South Indian Christian Wedding – A Joyful Blend of the Indo-Western Customs

The South Indian Christian marriage is a unique blend of western, biblical and traditional practices. Although customs varies slightly from place to place; yet, it connects two hearts so beautifully to lead a happy and inseparable life and share equal part of joy and sorrow until the last breath.

Christians in southern India incorporate some Western customs while firmly clinging on to their own Indian culture. The Christian wedding invitation card contains beautiful verses from bible. Generally, they go for one page wedding invite, but with change in time more are people are going for theme based card.

How the Big Day Starts for the Couple

The bride is dressed in a white or off white saree. The veil is optional. The dresses of the bridesmaids and the flower girls match the colour decor of the occasion. Well, in the recent times, contemporary brides choose to wear gowns and veils. Thereafter, they change over to their traditional outfit or heavily worked designer apparel for the wedding reception.

Prior to the church service, the bridegroom’s sisters and cousins carry decorated platters containing the wedding costume, the veil, the Bible, dried fruits like cashews and almonds and other Indian fruits and sweets to the bride’s residence and gift them to the bride. The church pastor blesses the wedding apparel and gives it to the bride. Meanwhile, the groom and his party leave for the church then they wait for the bride to arrive at the Church Altar.

The Church Service

The marriage service is almost similar to the Western Christian church weddings; however, the only difference is that the groom places the Mangalsutra or the Thaali around the bride’s neck instead of the couple exchanging rings. Well, in Indian Christian marriages, the thaali is a gold chain that has a gold pendant with the cross embedded in it. As far as India is concerned, especially South India, a girl wearing a thaali is a sign she is married. Rings are also exchanged in the church, but normally the couple exchanges the rings during the engagement ceremony.

The crucial aspect of the marriage is the groom pledging the wedding vows while holding the gold cross pendant. Another variation from the western custom is that in India the groom usually does not kiss the bride in the church because in India, kissing in public is a kind of taboo. After the vows are pledged, the church pastor announces the couple as man and wife.

Once the wedlock ceremonial service is over, the couple walks down the aisle as the Wedding March is played by the Church Organ. At the same time, the congregation showers flower petals on the couple.

The Marriage Reception

The usual marriage reception takes place with the cutting of the wedding cake. As the Indian Christian marriages take place amidst a huge crowd, singing and dancing are reserved only for the close family members and friends when all the guests leave. Once the invitees leave, the couple is given a glass of milk and banana as a symbol of prosperity and fertility. Thereafter, the couple leaves for their honeymoon.