In India, we say the bride is not marrying the groom, but she is marrying the family. Much of the Hindu wedding ceremonies involve many family members from both the bride's and groom's sides, including cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles, to symbolize the creation of a new family.

The Hindu Wedding Ceremony consists of several key parts. Mansi's family is from North India, so their traditions will be rooted in their region and social class. Three important parts to know about Hindu Weddings are the Bharat, Kanya Aagman, and the Sat Phere.

A Bharat is when the groom's family enters the altar. Oftentimes, the act of going to the altar involves dancing, singing, and drinking. Traditionally, the groom's family would walk from their village to the bride's village to get married. The singing and dancing were a way to keep the groom's spirits up on the long journey to the marriage altar. Also, it signifies the journey the whole family takes to build a new family.

According to ancient Indian royal family traditions, before a man could marry a woman, he would need to ask for the woman's father's permission. However, instead of being a yes-or-no process, there was a feat of strength test. Many qualified potential grooms would line up to compete for the bride's hand. Test activities included archery, fighting, weightlifting, and more. Often, when the testing was done were several eligible bachelors.

Then the bride would enter with all her friends to support her in picking the right man. This entrance process is called the Kanya Aagman. After the bride picked the groom, she would place a garland around the groom, which is called the Jaemal. Even though, in modern day there is only one groom lined up, this tradition honors the ancient Indian customs.

After the Jaemal, the bride and groom do the Sat Phere or the Seven Rounds around the fire. The husband and wife are tied together and walk around to symbolize commitment. Sometime the male leads the walking around the fire and sometimes the women leads. This symbolizes that sometimes in the marriage the husband will need to take the lead and other times the wife will. Each round represents different vows to marriage.