I’ve attended many Indian weddings in my lifetime, and it’s always a blast every time. In almost every traditional Indian wedding, there are some common themes that have symbolic significance.

In India, the arrival of the groom to the wedding on a donkey, horse or elephant is probably one of the first common elements in Indian weddings. I noticed that when the weddings take place overseas (not in India), this procession is not included in the wedding plans. My guess is that an elephant may be hard to acquire and animals are prohibited at some reception halls, but this is what it would look like :

In every Indian wedding photo album, there’s a perfectly decorated mandap with the groom, his parents, his bride and her parents. The mandap is a stage with two pillars and a canopy decorated with flowers and fruits.

Last but not least, there’s always the emotional farewell the bride makes with her father before she leaves with the groom. At this point, there isn’t a dry eye in the room. This is the time when the bride gets teary eyed and everyone comes up to the bride to wish her luck.