When we think of Indian weddings, the first thought that comes to our minds is the grandness of it all. The grandness of the baraat, the amount of money spent by the bride and groom’s families, the amount of time that goes into the preps. But when you look closer, there are so many things fundamentally unequal about a Hindu wedding. The groom is made to come in a shandaar baraat while the bride’s family waits to welcome them. Even the kanyadaan is a regressive and sexist tradition because you’re essentially saying that the girl was first the property of the father and now she belongs to the husband. If you think about it, a girl is her own person and belongs to no one but herself. While many people believe this to be true, rarely do we practice it in actual wedding functions and this may be due to family pressure or respect for our traditions.
However, this couple made it possible.
Meet Pallavi and Rajat who decided that some of the sexist traditions during Hindu weddings make them uncomfortable. The bride walked down the aisle to her forever love with both her parents by her side and there was no kanyadaan or wearing of the mangalsutra. She didn’t wear a dupatta covering her head and the groom’s side didn’t keep some special poojas to do his aarti.
Talking about the wedding, Pallavi said, “Our wedding was a two day, absolutely hectic, crazy affair. Whoever says the couple doesn’t have fun at their own wedding was absolutely wrong! Rajat and I had a blast. Our wedding was about celebrating love – drinking and dancing till 5 am every morning with the people who matter the most to us.”
These two lovebirds had been dating since time immemorial and are also the first ones in their friend circle to get married so the excitement levels were soaring high.
“Our wedding was also a lot about equality and mutual respect more than anything else – it was our choice to do away with rituals that I didn’t feel comfortable with such as kanyadaan, boy’s separate pujas, mangalsutra, head veils (chunni)”, she added.
The stunning wedding was shot by the folks at Shutterdown Photography and they’ve done a fabulous job at capturing the sheer joy on both Pallavi and Rajat’s faces. The venue was decorated by The Elephant Ride, New Delhi and they brought to life the couple’s vision.
Pallavi wore a traditional red Sabyasachi lehenga with gold detailing and looked stunning. Also, who said a floral bun was the only way to go for a bridal hairstyle, kudos Archana Rautela for your magic. The makeup was done by Pooja Khurrana and boy, did she look drop-dead-gorgeous. Rajat wore a Sawan Gandhi white sherwani and looked dapper.
Pallavi and Rajat, you guys are an inspiration. Feminist weddings are the need of the hour because it’s high time we stop looking at women as ‘paraya dhan’ and start giving them credit for the strong, independent, ambitious creatures that they are. Wishing you guys more love and happiness in the years to come than you’ve ever known. Your wedding looked like a dream! ❤
Featured Image: Instagram
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