Gujarati Wedding
After nearly 1 year from my India trip, I’ve finally compiled the photos into a wedding story. You might have seen some of these photos before, but now they’re all presented together in a story.
Traditionally, Indian weddings are elaborate celebrations filled with rituals and customs dating back thousands of years. Weddings are usually between arranged couples, or those who have been partnered together by the bride and groom’s families for financial gain and family partnership. The marriage between Suketu Soni and Divya Agarwal was a more modern love marriage. The ceremonies occurred between Jan. 3, 2008 and Jan. 5, 2008 in the state of Gujarat, in northwest India.
Gujarati Wedding: Traditional vs. Modern
Traditionally, Indian weddings are elaborate celebrations filled with rituals and customs dating back thousands of years. Weddings are usually between arranged couples, or those who have been partnered together by the bride and groom’s families for financial gain and family partnership. Usually involving 400 – 1,000 people, most of whom neither the bride or groom know personally, traditional Indian weddings are large festivities which are generally structured into pre-wedding ceremonies, wedding day ceremonies (divided into the Baraat, the Varmala and the Phere), and the Vidaai, or the final breakfast the day after the wedding day. Specifically, Gujarati wedding ceremonies are divided into many elaborate stages, symbolizing the beginning of a lifetime of togetherness.
The marriage of Suketu Soni and Divya Agarwal, however, will be a more modern love marriage. Not prearranged by the families, Soni and Agrawal met on an Indian online dating service. Both Suketu and Agarwal are well educated. Suketu graduated with an engineering degree, and currently works for an engineering firm in New Delhi. Agrawal is currently studying business. Both families are Hindu, and actively practice the religion. The juxtaposition between the traditional and modern Indian cultures during the ceremonies will provide an interesting look into today’s India.
The ceremonies will be held in Navsari, Gujarat. Located on the western coast of India, Gujarat is the most industrialized Indian state. With 13 academic universities and 4 agricultural universities, education is highly valued within Gujarat. Gujarat’s official language is Gujarati. Roughly 89.1% of the Gujarati population are Hindu. The main industries of Navsari are diamond polishing and bakery.
As always, thanks for reading.
Introduction and About This Blog
Family, Friends & Colleagues,
If you don’t already know, my best friend’s family has invited me to a wedding in India from Dec. 26-Jan. 10 in Navsari, Gujarat. During the two and a half weeks, I will be documenting the wedding, and all of the ceremonies, traditions and culture involved with the process of holding a traditional Indian wedding. This blog will serve as a medium to post my work and thoughts throughout this journey, obtain feedback, and serve as a place to keep in contact with all of you while out of the country. While in India, I will try to keep this blog as up to date as possible (from what I gather, we’ll have access to internet cafes regularly). The best way to keep in touch is to sign up for email updates of this blog, and you’ll be emailed whenever I add a new post. In the coming weeks, I will post some more background on my project and the region I will be visiting. As this is a blog, feel free to post a comment on here whenever you wish. Feedback is greatly appreciated, I cannot grow without it. Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing in this journey with me!
