Indian weddings are full of surprises. And these unique and out-of-the-box wedding rituals are proof of this!
Indian weddings are like love stories wrapped in marigold garlands and are lavish, vibrant, and full of old-world traditions. But there lies a treasure trove of quirky rituals behind the shine of silk sarees, the throbbing rhythm of the dhol, and the scent of rosewater. These aren’t the usual pheras or varmala rituals you see in Bollywood romantic sequences; these are the fun, often naughty customs that make Indian weddings irrepressible.
Some are steeped in symbolic meaning, some exist purely for fun, and some… well, they exist simply because love deserves a dash of chaos. Let’s wander together through India’s many regions and explore these offbeat wedding rituals that give “happily ever after” a uniquely Indian twist in this blog created by our team at Wedding Affair.
Why These Wedding Rituals Matter?
Weddings are not merely about religious ceremonies or legal agreements; they’re the narratives that we share, the family inside jokes, the moments that come back to us when anniversaries arrive. Unconventional Indian wedding traditions maintain the humaneness and humour — within the pomp and ceremony. They remind us that love is not all solemn promises and soulful stares. Sometimes, it’s a pilfered shoe, a trimmed fish, a dash of turmeric, or a coconut’s snap at the doorway. In every society, these rituals build bridges among the two families, among the old and the young, between tradition and change. And in that interweaving of laughter, symbolism, and devotion, marriages discover their most lasting blessing.
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Fishy Love – Bengali Wedding’s Totto
Gifts in Bengal are an art, and one of the most unusual is the Totto. Relatives exchange exquisitely ornamented trays filled with clothes, sweets, and jewellery. But occasionally, these trays also have an unexpected “guest”, a raw fish attired like a bride or groom! This is particularly prevalent in traditional Bengali Hindu weddings, during which fish is symbolic of prosperity and fertility.
The Milk Test – Tamil Nadu’s Paaligai Thellichal
In TamBrahm weddings, there is a ceremony in which the bride and groom sow nine various grains in clay pots with earth, which they water with milk and water. Within the next few days, the grains grow, representing fertility and prosperity in their life as husband and wife. It’s soft, earthy, and richly poetic and serves as a reminder that love, as seeds, requires tending and care to nurture. In a sense, it’s soul farming.
Gate Crashers – Maharashtrian Antarpat Twist
In Maharashtrian weddings, the groom isn’t permitted to spot the bride until the holy cloth (antarpat) separating them during the ritual is lowered. But in some quirky adaptations, the friends of the groom play “gate crashers”, attempting to steal glances or distract the bride with wisecracks till the cloth is lifted. It’s an attempt to add humour to a serious moment, indicating that even divine unions have space for mischievous irreverence.
The Turmeric Chase – Telugu Weddings’ Pellikuthuru
In Telugu weddings, the prewedding Pellikuthuru ritual is where they smear turmeric paste on the bride and groom to purify them. In certain villages, though, it turns into a game of tag with cousins and friends applying turmeric on anyone who tries getting near. Everyone ends up being golden-yellow, laughing, and smelling just a little bit like a kitchen in festival season. If love is a glow, this is the literal kind.
The Reverse Dowry – Sikkim’s Lepcha Weddings
In the traditional Lepcha wedding rituals of Sikkim, the bridegroom’s family presents not only jewellery and apparel but also such items as ethnic headgear, homemade wicker baskets, and even cattle to the bride’s family. It’s a turnabout of the much-criticised dowry system, exhibiting respect and affection for the bride’s parents. It’s a simple but profoundly poignant gesture as though to say, “Thanks for leaving us her heart.
Rice Rain – Oriya Weddings’ Kauri Khela
In Odisha, one sweet tradition involves the bride teasingly throwing puffed rice or betel nuts at the groom, daring him to gather them wearing his traditional gear. It’s half-skilled, half-humorous but all about sharing the happy beginnings of married life with a dash of competitiveness.
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As the saying goes, “Marriage is not so much marrying the right person as it is building the right memories.” And in India, those memories tend to be spiced up with turmeric, infused with marigolds, and serenaded by a symphony of playful melodies.
So if you happen to get invited to an Indian wedding, don’t just gaze at the glittering mandap and lehengas. Observe the cousins discreetly stashing shoes in alcoves, aunties guffawing over verse in the folk idiom, and uncles negotiating a round of onionhaggling. That’s where the magic lies — in the idiosyncrasies, the guffaws, and the soft-edged mayhem of wedding rituals that prevent love from becoming mundane.
Because in India, the most quirky ritual has a pulse. And each pulse speaks of love.
