With India’s diverse cultures and communities come diverse customs and traditions. And that’s the beauty of India, we’re divided by traditions but united by wedding shenanigans. No matter what religion or region you belong to, a wedding ceremony is incomplete without the usual dhoom-dhaam. And we’ll be telling you about Marathi wedding rituals or Maharashtrian wedding traditions.
A Marathi wedding is a very simple and vibrant ceremony. The traditions and Marathi wedding rituals are all about celebrating love and having fun. Let us walk you through these rituals.
All You Need To Know About Marathi Wedding Rituals & Celebrations-
1. Sakhar Puda
Sakhar Puda is a pre-wedding ceremony where the bride and groom exchange their rings and take their parents’ blessings. The bride is then given a traditional saree by the groom’s mother along with some sweets (Sakhar). It is basically an engagement ceremony.
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2. The Kelvan Ritual
Just a few days before the wedding, both the family of the bride and the groom offer their prayers to their deities or Kuldevta. It is to show gratitude for showering them with good luck and health. And the ritual is followed by a lunch with close family members. 
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3. Halad Chadavane
Halad Chadavane is the Maharashtrian version of the Haldi ceremony. It is a pre-wedding ritual held at both the bride’s and the groom’s house. In this Marathi wedding ritual, the Haldi or turmeric paste is applied to the bride’s and groom’s bodies. Applying Haldi is a very famous Indian ritual that is believed to have healing powers and also makes the skin glow.
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4. Seemant Pujan
This ritual is performed on the day of the wedding itself. When the groom arrives at the wedding venue, the bride’s mother washes his feet, and the families exchange gifts amongst each other.
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5. Gaurihar Puja
The bride performs the Gaurihar Puja ritual where she worships Goddess Parvati. While performing this Marathi wedding ritual, the bride has to wear a yellow-colored saree and Mundavalya across her forehead i.e. a pearl or a floral string.
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6. Antarpat
This is a wedding ritual where the bride and the groom are not supposed to see each other. A silk shawl is placed between them to block their visions, so they aren’t visible to one another. Once the priest completes reciting the holy mantras, only then can they finally look at each other.
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7. Sankalp Ritual
Once the mantras are over, the silk shawl is removed from between the bride and the groom. And the guests shower rice grains over the couple while they both adorn one another with garlands.
Some families make it a fun affair by making it harder for the couple to perform this ritual so that one has to put extra effort to put the garland over the other.
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8. Kanyadaan
Kanyadaan is also practiced in many other Indian weddings. In this ritual the father of the bride hands over her hand to the groom. It symbolizes that he has given his blessings to the groom and that he will be her caretaker from now on. The groom then ties the Mangalsutra around the bride’s neck and applies sindoor on her head. The bride in return applies Chandan teeka on the groom’s forehead.
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9. Saptapadi Ritual
The couple takes seven rounds around the holy fire. And the bride has to touch seven betel nuts and small mounds of rice with her feet after completing each round.
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10. Karmasampati
In this Marathi wedding ritual, the bride and groom, along with their parents, pray to the almighty for their well-being. And the bride’s brothers playfully twist the groom’s ear warning him to always be careful with her and protect her. After all this, a grand lunch awaits both families.
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11. Varat
This ritual is a post-wedding ritual. The bride bids goodbye to her family and is welcomed into the groom’s family. This is similar to the Hindu weddings’ ‘bidaai’ ceremony.
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12. Grihapravesh
After the farewell ceremony, the bride enters the groom’s house and a homecoming ritual is performed for the bride. The groom’s family welcomes the bride and groom into their house by washing their feet with milk and water. And the bride kicks a Kalash filled with rice and the couple step in with their right foot first.
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13. Reception
The reception is a fun event where the bride and groom greet the guests as newlyweds. Everyone celebrates the newly married couple and there’s a lot of music and dancing involved.
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