A Hindu Canadian Wedding - A New Experience for Me



Groom & Groomesman at the Altar

 Due to the long winter months in Canada, most of Canadian weddings take place in the summer months of June- August . We attended a family member’s  wedding in early June and last weekend we had the honour of being invited to a Hindu Canadian couple’s wedding held at the Crystal Fountain Banquet Hall in Markham, Ontario, which is about a forty minute drive north from downtown Toronto.



The Bride Walking to the Altar

 Though I have attended numerous weddings, I had never attended a Hindu wedding in my life. Therefore,  this was a new experience for me and I looked forward to it with great anticipation. I love learning about other people’s customs and cultures and living in Toronto, Canada, there is no better place for it. Our population is diverse with different people from every corner of the world as Toronto is one of the favourite cities where immigrants tend to settle and put down their roots.

Since the invitation card stated that the wedding would be from 10:30a.m. – 12:15p.m.,( on a Sunday), my husband and I got there right at 10:30a.m. on the dot. But where was everyone? There were only a handful of people in a banquet hall that was set for about six hundred people. However, as we were looking  for our seats, we saw the groom and his groomsman sitting on the mandap – a glitzy altar specially built for the wedding ceremony, adorned  with flowers, fruits and accompanied by two Hindu gurus sitting on the floor with a multitude of  items placed in front of them.

There were some kinds of ceremony going on, but without explanation, we did not know what was going on. We were fortunate that there were a few people from Stan’s company also attending this wedding and a couple of them were of Indian decent; they arrived about 30 minutes later and were able to explain some of the rituals to us. 

Bride & Groom Putting on the wreath 3 times

While most Canadian wedding ceremony take about 40 – 60 minutes, this Hindu wedding ceremony was longer,  a little more than two hours but very interesting indeed. No wonder people were trickling in throughtout the enitire ceremony because they knew it would be a lenthy one so they timed their arrival and most got here just before the bride's procession.



Both Mothers-in- law took part in the wedding rituals.

I learned that during a Hindu/ Indian wedding, there were many people involved in the ceremony besides the bride and groom. The groom was on the altar accompanied by his groomsman and the gurus for about an hour.After the bride's procession with her female relatives walking behind her the bride and groom performed a number of rituals as directed by the gurus. Some of the rituals  were putting the flower wreath on each other three times, eating something that the gurus gave them three times and performed other rituals three times ( three times represent good luck ).   Family members from both sides such as parents, siblings and relatives participated and each had a part to play in the ceremony as well. They participated in the ancient ritual by going up to the altar doing what was required of them and sprinkled rice on the heads of the newly weds.



Friends & colleagues congratulated the new couple.

After the family members did their part, the MC declared that the wedding ceremony was over and the buffet lunch started. While some guests headed to the buffet lunch, other guests started lining up to congratulate the new couple and at the end, all the guests waited patiently and congratulatedthem, sprinkling rice and having a picture taken with them!



the guru directing the wedding ceremony



It was a new cultural experience for me. Every time I attend a special cultural event such as this, I am awed by the diverse cultures, peoples, religions and races that we have in Canada and the respect and acceptance we have of each others’ differences. Yes, as individual Canadian, we may have a lot of differences in terms of our own cultures, language and religion. But as Canadians, we are the same and we have the same values: peace, freedom, compassion, honesty, and respect for others’ differences. I truly believe that it is these values that bind us together and enable us to live harmoniously in a free society. I am lucky that I live in Canada, a great country!



R.T. Toronto

July 14, 2012