Sikh Wedding Ceremonies

Some Sikh gurdwaras (places of worship) in the UK are registered for marriage. A civil ceremony will be needed if the marriage is held in an unregistered gurdwara or in the bride’s parents’ home. Since the religious service is the most important part of a Sikh wedding any necessary civil ceremony is attended by close family and friends only. The couple will not live together until the religious rites have been held. While Sikh marriages are usually arranged, the prospective bride and groom are allowed to get to know each other and refuse the marriage if they wish.

A number of parties and ceremonies at which gifts are exchanged are held in both the bride and groom’s homes before the wedding, in the presence of the Sikh holy book, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The bride’s maternal relatives perform the ceremony of Jaggo the night before the wedding, preparing and decorating a copper vessel with lamps made from dough. They visit relatives, singing and performing a traditional dance in each house, enjoying tea and snacks while the visited family puts oil in the lamps.

A gold embroidered tunic with red trousers or a red sari is the traditional bridal dress, along with a red headscarf, heavy veil and lots of jewellery. The groom wears a white pyjama-style top and bottom with a long coat, a pink turban, an orange scarf and a heavy gold and tinsel veil over his face.

A Sikh wedding always takes place before noon. At around 5am the bride and groom undergo a cleansing ceremony in their own homes. The groom, accompanied by his friends and relatives, arrives in a joyful procession with music, singing and dancing, and is received by the male members of the bride’s family. The families exchange garlands and gifts.

Morning hymns are sung after this reception and the couple sit down with the groom first and the bride to his left, before the holy book. A female friend or relative attends to the bride. While a short hymn is sung the couple and their parents stand, and the celebrant talks to them of the obligations of married life. A garland of flowers is placed on Sri Guru Granth Sahib by the bride’s father and the couple then assent to their marriage by bowing to the holy book. The celebrant reads hymns to the marriage and the performance of the wedding song celebrates the holy union between the human soul and God while the bride and groom walk four times clockwise around the holy book. The groom, who leads, holds one end of the long orange scarf given to him by his mother, while the bride’s father places the other end of the scarf in the bride’s right hand, a symbol of their being joined as husband and wife. She then holds it for the remainder of the ceremony. After the fourth round bride and groom are showered with flowers and declared married. Singing concludes the service, while the congregation gives the couple money and gifts. The groom gives silver rings to the bride’s sisters and friends who then hide the groom’s shoes, only returning them to him after he gives them money.

The bride leaves for her new home a few hours later. By throwing rice over her shoulders as she leaves she signifies that she is paying off her debt of food to her parents. When the newlyweds reach the groom’s home they are received by his mother. Mustard oil poured at the entrance of the front door welcomes them. The bride takes grains of wheat into her new home to signify that her food is now to be found there and that her entry will bring prosperity. On the day after the wedding the bride and groom visit her parents where they are given gifts and a welcome feast.