Pakistani Wedding Traditions; The Events, The Celebrations, and The Clothing

As we all know Pakistan is a land rich in culture and customs that are spread all across the country. The wedding traditions in Pakistan go way back to the Mughal times and are still practiced to this day. There is certain royalty in which the people of the sub-continent get married. The wedding season generally takes place in winter from the months of November to February and we take this festive season quite seriously. Our weddings are not only one-day thing but the celebrations can last for weeks or even months and the same happens in the other regions of South Asia such as India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh as well. In fact, most of the Pakistani wedding traditions are inspired by the Indian traditions that include wearing red on your big day and having a sangeet or dholak prior to the wedding. Pakistanis no matter where they live they follow the same wedding customs that include some of the mandatory Muslim wedding traditions and some other celebrations pre and post events as well which are mentioned below.

We love everything about the wedding season which includes the celebrations, the decorations, the food, and most importantly the clothing. And the arrangements of everything being done to the fullest with the catering and food experts, set designers, decoration companies, designer clothing, and makeup artists. Let us walk you through the Muslim and Pakistani wedding traditions.

The Dholki Traditions

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This is one of the pre-wedding traditions in which before the main event the friends and family of the bride and the groom gather around in the bride’s or groom’s house to sing folk songs and dance around and celebrate the occasion of the wedding of their loved ones. During this function, the house is decorated with roses and yellow flowers, and colorful decorations, and usually, the female friends and family members sit on the rug that is laid on the floor with some colorful cushion. Usually, the dholki is placed in the middle and one person plays and all the other people join her and sing some songs to celebrate this event of happiness and love.

The dress code for this function is usually simple with plain shalwar kameez or kurta sets detailed with gotta or mukesh work paired with embroidered shawls. The color scheme is usually yellow, orange, pink, green, or red. The bride’s dress is usually simple and minimalistic too to save the drama for the main event. Most brides go for a plain shalwar kameez or a pishwas or kurta set with gota, mirror, or Mukesh work with minimalistic makeup look and floral jewelry. The groom also goes simple with a plain white or black shalwar kameez.

The Mayon Tradition

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Mayon is also one of the pre-wedding traditions and usually takes place a week or three to four days before the big event. This event usually takes place in the bride’s home where the friends and family and the elders member of the family gather around. Mayon is usually to symbolize the beautification of the bride before the wedding event. That’s why the friends and family members put ubtan on the bride’s hands and face and oil on her hair. This tradition of applying ubtan and oil goes way back to the Mughal era.

Mayon usually doesn’t have a dress code and you can dress totally casual as well. The bride also goes for a simple dress of mustard or yellow or green color in the vintage silhouette of shalwar kameez or kurta set with no makeup and a simple braided hairstyle. Another mayon tradition is that the bride is not allowed to go out until the day of the wedding.

The Mehndi Tradition

After the mayon comes the Mehndi night, it usually takes place one day before the big day where all the friends and family of the bride and groom come to celebrate their wedding. This event is all about traditions and classical Pakistani wedding dresses that represent our artisanal craftsmanship. Mehndi is all about colors so there is no set rule what color you should wear you can go for a splash of colors or you can go for solid colors of green, yellow, orange, red, and pink with the traditional and vintage embroideries of gotta, mirror, zari, mukesh, zardozi and dabka. The bride usually goes for a heavily embroidered lehenga choli or pishwas paired with lehenga with a soft makeup look and floral jewellery and braided hairstyle. This is the event where every lets their hair down and dance the night away. Some other fun-filled activities take place during the mehndi event such as dance competitions, ludi, dholki, singing folk songs, and much more. More or less this is the event where everyone enjoys to their fullest.

The Nikkah Ceremony

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This is one of the most important parts of Muslim wedding tradition. The nikkah ceremony usually takes place in the mosque but can also take place in a hotel or a ballroom as well. The groom and bride need two witnesses for the nikkah and the imam usually officiates the nikkah. Both the bride and groom take the vows and say “qabool hai” to the imam and then all the friends and family members make dua for the happy couple.

The wedding dress for nikkah is usually simple with soft and pastel colors of white, ivory, pink, green, blue, and lilac. Although we love every bridal look there is something very dreamy about the nikkah bridal dress. Brides in Pakistani usually go for a white or ivory gharara with a short shirt or some girls also go for a white kalidaar with traditional jewelry of choker and malla and nosering and jhomar. The makeup and hairstyle are usually soft and simple. The groom also goes for a white shalwar kameez with a waistcoat to match with the bride. The decorations are also simple and dreamy with white and pink flowers decorations enhanced with fairy lights that accentuate the bridal outfit.

The Barat Ceremony

And then comes the main event, the big day of Barat ceremony. This day is hosted by the bride’s family and welcomes the groom’s family. The groom usually arrives in a car that is heavily decorated with flowers and the bride’s family welcomes the groom with flowers. The Pakistani bridal dress for Barat is usually a red lehenga paired with a long shirt. The trend of wearing red on your big day goes way back and the bride looks like a million bucks in it. The bridal dress is usually embroidered with heavy golden tilla and zari embroidery all over. The groom usually goes for a white and golden or black sherwani paired with a shalwar kameez or kurta pajama.

Some ceremonies take place during the baraat function i.e the dood pilai where the bride’s sisters are given some amount of money or gifts and another ceremony joota chupai that takes place where the friends and family members hide the shoes of the groom for ransom. The decorations of the baraat ceremony are according to the theme and the hall is usually decorated with red or pink flowers.

The Walima Reception

Finally the wedding celebrations are ended with a grand walima reception that is hosted by the groom’s family. It is a grand dinner function where all the friends and family members are invited. Nowaday the reception is also held during the day and we are a big fan of day weddings as the broad sunlight accentuates the beauty of the bridal outfit. The wedding dress for walima is usually of soft and pastel colors of green, pink, blue, lilac and silver or white. The whole outfit is enhanced with embellishments of crystals, beads, sequins, and floral embroidery. Brides usually go for loose curls or a messy hair bun with statement accessories and a soft makeup look. Grooms go for a light embroidered prince coat or three piece suit with a pastel color tie. The decorations are also dreamy and alluring with the colorful flowers and chandeliers.

As the winter season approaches we get excited about all the wedding functions that are about to come. Each wedding tradition carries a significant importance and depicts our culture and each one of them is a way to celebrate the happiness of the couple. All the friends and family gather around to shower their love and to celebrate to the fullest.

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