Thursday 19 January 2012

Pakistani Weddings: Rich in Tradition and Stunning Pakistani Wedding Clothes

Pakistani weddings are rich in culture and tradition and the wedding clothes are a central part of the ritual. It is good to hire Asian wedding caterers to ensure everything goes to plan.



Wedding Invitations UK
Pakistani weddings have always been rich in tradition and have changed little over the years. The biggest influence has probably been the fusion of Anglo influences into the ceremonies that are now increasingly held both here in the United Kingdom and back in Pakistan. Look for wedding invitations UK that can incorporate both eastern and western designs.



While a wedding in Pakistan centres around the bride and groom, the wedding is also seen very much as a union between two families and the build up to the wedding involve various key stages including:-

  • Mangni – the engagement ceremony that heralds the formal engagement between the couple. The ceremony is small and intimate with the key family members acknowledging the proposed ties between the bride and groom.

  • Mayun – a traditional period of seclusion in which the bride is freed from all chores and responsibilities and is secluded from the groom for a period of 15 to 18 days before the wedding as well as being secluded from the groom. This tradition has been somewhat eroded in Anglo-Pakistani weddings as our lifestyles do not always accommodate this tradition.

  • Dolki – where traditional wedding songs are played and usually accompanies by percussion instruments. The bride wears a yellow outfit to place her as the central focus of the ceremony

  • Rasm E Mehndi – also known as the Henna party is usually carried out the day before the wedding where the bride has Henna applied to her hands and feet and she is blessed. Other traditions involve donating money and circling the bride’s head three times with the money

  • Baraat – the traditional procession by family, relatives, and friends who go to the bride’s home for official wedding ceremony.

  • Nikah – for practising Muslims, Nikah is the official Islamic wedding ceremony which normally takes place at the bride’s home and is attended close family members, relatives, and friends.

  • Nikah-naama  - the registration of the marriage contract. In Anglo-Pakistani weddings, this ceremony may take part in the Registrar.

In terms of Pakistani wedding clothes, these too are embedded in history with the bride traditionally wearing a bridal veil which is known as a Dupatta which is decorated with embroidery and brocades. Clothing is typically red, hot pink, orange, magenta or other vivid colours that make the bride stand out as the central focus of all ceremonies.

Wedding clothes dress styles include the most popular ghagra choli which consists of a pleated skirt and a fitted blouse as well as the sari, sharara, churidar and pyjama with angrakha.

Attention to detail of all Pakistani wedding clothes is high and most clothes will be embellished with highly intricate embroidery, laden with gold and silver jewels.