wedding. There is a lot of pomp and flair associated with Baraat. 

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The tradition of Indian wedding wavers across religion, caste, ethnicity, language, region and other things. Today Indian scenario is changing where arranged marriages is usually found on the online matrimonial websites. In this developing country where everyone is busy building their careers, assisted matrimony from online websites is growing. 

In this modern society, Indian marriages almost have the same appeal and tradition. Traditional Indian weddings are generally starts with pre-wedding day ceremonies. In some parts it starts from one week ahead of wedding ceremony. Long before the actual marriage ceremony almost in all religions, rituals and customs play an important part. The ceremonies usually start with 'mangni' or engagement. In India marriage is not just between bride and groom but it also associates two families.  Its not just an event for bride and groom but its a festival that brings all cousins-relatives from far and near. 

Kundli Matching and Indian Wedding

Wedding season can get extremely overwhelming and confusing especially in an Indian scenario where the events are so elaborate and there is so much to take care from an event planning perspective as well as with respect to following all the rituals and traditions.


During this time of the year, you will notice that every open land or indoor banquet is adorned with colorful flowers, lights and motifs. Indian weddings are a grand affair and tend to keep even the extended family on their toes.

Wedding Costs- Depending on a number of factors, Indian weddings typically host parties of people between 300 and 1000 guests. Since the weddings are considered to be a very important even in one’s life, this big affair is one way of showing to their society the extent of one’s hospitality. Additionally, this extensive guest list is commonly hosted over multiple events that last over a week.




Significance of Kundli Matching- The first thing that happens in any Indian wedding scenario is the kundli matching. Here, the family priest determines whether or not the couple make a good match after comprehensively studying the astrological charts. Once the kundli matching process is complete, which also determines the suitable date of the matrimonial ceremony the wedding planning commences.

Interesting Facts about Indian Wedding Traditions–

• The invites are typically hand-delivered to the guests, to convey the importance of their attendance in the celebration. 
• The bright colors like red, pink and maroon are considered very auspicious in Indian tradition and that's the color Bride usually wears on her wedding day. 
• It is a common belief that the darker the color of the mehendi (henna) on the bride’s hands, the more care and love she will get from her mother-in-law! I am not sure how much its true about this. Also it is believed that the bride should not work or cook till her henna is completely faded. 
•  In a number of Indian communities, the varmala or jaimala ceremony is converted in a game so as to say, where the bride and the groom compete with each other on who puts the varmala easily. There is an entire fun and game where the siblings and other family members join in where the bride is lifted high enough so that groom struggles to put varmala. Its ofcourse all fun and once varmala is done, there is a lot of cheering and blessings from the elders. 
• Another common tradition in Indian weddings is when the sister’s of the bride hide a groom’s shoes while he sits in the wedding ceremony. He needs to then bargain with the family to get back his footwear. 

A typical Indian wedding consists of a number of rituals and events. Some of the most common Indian ceremonies include the mehendi ceremony, the sangeet ceremony, the baraat, the pheras followed by a reception. In addition to this there a number of smaller rituals those are conducted at the homes of the bride and groom depending on their familial beliefs and expectations from the elders.


Attending an Indian wedding can be quite an experience since each one feels like a grand celebration right out of the movies.

Attending an Indian wedding that is grand and full of rituals can be quite an overwhelming experience’s. Read this article to gain a basic insight into the great Indian wedding.