When you think about Indian weddings, they are all about religious rituals. A traditional Indian wedding is full of fun and flair, but there are a lot of ceremonies followed before the bride and groom can be pronounced married.
The Jaimala or Varmala ceremony is one of these ceremonies. The bride and groom exchange varmalas, usually multiple florals are strung together in a design to make these varmalas. This act marks the acceptance of the marriage. That’s why this ceremony is performed at the end of the marriage ceremony after all the other religious rituals are complete.
Let us see why flower garlands are an integral part of this ceremony.
Significance Of Flower Garlands
Whether you are a religious person or not aside, you may love the idea of a varmala ceremony because it is full of fun. After all the seriousness of the marriage rituals dies down, this ceremony brings back a final laugh to the mandap.
While the religious significance of this ceremony is sacred, there is an added fun twist to it, which is what a lot of couples have done for the past few decades! The bride’s friends and family make it tough for the groom to put a varmala around her, and vice versa. This is all fun, of course!
When we look at it from a traditional point of view, this culture of exchanging floral garlands originally started at Hindu weddings. It was said that in ancient times, Gods and Goddesses exchanged lovely floral garlands to mark the acceptance of your bond. This marriage garland exchange bound them to each other for eternity.
Hindus started following this ceremony to connect better to their spiritual side. By following this ceremony, you turn your wedding into a spiritual abode. It is a way to connect with higher superior beings and make your wedding a place filled with holy sanctimony.
But this isn’t just restricted to Hindu weddings. You may see this ceremony occur in many Muslim weddings as well. The bride and groom usually exchange flower garlands that are strung together after the Nikkah ceremony. A lot of Catholic weddings also have incorporated this ceremony. This is wide because of the cultural overlap. Plus, who doesn’t like some extra fun at their wedding?
But, Why Flower Garlands?
Florals are amazingly popular at weddings. From using them for wedding decoration across the venue to using small flower petals to sprinkle on the couple when they take their Saath pheras, there can’t be a wedding that is complete with at least some floral arrangements.
Varmalas have been used for decades, whether it is floral or some other creative garlands. A lot of millennial couples prefer a fun twist to their wedding garlands. Paper garlands or artificial flower garlands are widely popular among young couples seeking some creative and quirky twists in their wedding.
Paper garlands however are not a very eco-friendly alternative. When it comes to flower garlands, you can use these flowers for your pre-wedding ceremonies as decoration and then reuse them in wedding garland.
But what’s better than the real thing? No matter how much research you do, nothing can really match the original, classic thing: flowers.
Flowers signify happiness, love and prosperity, which is why they’re beloved and you find them at almost every wedding. They bring a fresh and cheerful vibe to the entire wedding ceremony. Every flower has a special significance, so when you add a specific flower to your wedding, they relate a similar vibe that is associated with that flower to your guests.
Flowers And Their Vibe
Deep red roses, for instance, stand for love and romance, because the color red loves love! Similarly, if you want to go for an elegant look, beige is the color for your floral garlands. It adds a modern and sophisticated touch to your wedding attire. For a royal look that displays grandeur, choose a combination of ivory and blue in a complete design. Pastel pink represents compassion, and it is a lovely light shade for your floral garlands if you want to go for a subtle and minimal look. You can pair them with white flowers.
Other colors like a bright yellow or orange represent enthusiasm because they are very ‘in your face. Flower garlands strung together with bright orange and yellow hues of marigold flowers are perfect for a peppy Haldi ceremony.
Flower garlands come in multiple different designs and combinations. You can be very creative when it comes to picking out color palettes for your wedding garlands. They have become a trend over time, whilst keeping their cultural and religious significance intact.
Are you finding it hard to select the perfect Indian wedding garlands for you? We, at Flower Fashion India, are here to assist you through this process!