What is the beauty of Sikh Weddings?

Punjabi wedding traditions and ceremonies show a strong reflection of Punjabi culture. The Sikh marriage ceremony is also recognized as "Anand Karaj" which means "Ceremony of Bliss". The most Sikh wedding takes place in the morning and is ended before noon. Sikhs take marriages very earnestly, and weddings are important and cheerful affairs for Punjabis. It is not purely a physical and legal relationship but is a sacred union between two souls where physically they seem like two individual bodies but in fact, they are together as one.

The beauty of Sikh Weddings

• According to Sikhism, one should get married to one, on the basis of his/her belief in Sikhism, is willing to earn his/her bread with honesty, and should be humbled by nature.
• At the time of the wedding ceremony, the relatives and friends enter the premises of the ceremony barefoot and head covered. One is not allowed to wear short skirts.
• Anand Karaj is made up of the couple turn round Guru Granth Sahib four times, as the marriage anthems are being declaimed, where revolving is the sign of making a commitment with the Guru as a witness. During the marriage ceremony, Guru Granth Sahib shows the core while the parishioners show support.
• As soon as the bride, groom and the two families are get together; Milnee is carried out, which included the meeting of parents and close relatives of bride and groom with the exchange of gifts.
• The groom is the first seated before Guru Granth Sahib and then the bride takes the seat on his left. A payer is then lead to invoking God's blessings for the proposed marriage and asking his grace for the union of the couple. Moreover, marriage in Sikhism is considered as a sacred bond in attaining worldly and spiritual joy. Sikh Gurus explains marriage as "They are not husband-wife who only have a physical connection; sooner they are wife and husband who have one spirit in two bodies." Most of the families organize parties before or after the wedding included the reception. But, both the parties that are conducted before or after the wedding are cultural and are not part of religion.