Let Your True Self Shine

With all the varied influences in fashion and design tastes nowadays, a bride’s vision of her own wedding can be lead astray. Who wouldn’t want the romance of roses and silver or the allure lush garden weddings? Or perhaps finding yourself grabbing the opportunity to include a Vera Wang wedding dress in the wedding budget.

But in these things, though appropriate and fabulous choices, do you truly find yourself or simply see a victim of all the sales pitches and peer pressure? I encourage you to find beauty in letting yourself shine on your big day.

One of the most admirable wedding traditions that I have to highlight is the Hindu wedding ceremonies.

Image: Flickr - bigpinkcookie

Hindu wedding ceremonies are traditionally conducted at least partially in Sanskrit, the language in which most holy Hindu ceremonies are conducted. The local language of the people involved is also used since most Hindus cannot understand Sanskrit. They have many rituals that have evolved since traditional times and differ in many ways from the modern western wedding ceremony and also among the different regions, families, and castes such as Rajput weddings and Iyer weddings. The Hindus attach a lot of importance to marriages and the ceremonies are very colorful and extend for several days. (source: wikipedia)

For purists, I’m certain that I need not reiterate how lovely and meaningful it is. But for those living outside India and the rest of us outsiders, witnessing a wedding ceremony like this one can leave an impression that’s both whimsical and elegant. One can’t help but admire the intricate details — from hand-painted henna tattoos to the bead work on the brides’s gown and veil. Incredibly fascinating and the outcome is like a work of art.

This applies to all the other wedding traditions of people from varied ethnicity, magnified by the fact that he or she may have uprooted themselves from their native land and were left no option but to merge their beliefs and practices with whatever place they ended up living in. Embracing your true self can be symbolic as you celebrate the merging of two lives esp if you’re marrying into a different race. It will remind you, your family and friends that this is also a part of you which the other person is accepting into his or her life.

It doesn’t hurt that in letting your true self shine by upholding your traditions on your wedding day will give you interesting photos as well.