The last day of wedding called walima equivalent to wedding reception of a western wedding. Basically it is a feast dinner invitation from groom’s family to all their friends and relatives including the bride’s family. On walima day bride wears a heavily decorated dress and jewellery provided by the groom’s family.  As mentioned above it is the last day of a Pakistani wedding however it can be held on Rukhsati day. These days the venue for walima is a marriage hall however it can be held at groom’s house. Walima reflects the financial status of groom and his family. In most cases it is most expensive part of a wedding and one try to his level best to give an extensive dinner to guests on walima.

The nikah (a religious marriage contract) takes place either on Shaadi day or any other day.  It is the most essential part of a Muslim marriage as without nikah it will not be considered as marriage. All other events of the marriage are not essential and there is no value or importance for those events in Islamic point of view and a marriage can be take place without them but without nikah it will not be called marriage. In most cases the venue for nikah is bride’s house however some people do it in a mosque. It is performed by an imam.  During nikah both bride and groom must have their witnesses present just to ensure that the marriage is consensual. In fact nikah can not be performed without the presence of witnesses. Also both bride and groom should be agreeing for it otherwise it will not be called a valid nikah. After nikah groom and bride can be called husband and wife.

On Shaadi day the bride wears red or blue gharara (almost similar to a long skirt and blouse) with heavy gold jewellery. The groom wears a traditional dress such as sherwani (a long coat-like garment) with a sehra (a headdress for groom) however these days in urban areas groom wears a western inspired suit. A dinner is served to all guests from both sides by bride’s family. The bride’s family offer gifts or to groom and his close family members called Salami. Finally groom and his family leave bride’s house with bride. This event called Rukhsati. The Holy book (Quran) is normally held over bride’s head as she walks from stage to exit. This is the most emotional scene of a Pakistani wedding as she says farewell to her parents’ home to start a new married life. In rural areas groom uses a decorated horse to travel to and from bride’s house however in urban areas horse has been placed by cars.

The third and most important day of a Pakistani wedding called Shaadi which means happiness. It is bride’s reception day and therefore it takes place at bride’s house or in a nearby garden or open air place under the large wedding tents. However it can be arranged in a marriage hall or hotel depending upon the number of guests and the social status of bride’s family as it they are the responsible for the reception.

The groom’s friends and family called barat (and an individual called barati). On arrival the barat greeted with flowers garland by the bride’s family. The bride’s sisters and friends stop the barat from entering the arena and ask barat for some cash or any other demand just for fun, between the baratis and bride’s family and friend. [to be continued...]

Second day of marriage ceremony called Mehndi or Rasm e Henna. This event traditionally held separately for the bride and groom. Henna (a paste for temporary skin decoration) is placed on bride/groom’s hands. This event starts in the evening till midnight. The groom’s family and friends visit bride and brings along sweets and henna for bride and bride’s family does same for the groom. But as I have mentioned before bride and groom are not allowed to each other so they don’t participate in each other’s events and stays at home.  Yellow is the traditional wearing colour for this event. The most interesting thing about this event is that everybody try to wear good clothing accept grooms who wears a very casual dress.  Brides wears a nice yellow dress.

A Pakistani wedding consists of a series of very bright events that continue for several days depending upon the social and economic position of the bride and groom. However a typical Pakistani wedding consists of four ceremonies on four different days. Today we will discuss the first event/day of a Pakistani wedding called Mayoon.

Mayoon is the first event of the wedding and from this day on bride and groom are not allowed to see each other until the day of marriage regardless of marriage type e.g. love or arranged.  Yellow colour symbolizes this day and family and invited friends wear yellow garments. This day starts with the recitation of Quran and after religious formalities family and friends bring the bride/groom for ceremony.