Banias And Their Marriage Rituals

People spend their whole lives looking for a perfect match. The procedure of finding a suitable bride or groom is almost same in every culture with the categorization of it being a love or an arranged marriage. Marriages are made in heaven, but are given a final nod by our parents. In almost all Indian families parents are the final decision makers for choosing the life partner for their children.

Though, the cultures and traditions of all the marriages resolve the purpose of celebrating the marriage with great pop and gaiety and to bless the couple for their successful married life. The marriage ceremonies and rituals vary according to the traditions and cultural background of a particular community. There are few communities in the country which are present all over the world and are defined according to their business and work culture. One of such communities is Banias, they are the people involved in the business like banking, money- lending, or the people dealing with the selling of products like, grains, groceries, spices and oil. Banias can be the people with sir names like Aggarwal, Agarwal, Baniya, Bani, Agarwal Marwari, Banikar, Oswal, Marwari, Mahajan, etc.

These people are popularly known as the thrifty or the penny- pinching community, but their marriages are celebrated at a very large scale with lavishing food and arrangements. Most of the Jains and Hindus constitute the Bania community. The people who follow Hindu religion are called Meshris, where others following Jain culture are called Shravaks. The Banias marriage date are supposed to be fixed by the parents during the time period of Kartika Sud i.e. 11th of October- November to Asarba Sud, i.e. 11th of June- July.

The marriage ceremony in a Bania family starts with the worship of Ganpati ji in both the houses of the bride and the groom, which is performed few days before the actual day of marriage. The ganpati pooja is organized to seek blessing from the god and the ceremony is called Mandav. The decoration of the marriage Mandav is done after the prayers. Then the ladies of the house go to a potters place, signing and dancing, as a procession, there they sprinkle sandalwood powder and flowers on the potters wheel, after which they bring earthen pots back home to be, used in the marriage ceremonies.

A day before the marriage both the Bania families, carry gifts and wedding dress for bride and groom to each others house respectively. The bride and the groom do not participate in these rituals. The wedding dress of the bania bride and the groom is usually a lehnga- choli or saree and a sherwani or kurta pyjami respectively.

On the day of the wedding, both the houses are decorated with all lights and flowers, all the family members, friends and distant relatives are invited to attend the wedding ceremony. To begin with the marriage day ceremonies, balls of cow dung ashes are thrown in all the four directions, meanwhile the brides mother takes seven circular rounds around the groom holding curd in two earthen pots, which afterwards are crushed by the right foot of the groom allowing him to enter the Brides house or the place of marriage.
Then the mother of the Bania bride washes the feet of the groom with honey, curd, sugar, milk and ghee to add the purifying factor. After this, the actual marriage ceremonies take place of Kanyadan (a ritual where the parents gives away the responsibility of their daughter to the groom for the lifetime), phere (seven circles around the sacred fire to promise each others support in all walks of life), after which the groom applies sindur or read powder on the forehead of the groom and then makes her wear a mangalsutra, marking the proof of a married women. All this leads to the completion of the Bania marriage ceremonies, which are more or less like a Hindu marriage.

Then the Bidayi ceremony takes place, a part of which the Bania bride moves away to the grooms house to lead a happy married life. The carriage or the car carrying the bride towards her new house is made to crush a coconut to mark a pure and happy beginning of their married life.

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Essential Things to Consider When Choosing a Wedding Photographer

It can be quite cumbersome and time consuming when you are trying to find the right wedding photographer. Besides, you want your wedding photos to be very unique and special. Doing your research and planning ahead will help you to select the most suitable photographer. This will also help you find one who knows what you want and how to produce the photos that you desire.

Has the Right Outdoor Photography Equipment

A good photographer can work in all types of environments and handle all types of situations. This is a very important thing to look for if you want to take pictures in a natural setting.

Does your chosen photographer have the right type of equipment to take the pictures that you want? Is he experienced enough to capture the special moments of your day? Can you count on him to take exquisite pictures even if the weather is rainy and gloomy outside? Talk to your photographer and address these concerns. Life happens, but you don’t want it to negatively impact your wedding day.

A good wedding photographer knows how to handle all possible scenarios, no matter what happens on your wedding day. Talking to your photographer about your concerns before your big day will put your mind at ease.

Is Your Photographer Familiar with Your Wedding Location?

If your chosen photographer has worked at your wedding location before, then he should be familiar with the location and be able to shoot all types of shots from various angles. This will also make it easy for him to shoot more creative photos. This means that it won’t take as long for him to photograph your wedding and reception.

Obviously, an experienced photographer can look at your wedding location and know where and how to take the best shots, even if he has never been there before. However, you might ask if he has ever photographed a wedding at your chosen wedding venue.

How Long Will the Photographer Stay?

A reportage wedding photographer should be available to capture every moment of your special day. This might include the pre-wedding rituals, the ceremony and the reception. You want to look back years later and see all of these special moments depicted in your wedding photos.

In advance, speak to your reportage wedding photographer and get an understanding about the number of hours that he will be there on your wedding day. Get a quote based upon the amount of hours that you expect him to stay, as well as the amount of photos that he will take. If he is a real professional who is committed to pleasing his client, he will insist on staying as long as it takes to make you happy.

What Services Does He Provide After the Wedding?

Taking pictures on your wedding day is not the only thing that wedding photographers do. There are other services that are usually available after the wedding. For instance, your photographer might offer editing services or create wedding albums. If this is possible, ask him how long each of these services will take.

It is important that you communicate with your wedding photographer. As a professional, he should respond to your inquiries in a quick manner. He should also have no problems with helping you with any photo related requests that you might have after the wedding.

You won’t be satisfied with your wedding photos unless you communicate with the photographer. In addition, he must have the right style, great communication skills, appropriate equipment and creativity.

When you first meet him, let your wedding photographer know what you want and expect. This will help him to ascertain your needs and give you exactly what you desire.

Author:

Richard Galloway is an award-winning professional photographer and considered one of the best reportage wedding photographers in Surrey. Creating -story-telling- photographs since 2007, he specialises in documentary (reportage) wedding photography.

Visit: http://www.gallowayphotography.uk.com/

Or just call for a chat about your special day: 01252 835 981

Indian Bridal Jewelry From Head To Toe

Girls just love weddings. They consider it as one of the most important days of their lives. Some of them even start thinking about their dream weddings when they are old enough to know what a wedding is all about. Among the girls all over the world, it must be the Indian girls who love to associate Indian bridal jewelry with their wedding daydreams. This is because in India, the jewelry is an essential part of any woman’s wedding day. The Indian tradition calls for brides to be decked with Indian bridal jewelry from head to toe. All the pieces of jewelry would have to complement each other as well as the outfit that the Indian bride is wearing.

Indian bridal jewelry does not have to mean the ones that are worn during the wedding day only but also on the engagement party that an Indian bride-to-be might be having before her big day. The Indian bridal jewelry would have to include earrings, nose rings, necklaces, bracelets or bangles as well as anklets and other possible adornments of the body that could be made with precious stones. These jewelries could be made of the most precious gems like diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds among others, set in gold, silver or platinum. Whatever the type of Indian bridal jewelry, brides would want them to fit the colors of the outfit that she will be wearing on both her engagement and her wedding day.

It is expected though that the Indian bridal jewelry that will be worn on a bride-to-be’s engagement party would be different than the ones that will adorn her body on her wedding day. During the engagement party, the jewelry would have to be less heavy and simpler in design. It is not uncommon for Indian brides to have their Indian bridal jewelry for both their engagement and wedding dates to be designed specifically for them. This is especially true for those who are rich and extravagant in their tastes of jewelry.

They would have different sets of Indian bridal jewelry for both occasions custom-designed preferably by known jewelry designers. For the engagement, it is accepted that the bride-to-be will wear just a one piece of jewelry like an elaborately designed necklace embedded with precious stones. In other times though this piece of Indian bridal jewelry would be complemented with earrings that are simply designed but is equally opulent in terms of the appliqud stones as well as with a bracelet of the same design or precious stone embellishments.

On the wedding date itself, the bride would wear the heavy Indian bridal jewelry that she had made. These Indian bridal jewelry generally consists of the Maangtika or that piece of Indian bridal jewelry that most if not all Indian brides wear on their heads, the necklace, the nose ring, the earrings, the waistband, the anklets and the rings for the toes as well as the bangles worn on the arm.

The Maangtika is generally designed for the bride herself and will go well with the other jewelry that will adorn her body. The other pieces of jewelry that make the entire Indian bridal jewelry are designed according to the colors of the wedding trousseau. While it is okay to be understated when it comes to the colors of the precious gems embedded in the Indian bridal jewelry, Indian brides most often than not go for eye-catching pieces that are bold in colors. For the Indian bride, the most opulent the Indian bridal jewelry is, the better.

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Importance Of Wedding Photography

Wedding photography is also known as traditional photography or classic photography. This type of photography has been used in wedding for several years. Wedding photography needs a person to set up the main equipment I-e camera each time wants to take different pictures. A person or photographer should make several wedding photos looks creative and artistic while covering the various sessions of wedding. A wedding photographer may produce different pictures which are arranged in photo shoots.wedding Photography bases its latest quality on lightning and sharpness. As far as latest and modern cameras are concerned, they capture clearer photos because of the improved and modern screens. As every person knows that wedding is considered to be the most important and major milestone day of every person’s life.

Many photographers shoot in various and different styles and it is very significant and important for photographer to take photos in different angles. In this article we will discuss the main styles of that are famous and available today.

1.traditional wedding photography: The first and most important style of is the traditional wedding photography. This type of photography captures the pictures of wedding way in a traditional way such as exchange of rings, family pictures, cutting the cake and many more. Weddings are considered to be the formal occasions and this type of photography has stood testing the best time.

2.reportage wedding photography: Another most important style of wedding photography is reportage wedding photography. This type of photography is also known as photojournalistic wedding photography. In this type of photography, the photographer blends the background and different photographs. This style of photography is considered to be the hardest to perfect because it takes several years for photographer to get an experience.

3.contemporary wedding photography: The last and most important style of wedding photography is contemporary wedding photography. This style of photography is also known as avant garde wedding photography. Furthermore, this style of photography includes unusual ideas and uses various camera angles. Moreover, it brings the personality of photographers into the picture together with the innovative vision or individual style of the photographer. On the other hand, this style of photography is less popular as compared to other styles of photography. Several wedding photographers use this style of wedding photography in professional photography awards and person will see many features of this style of photography in glossy wedding magazines.

Latest Trends In Indian Wedding Cards

Invitation cards are a mandatory part of all the Indian weddings. Selecting an Indian wedding card, irrespective of the religion, is no less than a serious matter of several days involving a lot of considerations amongst a lot of important people in the family; thus playing a pivotal role in the marriage. Some people use these as a gesture to continue the age old ritual of sending invitation prevalent during those times when there were no other means of invitation. Some people send them to showcase their taste and style through customized invitations. Some people send them just to avoid unnecessary complexities which might among their relatives having orthodox mindset!

Recent Trends in Indian Wedding Cards

Since the olden days, these Indian wedding cards have come a long way and have evolved a lot in style and elegance. Today they stand for style, personality and also depict the invitees class! Following are some of the latest trends seen in Indian wedding cards-

3D texture is used in Indian wedding cards as a highlighter these days. Such an element is seen as unique. This can be a plastic or metal religious symbol pasted on the front page, or a flower on top, or just laces and wires used as decorative.

Couple sketches or pictures are also quite prevalent in some Indian wedding cards. Ideally engagement pictures are used for the purpose. It also adds a personalized touch.

The wordings chosen in Indian wedding cards have also moved from formal to a casual tone. A special care is taken here so that they appear to be woven with extra love and affection and do not look arrogant or too blunt.

Judge the book by its cover is the new mantra! The couples to be have always taken care in designing and accessorising their marriage cards, but now they even pay attention to how the envelope looks like!

The retro look is in these days. From offbeat silvers and pastel shades, the Indian wedding cards are again going back to older richer designs and floral vine decorations. Vintage fonts and other classy designs are also in. they even include quotes and sayings from ancient scriptures.

Wedding theme also plays an important role in designing the invite. If the theme is royal wedding, the wedding card might be in a Farman or scroll pattern.

The use of handmade paper is also on a rise as seen in the selection of Indian wedding cards. These cards bring on an elegant texture, also being environment friendly.