traditional Pakistani wedding

Traditional Pakistani Wedding Customs


Marriages in Pakistan are celebrated with a great deal of fervor, pomp and style hence it has evolved in an occasion of absolute glitz glance. As a result elaborate planning and preparation needs to be put in to fulfill every girl’s lifelong dream of being married in the most memorable and spectacular way possible.

Marriage in Islam in both a solemn part that is to be respected by two partners also an act of devotion to God. A Nikah is performed that is an Islamic official wedding ceremony that usually takes place at the bride’s home. Nikah is attended by close family members, relatives, and friends of groom and bride. The marriage contract (nikah-naama) is registered with city government, it’s containing several terms and conditions that are to be respected by the bride and groom. It can include the bride’s right to divorce her husband, Nikah-naama specifies Mehr, the monetary amount the groom will give the bride. The Mehr guarantees the bride's freedom within the marriage, and acts as the bride's safety net.

The fathers of groom and bride (waris) act as witnesses to the wedding or the senior male, brother or uncle performs the ceremony. An Islamic clerk (called maulana or maulvi in Urdu) reads the prophetic sermon for marriage which also consists of selected verses from the Quran and waits for the Ijab-e-Qubul (proposal and acceptance) of wedding. Usually, the groom's side makes proposal and the bride's side conveys her assent. Maulvi and witnesses (gavah) take the nikah-naama to the bride and read it to her aloud. She accepts the nikah-naama saying "qabool kiya," and signs it. The nikah-naama is then taken to the groom and reads aloud to him. He also accepts saying "qabool kiya" and signs the document. The maulvi and witnesses all sign the nikah-naama contract and the wedding becomes legalAfter the wedding is legally announced, part favor filled with dates and misri are served from the groom's family. The groom is then escorted to his bride for further ceremonies. .

Arranged marriages have been an integral part of Pakistani society for years and are still prevalent. Marriages are often arranged within the family or within the same tribe however nowadays, love marriages are slowly becoming more common and acceptable in Pakistan. Arranged marriages in Pakistan often take long periods of time to finalize. The time from preparation until wedding day may be more than a year. When the wedding date approaches, all close relatives are invited for a typical Pakistani wedding that requires a considerable budget in order to accommodate them. In some cases, wedding dates are even postponed until the important relatives are able to arrive to the location of the reception from abroad. The wedding customs and celebrations also differ significantly depending on the geographical location as well as the families involved. However, a typical Pakistani wedding has at least three main customs involving the Mehndi or Henna ceremony (Rasme Henna), the vows or the Nikah which is a part of the actual wedding or Shadi ceremony and a  Valima offered by the groom's family.