Hindu wedding cards

Hindu wedding cards or invitations are hallmark Hindu marriage rituals and customs which are entangled with eternal bonding, affection and blessing. The lavish traditions are highlighted with opulently colored Hindu wedding invitations aesthetically designed in handmade paper and designs enriched with heart-felt emotions. Hindu invitations symbolize glitter, lively mood and fun of the matrimonial ceremony. These cards are not only to inform and invite; rather, they express style and the theme of the special day.

Religious symbols such as Lord Ganesha and Mangal Ghat are embedded in rich texture to seek the blessings of God. The relevance of Hindu invitations has undergone a radical change since the origin of Hindu weddings all across the globe.

Hindu wedding

A wedding is known as vivah in Hindu culture and the ceremony is known as vivah sanskar, in which two individuals perform various customs to begin their journey of life together with happiness and bliss. Hindu community places the utmost importance on weddings and they are celebrated with a lot of fun and happiness. Hindu marriages have a number of rituals and traditions which vary according to the community.

Jaimala (exchange of garlands)

In this ceremony or ritual, the bride and groom exchange garlands (jaimala) as a sign of acceptance of one another and a promise to respect one another as partners to begin their journey of life. It denotes or signifies that the bride and bridegroom willingly consent to marry, pleasantly and voluntarily at the same time as their hearts are united and concordant like water.

Madhupak (offering of honey and yogurt)

In this tradition, the bridegroom is welcomed to a decorated altar known as mandap and is offered a seat. After this, the bride's father offers the bridegroom honey and yogurt as an expression of respect and welcome.

Kanyadan (giving away of the bride)

The word kanya means 'bride' and dan means 'giving away'. In this tradition, the bride's parents offer their virgin daughter in marriage through a solemn and pious ritual known as kanyadan. The main concept behind kanyadan is that the groom is Lord Narayana and the bride is a form of the goddess Laxmi. The parents of the bride are facilitating their union for eternity.

Hasta Milap

In this custom the parents of the bride join the hands of the bride and groom and the couple declares that their hearts have been united and they vow to remain devoted to each other for a lifetime. The groom also assures the bride that she will always be respected in his life and honored in their home.

Rajaham (sacrifice to the sacred fire)

In this ritual, the bride will place both her hands into the hands of the groom and then her brother will place rice into her hands; bride and groom together will then offer the rice as a sacrifice into the sacred fire.

Mangalya Dharane (tying a mangalsutra from the bridegroom)

In Mangalya Dharane, the word mangalsutra refers to a sacred necklace which is seen as the token of love and dignity given to a bride by her bridegroom. The groom ties the mangalsutra around the neck of the bride when the priest recites Vedic hymns and prayers on the wedding day. This tradition signifies the union of the bride and the groom in front of God, who is believed to be attending the matrimonial ceremony. This sacred thread, known as mangalsutra, is made of two strings of small black beads with a pendant or locket. It is considered auspicious for married women and believed to have divine powers as it signifies protection from evil power. It is also that this sacred thread will protect the marriage of a couple and life of the husband forever.

Gath Bandhan (tying of the wedding knot)

The word gath means 'knot' and bandhan means 'tying'. In this ritual, a scarf is placed around the neck of the bride and bridegroom which is tied together and which symbolizes the eternal bond between the couple. It also denotes their pledge before God to remain faithful and to love each other for eternity.

Mangalphera (walk around the holy fire)

In mangalphera, the bride and groom take four mangalpheras which means doing rounds around the holy fire in a clockwise direction in which the bride leads the first three mangalpheras to signify her determination to stand first beside her husband in sorrow and happiness. In the fourth, the bridegroom leads, and these four mangalpheras represent four goals in life which are Moksha (spiritual salvation and liberation), Dharma (religious and moral duties), Artha (prosperity) and Kama (earthly pleasures).

Saptapadi (seven steps together)

In saptapadi, the bride and groom walk seven steps together to indicate the commencement of their journey of life together filled with happiness and glee. In this ritual, a pink cloth is draped over the bride's shoulder and tied to the bridegroom's shoulder cloth. The married couple then walks seven steps together to remain true companions and life-long partners.

Jalastnchana (blessing of the couple)

In jalastnchana, the parents of the bride and groom bless the newly wedded couple by dipping a rose in water and sprinkling it over the married couple.

Sindhoor (vermilion)

In the ritual of sindhoor which means 'vermilion', the bridegroom applies a small dot of vermilion, a red-colored powder, to the bride's forehead and welcomes her as his partner for life in sorrow and happiness. It also signifies the completion of the wedding successfully.

Aashirvad (parental blessing)

In aashirvad, the newly married couple seeks blessings of the officiating priest who is known as pandit in Hindu culture. All the relatives along with other guests join in to throw flowers and rice on the couple and express good wishes for the newlyweds. The newly married couple seeks aashirvad, the blessing from the parents by bowing down and touching their feet.

Vidaai (good-bye)

Vidaai is the last ritual of the ceremony by which the bride begins a significant role in her life as a wife and member of the bridegroom's family. Typically a sad event, the bride says goodbye to her parents and siblings. The bride then throws a handful of rice (which signifies her well-wishes, thanks and blessings for her parents, siblings and ancestral home) backwards towards her parents as she walks forward towards her new life as a married woman.

Hindu wedding invitations

The features of Hindu wedding invitations are:

Invitation wordings

An invitation wording is a compilation of various wedding invitation verses, wordings and text templates for all the special ceremonies. From the wedding invitation text, it is possible to get a comprehensive idea about the type of wedding: for instance, whether it is a Hindu or Christian wedding celebration. In the same manner, Hindu invitations are incomplete without wordings. The wordings have a significant relevance while designing a perfect card. The invitation wordings in a Hindu wedding card are very formal, and wordings are used in the card for various ceremonies which include mehandi, engagement, wedding sangeet, wedding ceremony and reception invitation wording.

Printable symbols

Various types of printable symbols such as Lord Ganesha, Om, and Mangal Ghat are available for all Hindu wedding invitation cards. These symbols have religious significance. Sometimes, the bride and groom also select symbols based on the theme. Various classic, as well as artistic symbols, are used in Hindu cards. The printable symbols are very uniquely designed to give a perfect look to the Hindu wedding invitation cards. It also adds grace to the card with a new redefined look. The symbols are widely used all across the globe and becoming more and more well-known day by day.

Printing techniques

File:Marriage invitation card cover.png

Cover of wedding card printed in simple style

The printing methods used in printing wedding invitation cards have seen a radical transformation with technological advancement. As the invitation wording and design hint at the wedding style, in the same manner, the printing technique chosen will convey how formal the whole wedding ceremony is. The type of printing technique selected will also have a large impact on the wedding budget, and it will help in choosing the design and paper type. With the availability of high-standard printing techniques, Hindu invitations can be printed by diverse methods like flocking, embossing, hot foil stamping, laser cutting, raised silk screen printing, offset printing, letterpress, thermography, engraving and more to give a new multidimensional look to the invitation cards. The choice is based on what kind of look is desired and what the allocated budget for it is.

Theme-based cards

Hindu wedding cards are also designed as per the wedding theme. The bride and groom seek a unique wedding celebration, so theme-based weddings around the globe have seen a tremendous rise. Weddings are now the best launchpad to show the world how unique a marriage celebration can be: for instance, Hollywood glamour themes, medieval themes, Harry Potter themes, or ethnic theme-based weddings.

Types of paper

Technological advancements and growing interest in a graceful wedding have given rise to selecting diverse types of paper for wedding invitation cards. Hindu cards are printed on diverse types of paper such as:

Shimmery metallic paper
Matte-finish boards
Fabric paper
Handmade metallic paper
Handmade silk paper
Handmade cotton paper
Velvet paper
Vellum paper

Add-on cards

With changing times, the demand for add-on cards has risen two-fold with main wedding invitation cards. Now, these are used to complement the main Hindu wedding cards. To complement the main Hindu wedding invitation, there are various matching add-on cards such as:

RSVP cards
Thank you cards
Program booklets
Menu cards
Place cards

References