Traditional Marriage in Nepal

http://www.greatnepaltravels.com/traditional-marriage-nepal.html
Great Nepal puts before you a marvelous opportunity to relive those awesome alive days of the time you were married to your life partner. You can get the exact same experience that you had years ago but enjoy it with a flavor of Nepal. Yes, you can enjoy your wedding in Nepal as per Hindu or Buddhist tradition whichever you find more exciting and pleasing. Both of these weddings encompass the partners within a promise as strong and unshakable as the mountains and as pure as the soul of the God. Visitors find themselves drenched in fascination when they set their eyes on one of the traditional weddings in Nepal.

Traditional Hindu Marriage Ceremony

Nepali wedding ceremony generally incorporates a grand affair where the venue is decorated in a special manner and the bride is dressed in special red dress along with several golden ornaments. In villages however, the couples reach the marriage venue on horses or baskets and other aspects change similarly. Music is absolutely inextricable when it comes to marriages in Nepal. Playing a special instrument called Panche Baja really enlivens the atmosphere is widely believed to strengthen the relationship  
A religious person is, at the very beginning of any marriage, summoned to predict the best day for the commencement of the marriage which he decides by the position of the planets in different horoscopes. A traditional Hindu marriage cannot be carried out all times of the year. The mid of January to the mid of March, mid-April to mid-June and mid-November to mid-December are considered highly suitable for carrying out the ceremony. Hindu marriages are carried out as per the rituals spelled in the Vedas (Hindu holy book) that date back to thousands of years. There are various mantras(religious rhymes) that are enchanted from these very books throughout the wedding. The process of marriage is carried out in the open, under a canopy which in our language is called a Mandap. The bride and bridegroom sit around a sacred fire within the Mandap and are instructed to perform various rites by the priest. There is dancing, singing, traditional music and all sorts of pleasantly boisterous activities happening in the procession of the relatives of the groom as they approach the venue of the marriage.
Well you must be thinking that the ceremony has approached its end but no it has a lot more to offer. After the rites in the Mandap have been carried out, there is a process of putting Sindoor(a red powder) on the bride’s head and a religious garland that is cherished and preserved throughout life. Another exciting tradition is then arrived at wherein a ring is put into a bowl of curd and it is believed that whoever finds the ring, will be the more dominant partner in the future. At the very end of the ceremony the bride is bid goodbye from her home and is welcomed to the bridegroom’s house.

Traditional Buddhist Marriage Ceremony  

The Buddhist religion is known for being basic and this is frequently reflected in their wedding functions. The Buddha did not consider marriage to be a sacrosanct ceremony; thus it is a more social occasion instead of a religious event. Buddhist weddings don't contain any perplexing ceremonies that may be seen in other different religious wedding functions. A Buddhist wedding service is intended to symbolize the strength of the bond between two individuals. It is a marriage focused around otherworldly confidence and not fixated on religion, where both couples truly promise to keep up an agreeable and profoundly sound relationship.
More than anything, a marriage to Buddhists is focused around trust and conviction. They believe that life is a continuing process of change and that you should always be moving towards a state of greater wisdom and awareness. There are no religious or compulsory protocols that the couple must take after. The whole wedding service is carried out rather like a social undertaking.
For the commencement of the wedding a Lama is visited to know if the groom and the bride’s have their horoscopes aligned. He will also help the groom find what could be a spiritual day to present a proposal to the bride.
The ceremony consists of two main parts, one being Buddhist, the other is a non-Buddhist. All the traditional practices such as feast or gift exchange happen to fall under the non-Buddhist part of the ceremony. The Buddhist part of the ceremony consists of prayers and gifts offered to the almighty and the monks. Vows of faithfulness to each other are taken in this part. They get a chance to select the scriptures they want to have read in their wedding. One of these very traditions incorporates both the bride and groom walking through the aisle carrying 21 strands of beads. The strand is called the ‘O juju’.
On the night before the wedding day, a religious ceremony is performed wherein the wife and husbands-to-be pay honor to the bride’s ancestors.  The newlyweds are made to sit in front of the altar and nine monks are invited. A holy string joins the heads of the man and woman and is then unrolled into the priest's hands. Close to the first monk there is a vessel with a candle and water within. This is utilized as heavenly water for the following day. One priest holds a fan in one hand and a microphone in the other hand. The entire town can listen to the supplications to God being said to pay tribute to the couple. After the end of the supplications to God they backtrack to the sanctuary. A customary pledge goes as follows: The groom will say, “Towards my wife I undertake to love and respect her, be kind and considerate, be faithful, delegate domestic management and present gifts to please her.” The bride will then say, “Towards my husband I undertake to perform my household duties efficiently, be hospitable to my in-laws and friends of my husband, be faithful, protect and invest our earnings and discharge my responsibilities lovingly and fastidiously.”
Prayers are said and holy water is thrown at the guests on the morning of the day of the wedding.
The string placed yet again on the couple’s heads that forms a circle around them. Nine trays each of which consist of different dishes is placed in front of the monks. Monks cannot touch money so at the end of the prayers, the newlyweds give the monks an envelope containing money.
There are no specific compulsory attires to be worn for the wedding. The groom may choose to wear a suit and the groom may go for anything which isn’t too revealing. Of course, the guests need to remember that they need to remove their shoes before they enter the temple for the blessings.
The ceremony is literally incomplete without music and dance. Traditional dances and women with independent folk performance exhibit their elegance in the wedding. As or the food, Buddhists prefer beef (not in some countries) or pork with a side dish of rice. Buddhists traditionally go for the oriental dishes, so they are generally steamed or roasted.
A Buddhist wedding is all about simplicity and placidness. By having a simple wedding, this elegant tradition provides for the focus on the more important aspect of the day; the bride, the groom and the love that’s in the air.