In Hinduism, marriage joins two individuals or embodied, eternal souls for the purpose of jointly pursuing the purushartha or four aims of life: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. Marriage is considered a spiritual partnership which unites the minds, bodies, and souls of the partners in this and future lives, and builds sacred bonds between the two families. Many elements of the Hindu wedding ceremony have remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years. The ceremony consists of a series of rituals and ceremonies to promote righteous living and the sharing of values such as selfless love, kindness and compassion, honesty and fidelity, and mutual respect. The rituals are originally in Sanskrit, the mother of all Indian languages. The Telugu Hindu wedding ceremony or pelli is considered the strongest of social bonds, and is said to spiritually merge two souls opening the doors to gruhastaashramam (household life). There is a Telugu saying that 'Marriage is supposed to be a family union and not an individual formality.' There are many elements and rituals both before and after the actual wedding ceremony, which vary by deity tradition, linguistic region, community, and family.
The Ganesha Puja usually involves both the Bride and Groom’s primary family, those that are sitting on stage with them at the Mandap. The first Pooja in any Hindu ceremony is always to Lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles to ensure everything proceeds smoothly.
Kanyadaan, meaning 'giving away the bride' in Sanskrit. The Father of the Bride takes his daughters right hand and places it in the Groom's right hand, requesting for him to accept his daughter as his equal partner.
‘Jeelakara’ means Cumin and 'Bellam' means Jaggery. At an auspicious time i.e. Sumuhurtham, the couple place this paste on each other’s heads. This slightly bitter cumin and sweet jaggery when ground together turn into an inseparable mixture. The custom signifies that the bride and groom are supposed to become inseparable through life's bitter and sweet times. This is the point where the couple are officially husband and wife as the curtain between them is removed.
The groom and bride adorn silk clothes and offer Madhuparka—'a mixture of honey'; a respectful offering prescribed to be made in Vedic times, Madhuparkam is a very sacred offering to Bhagavan/Lord Vishnu in Hindu religion.
The Mangalasuthra is tying of the sacred necklace around the bride's neck. It symbolizes commitment, safety and security. The groom ties 3 knots on the necklace, each knot symbolizing the 3 aspects of commitment: believing, saying and executing.
Talambralu is a celebration of the couple's new life together and a symbol of their love and support from their families and friends. During this ritual, the bride and groom exchange garlands and shower each other with rice mixed along with saffron and turmeric. This symbolizes happiness, health, harmony, wealth, and a loving, and blessed family.
Fire is the source of life and with fire as witness, the groom and bride take oath to stay together and breathe as unified souls.
'Sapta’ means seven and ‘padi’ means steps, together its saptapadi (seven steps). This involves the bride and groom taking seven steps around the sacred fire (homam). The groom leads the first three rounds and the bride leads the next 4. Then the bride and the groom press each other's toe 3 times representing equality in the marriage. The seven steps represent the following seven vows of marriage: 1. to nourish each other’s strength 2. to support each other in sickness and health 3. to provide for each other 4. to share each other's joys and sorrows 5. to be together forever 6. to care for their children and family 7. to remain friends life long
The couple stands before their family and friends to receive blessings.