Planning your Indian fusion wedding

Planning an Indian fusion wedding

Planning a wedding is a full time job and it comes with a whole lot of stress too. Planning an Indian fusion wedding can certainly increase the stress levels because incorporating 2 cultures and religions without trying to hurt anyone’s feelings is a very difficult task. But, there are many ways to plan out your wedding events so that you have time in between to enjoy them and ensure everyone is represented.

With Indian fusion weddings, it’s hard to incorporate every single tradition of each culture. Think of what events you want when you pick and choose the traditions that mean the most to you and your partner. If you’re having two separate ceremonies in full, incorporating rituals might be easier. If you’re having one joint ceremony, you’ll have to think carefully about what you want.

Here are a few examples of how you can plan your own Indian Fusion wedding:

• Create an Indian fusion ceremony of your own by fusing the cultures into the ceremony + reception. Have a Hindu wedding ceremony and finish off the ceremony at the mandap with an exchange of vows. Add in an officiant different than the Hindu priest to add that special touch for the 2nd ceremony (is the exchange of vows the part that is done by the other officiant? If so, then say ‘special touch for the vows’.- if not, then maybe explain a little bit more of what the 2nd ceremony could be. We have seen this done with a Hindu Jewish wedding and also a Sikh Hindu wedding ceremony.
• Have one ceremony + reception. Represent one religion/culture at the wedding ceremony while you incorporate the culture and traditions of the other side in other places – like, using a colorful theme for your reception decor or having Indian musicians at the reception for guests.
• Pre-wedding event(s) +  Indian fusion wedding ceremony + reception. Start off your celebration with a Mehndi, Garba or Sangeet to break the ice with both sides of family and friends. This is a great place for music and dancing and an introduction to Indian culture (for guests who aren’t familiar with it). The ceremony can either be combined for a fusion ceremony or kept simple with one ceremony, followed by a reception. Make sure you take time to do a little tutorial if you are going to have a Garba so all the guests can be involved.

Begin with an open communication, so that you are able to hear what is important to both families.  After, you and your fiance can better setup expectations for both of your families, while this may not solve the issues, it will give them time to understand and time for you to create avenues to incorporate those elements that are important to both families.

• Pre-wedding event(s) + two ceremonies + reception. If creating an Indian fusion wedding ceremony isn’t for you and your respective families, have the traditional Indian wedding and add in a Justice of the Peace wedding ceremony right before cocktail hour. If you are thinking of having a Hindu ceremony and then a Christian ceremony in a church then maybe opt to have them on 2 separate days, your guests will thank you.
• One simple ceremony (non-denominational) + reception celebration. If you’re not feelin’ the Indian wedding or multiple events, keep it simple with one ceremony and a reception celebration. Incorporate as much or as little of each culture as you want.
• Or, have any combination of the above, creating your own fusion wedding, and add in a second reception. Indian parents might not back down from the idea of a smaller reception, so you could opt to have a separate “Indian” reception hosted by the Indian parents, where they can invite their friends and more extended family beyond those at your main reception.

Content in the post is derived from Indian Wedding Toolkit. Click here to view the original post.

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