Choosing a Pandit for your Indian Wedding

An Indian wedding is generally a three to four day affair or even longer and involves many customs and rituals which are carried out, to mark an auspicious beginning for the soon-to-be married couple. Some of these rituals while monotonous and lengthy, are definitely sacred and meaningful. These rituals are generally completed with the help of a priest or pandit, who is well versed with the various requirements of the process. Your wedding is an important day for you and therefore, choosing the perfect pandit becomes even more critical.

Every pandit has his own methods and style of working. Some believe in a by the book kind of execution of a ritual while some are flexible in shortening or lengthening a ceremony to suit your needs. Before choosing your pandit, you can lisr down certain points which you need to look at – doeshe speak English, is he flexible is adding or subtracting elements of the wedding ceremony, is he serious, interactive or humorous.

For those who would like to understand the marriage proceedings,you can have the pandit give you a short explanation about the rites and shlokas he is about to perform. Due to the varied diversity of India, every region has their own set of rituals and requirements for a wedding ceremony and therefore in inter-cultural marriages; the wedding ceremony is usually lengthier as the process involves two types of wedding ceremonies. Before you confirm a priest, it is essential, to discuss all your points with him.

Once you have finalized your pandit, make sure that he will provide for all the ingredients required for the various pujas and other rituals. If not, ask him to give you a list of materials that you need to provide so there is no confusion on the wedding day.

Image credits

Image 1 : flicker user

Image 2 : unknown blog

Image 3 : katie & yesh