For the Sangeet night, please dress in traditional Punjabi Attire or Semi-Formal American Attire. The Anand Karaj (wedding ceremony) will be held in a Gurdwara (Temple). It is very important to keep your head covered at all times when attending the Anand Karaj. If you do not bring a head covering or scarf one will be provided for you on site. You will be asked to remove your shoe's when entering the Gurdwara. There will be a specified area to leave your shoes during the service. For the reception, please dress your best and wear some dance shoes!
The ceremony officially begins with the officiate after having ascertained that both the bride and groom are Sikh asking the couple to stand up as well as their parents for Ardas. This family Ardas indicated the public consent of the parties involved to this marriage taking place. Every time the bride and groom arise or sit down during the ceremony they will bow down to Sri Guru Granth Sahib out of respect by touching their foreheads to the ground. After Ardas the couple indicate their agreement to these guidelines and principles by bowing down before Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The father of the bride then places one end of a scarf worn by the groom over his shoulders in his daughters hand signifying that she is now leaving his care to join her husbands. The officiate now reads the Lavan hymn.
The four stanza of describes the progression of love between a husband and wife which is analogous to that between the soul (bride) and God (the husband). After the conclusion of the recitation of each stanza the groom followed by the bride holding the end of the scarf go around Sri Guru Granth Sahib in a clockwise direction while the ragis sing out the recited Lavan stanza. After each round the couple listen while the officiate reads the next stanza. The ragis then sing it while the couple completes another walk. This process is repeated four times in total for each stanza of the Lavan after which the couple sit down.
Please see the following website on attending a Sikh Wedding and reach out to Amrita or Pritpal if you have any questions at all! http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Attending_a_Sikh_Wedding