Wedding Gifts

Making a list for the various ceremonies of the wedding is the toughest task, the articles discusses the issue and what can be the possible solutions for the same  Wedding is an occasion, which is remembered and discussed for long, not only by the family members, but the friends and relatives also. The moments spent in the wedding of a closed relative is cherished for life time. Those are the moments, which get stored in the mind album of a human being, for a time limitation, which has no end, i.e. forever. Moreover Indian marriages are filled with great joyous and fun- filled moments, as a part of the rituals and customs practised in the marriage. There are also many games played in the Indian marriages, which adds to the flavour of enjoyment and fun, and makes the memories of the wedding long- lived.

The most important and tiresome decision at the time of wedding, is preparing a guest list for the various functions of the wedding. There are various occasions and rituals celebrated in the Indian marriages, in which a huge amount of money is spent. Therefore, sometimes, there is a limitation in terms of the guests to be invited for different ceremonies or functions at the wedding. There comes the most tough decision, whom to invite and to whom to not. Most of the relatives and friends are important and one can hardly count the number of friends or relatives, which are not worth inviting. In such cases, bride or the groom generally cut short the list of friends, because, relatives are the ones, which will keep on back- biting the family, if they are not invited to any of the marriage ceremonies. In lieu of ceremonial function, bride or groom, generally organise a short party for the friends, so that not to upset them and share the happiness with them also.

The guest list for the big day, that is the marriage day, depends on the venue and the strength of people it can withhold in itself. One can hardly sacrifice on the number of invitees for the wedding day, because it is the happiness, which the bride and groom, wants to share with their entire social circle. Therefore the guest list for the wedding day is the longest, but one should try and squeeze the list, keeping in mind the monetary aspect of the marriage, which goes directly on the shoulders of the bride’s family. Or, if the groom’s family doesn’t want to sacrifice on the number of their guests for the wedding, then the best solution is to divide the expenses foe the wedding day. This would lessen the burden on the bride’s family and would give an equal opportunity to both the families to invite as many guests as possible.

One more issue, which families generally come across during the wedding preparations, is the return gifts or mostly called as shagun to be given to the relatives. People generally give sweet boxes to the close friends and relatives present in the marriage, but with few close relatives, one needs to extend their budget. Also, in case of the inter- family gifts of the bride and the groom, the bride’s family is supposed to gift the close relatives of the bride with jewellery or clothes. The worth of the gift depends on the closeness the person has in terms of their relation with the groom’s family. There are many ceremonies, in which these gifts are given to the relatives of the groom, one of them is milni in Punjabi families, where the male members of the groom’s family are greeted with gifts from the males of the bride’s side. These gifts are given as a token of respect and happiness.