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Day 3: Shubh Vivah
the final wedding ceremony

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On the final day of ceremony and celebration is held the Shubh Vivah, the core of the Lagna (wedding) tradition. Gujarati weddings are one of the most interesting wedding ceremonies in India. Like other Indian wedding ceremonies, the Gujarati wedding ceremony is filled with several traditional rituals and customs, bound to and in accordance with the great Hindu scriptures, the Vedas. These traditional customs hold deep meanings and regards for the Gujarati families. Performed with great pomp and show, the Gujarati wedding ceremony is vibrant and amusing. Generally held in the evening, the typical wedding affairs take almost an entire night to wrap up. (Our ceremony will start in the morning instead, to allow enough time for the night's Reception) The wedding ceremony is followed by Ashirvaad and Vidaai. Below is a breakdown of the systematic order of traditional rituals in a Gujarati matrimony...

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Ponkhvanu
Beginning with the arrival of the groom and his family (the Jaan), here lies the official initialization of the wedding. The groom is welcomed by his mother-in-law by Arti. She also playfully tries to grab his nose at the entrance, and he tries to take her chhedo. Meanwhile, the bride-side's tough guys are secretly executing their well-devised strategical maneuver of stealing the grooms fine mojdi (traditional shoes).  
This tradition is basically meant for an amusing welcome to kick off the day's forthcomings. However, the quoted true-meaning reason behind this part of the ceremony (of course from the Scriptures) is to remind the groom that he has come all this way rubbing his nose at the girl’s door asking for her hand from her parents.

Jaimala
Jaimala is the formal introduction of bride and groom to the stage.
It involves the exchange of garlands between the bride and the groom twice just before stepping up to center stage. For the first exchange, the groom is on a higher platform than the bride; while on the second time, they are at an equal level.

Madhuparka
After the Jaimala, Madhuparka is performed. This is an exclusive Gujarati custom. In the Madhuparka ceremony, Mr. Groom's feet are washed to make him feel special and superior.
He then is given honey and milk to drink as a token of love and appreciation. It is during this ceremony that the bride's arsenal (as mentioned above) make their grand theft of the groom's shoes.
Will Amish bust out singing?
"Dulhe ki saaliyon, o hare dupatte valiyon: Joote de do, Paise le lo!!!"

Kanya Agman
Kanya Agamana is where we begin to get down to the core, the time to return to all seriousness, with the traditional customs and rituals solemnized by the Pundit. The bride is brought to the mandap by her maternal uncles.
At the Mandap, there is an antarpath (curtain) which separates her from her groom.
Tejen (the bride's brother - the person writing this) and Sagar (the bride's maternal cousin) will stand and hold the antarpath.
As the Pundit chants his forever ongoing mantras, the antarpath is lowered and the couple exchanges garlands in front of the havan kund, the sacred fire.

Kanya Daan 
Ranking high in significance among these rituals, Kanya daan immediately follows Kanya Agman. It's the tradition in which the bride's father Hasmukhbhai will wash the groom's feet and give his daughter's hand to the groom in hopes that the groom will take good care of her. The bride is considered to be a form of Goddess Lakshmi and the bridegroom is considered to be Lord Narayan. Kanya daan is performed in front of the havan kund, facilitating the pious union of Boy and Girl... soon to be Man and Wife.

Hasta Melap
Another exclusive Gujarati ritual, the Hasta Melap performed after Kanya Daan is again of high significance. It involves the tying (not the entanglement) of the groom's scarf or shawl to the bride's sari. The tying of knot and the joined hands of the couple are symbolic of the meeting of two hearts and souls.
The Pundit chants mantras and seeks the blessings of Goddesses Lakshmi and Paarvati for the couple. The family witnesses the conduct of the ceremony and comes forward one-by-one to bless the bride and groom, and upon them sprinkle rose petals and rice grains.

 

-Mangal Fera-
The most important part of the ceremony (after the Vidaai, of course) follows the hasta melap.
This is the Mangalfera.
The Mangalfera are the 7 rounds that the couple takes around the sacred havan kund as the priest chants mantras. It  involves the reciting of mantras by the groom that expresses his genuine and heartiest desire to seek his wife's loving support in life. In a Gujarati marriage, there are four mangalfera: In order, they represent Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha respectively.

 

Saptapadi
Saptapadi is an important step of any Hindu marriage. In a typical Gujarati marriage, the groom helps the bride in touching seven betel nuts with her right toe,
while both reciting the seven vows for their commitment towards each other. Also at each step of the Saptapadi, the groom asks for support from his bride throughout his life.
 

The bride and groom are now married

 

Saubhagyavati Bhava

In this exclusive Gujarati tradition, seven married women from the bride’s family whisper good wishes and blessings into the right ear of the bride.
They bless her, each in their own way, to remain a Saubhagyavati (lucky throughout her life).

Chedo Pakadyo
This is yet another exclusive Gujarati custom. It's a kind of amusement after the serious traditional ritual is over.
In this custom, the groom tugs the sari of his new mother-in-law, as she passes from the Mandap, in way that it looks he's asking the bride’s family for gifts.
Like that's gonna happen!  (again)

Shubh Ashirvaad
After all the wedding rituals are over, the couple seeks the blessing of every senior member of the family present at the marriage.
They are then blessed with gifts and other auspicious items.

Jamanvaar
Lunch!
The most important ritual for bystanding guests who have nothing better to engage in.
The bride's guests (Home) eat their regular old lunch, while the groom's Jaan side (Guest) gets special treatment with a wild assortment of delectable exotic Indian foods.

 

Vidaai
Voted the most emotional part of the wedding
The very final phase of the wedding journey is the Vidaai. This is the time in which the Jaan smiles upon the crying Mandaviyas (the bride's side).
The grooms walks the bride down the center aisle and out through the exit door into his limousine, and the Mandaviyas madly try to pull her back, but to no avail.
The bride is set to go. This is the final straw. Father hugs her his last. Crying, she bids farewell to her old family and everybody reminisces about all the good times they had with her.
The chauffeur starts the car, and the bride's mother feels weak. She caresses her daughter one last time, with her final touch of love. Her life wish has been fulfilled.
The car begins to ease away from the tearful crowd, and the mother faints.

I should be a professional storywriter... LOL!

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This is the biggest event of the wedding ceremony. If you have received an Insert for this event in your invitation, you may browse the notes below to help plan for your attendance:

 

Click "ONLINE RSVP" on the left menu bar to RSVP now!

Click "Events Calendar" on the left menu bar for dates & times.

Click "Locations & Directions" on the left menu bar for directions.

On the "Locations & Directions" webpage, type in your address in the "From" textbox, and select "Day 3 - Shubh Vivah" in the "To" textbox. Then click "Go" to generate printable directions powered by Google©

 

 

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Day 3: Reception
the celebration

The Reception will be a highly-exclusive event hosted by the Groom's side in the Luxury Marriott Santa Clara. Speeches, dances, and such performances will be displayed while only the culinary finest of Indian feasts will be served.
More information about the reception can be obtained from the groom's family.

 

If you have received an Insert for this specific Reception event in your invitation
(the Insert that is written in English),  you may browse the notes below to help plan for your attendance:

 

Click "ONLINE RSVP" on the left menu bar to RSVP now!

Click "Events Calendar" on the left menu bar for dates & times.

Click "Locations & Directions" on the left menu bar for directions.

On the "Locations & Directions" webpage, type in your address in the "From" textbox, and select "Day 3 - Reception" in the "To" textbox. Then click "Go" to generate printable directions powered by Google©

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Portions of literary technique used in the content of this Lagna/Shubh VIvah webpage are borrowed from, with author permission, and copyrighted by iloveindia.com at http://weddings.iloveindia.com/gujarati-wedding/wedding-rituals.html.