A Muslim Friend’s Wedding Event

Among religious events, I like marriages the most. It seems amazing to me how two people, with
happiness, decide to be on each other’s sides for their whole lives. Whenever I happen to see a
marriage event, I pray for the eternal happiness of the couple with my heart. The marriage event
is carried out differently in different religions and ethnicities. Last week I happened to attend the
marriage of a Muslim friend of mine who is a Pakistani Muslim. He invited me and I was very
excited because this was my first experience of attending a Muslim wedding.

A traditional Muslim wedding has more than one functions and the wedding environment
prolongs for about a week. But I was invited to three most important functions, Mehndi, Barat
and Valima. Weddings can have both day functions and night functions, but my friend’s wedding
had night functions. In this essay, I would narrate my experience of this wedding and I would
explain the three functions in coming paragraphs.

The event was planned on weekend. On Friday night, it was Mehndi function, Baraat was on
Saturday, and Valima on Sunday. Friday night I went to my friend’s place and they were all
ready to go to bride’s house. My friend was wearing a traditional dress called Kurta and Pajama
(A knee-length shirt and straight pants) while ladies were also dressed in cultural dresses with
flower jewelry. On Menhndi, all the guests and family had mostly worn yellow or green or a
combination of both. Ladies carried plates that had lit candles and Mehndi in it (Menhndi is
basically a paste of herb called myrtle and it gives color when applied on hands, the function
takes its name from there). Once everything was ready, we headed to the bride’s house.

When we reached there, they welcomed us with showering flower petals and giving ladies the
flower bracelets. A stage was set for bridegroom and bride where they both sat and then the
function started. Everyone came on stage, applied mehndi both on their hands, fed them with
sweets, prayed and left. There was also a dance floor, and people from both sides had prepared
dances. The couple also danced a little. After that, we were served with traditional food that was
very delicious. The function lasted for two hours and then we came back.

Next function was of Baraat. It is a function in which the bridegroom with his family and friends
goes to bride’s house and comes back with the bride. Normally, there is a ceremony called Nikah
in which both of them accept each other as their life partners in the presence of witnesses. After
nikah, the couple has to consummate the marriage. Sometimes nikah is carried out before baraat
but it totally depends on the will of families. In my friend’s case, they had to do nikah on barat
day. My friend wore the similar type of traditional dress he wore on Mehndi but the color was
different. Everyone got ready in their traditional dresses and then we headed to bride’s house.

At bride’s place, young girls were standing on both sides of entrance with plates full of rose
petals that they showered on us. Then I sat on the stage with my friend, waiting for the bride. The
bride came after half an hour. In a traditional Pakistani wedding, brides mostly wear red on their
barat. My friend’s bride also wore deep red maxi and she looked beautiful in that. On the stage,
they carried out Nikah ceremony followed by a sermon and a prayer. The couple was officially
announced as husband and wife and they both looked very happy. After nikah, it was time for
food to be served. This time, the food was a mixture of traditional Pakistani and Western
Cuisine. The Barat function ended with bride saying goodbye to her family with misty eyes and
accompanying the groom to his house.

The last function I had to attend in a full-fledged Eastern Muslim wedding was Valima. It is a
function where a feast is hosted by the groom and his family. It is the most important event in a
Muslim wedding because this function comes from the teachings of their religion. I got ready for
the valima dinner and headed to my friend’s place. When I reached there, everyone was ready
and waiting for the bride’s family to come. They reached around 8:30 pm and we welcomed
them, this time without flowers. My friend wore a three piece and the bride was dresses in a
dress they called gharara. After the guests arrived, the food was served after some time. The food
here was also a mixture of Pakistani and Western cuisine and I ate Pakistani food. It was rich in
spices but I loved it. The Valima function ended with bridegroom and bride leaving for the
bride’s house.

It was my first experience at a Mulim wedding but it was great. I learned very much about their
culture and traditional functions. As the bridegroom and bride left for bride’s home after valima,
I also came back with a happy heart.