The Velvet Knot Journal
Wedding planning,
demystified.
Honest guides on cost, timelines, traditions, and what really happens behind a well-planned Indian wedding.
Nepali Wedding Traditions: The Complete Ritual Guide for Nepal, Sikkim and Darjeeling Families
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Nepali Hindu wedding runs on an astrologically fixed sait, a formal supari proposal, the swayambar garland exchange, the groom’s jaanti procession, kanyadaan and saptapadi at the fire, sindoor halne, and the pote and tilhari necklace. It closes with the janti bhoj […]
Read article
Chettiar Wedding Traditions: Inside a Nagarathar Wedding in Chettinad, From Kovil Clan to Thali
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Nagarathar Chettiar wedding is a multi-day event held in an ancestral Chettinad mansion, governed by the family’s clan temple, anchored by a betrothal with betel leaves, a panthal ceremony, the tying of a distinctive thali at the muhurtham hour, a vast […]
Read article
Kayastha Wedding Traditions: Dawat Puja, Kohbar and Every Ritual Explained
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Kayastha wedding follows the broad north Indian Hindu sequence of tilak, haldi, baraat, jaimala, kanyadaan, pheras and sindoor daan, but adds community markers: reverence for Chitragupta, the pen and inkpot honoured in Dawat Puja, the soil-gathering matkor rite, the painted kohbar […]
Read article
Rajput Wedding Traditions: Rituals, Attire and Customs Explained
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Rajput wedding runs across several days of clan-specific rites: tilak at the groom’s home, ganpati sthapana, pithi and mahira dastoor, a baraat where the groom rides armed, the toran struck at the bride’s threshold, paanigrahan and pheras, playful games like aeki-beki, […]
Read article
Ashirbaad: The Bengali Blessing Ceremony Before the Wedding
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 Ashirbaad is the Bengali ceremony in which elders from each family visit the other’s home and bless the bride and groom with husked paddy and durba grass, along with gold. It is a blessing rather than a negotiation, which is what distinguishes […]
Read article
Pag Phera: When the Bride Returns to Her Parents’ Home
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 Pag phera is the North Indian custom in which the bride returns to her parents’ home a few days after the wedding, fetched by her brother. It is the deliberate counterweight to the vidaai, and it exists to prove that the separation […]
Read article
Chunni Chadhana: The Moment a Punjabi Family Accepts the Bride
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 Chunni chadhana is the Punjabi ceremony in which the groom’s mother drapes a red chunni over the bride’s head and gives her jewellery, formally receiving her into the family. It usually takes place at the engagement, and it is the groom’s family’s […]
Read article
Sagai: The Indian Engagement Ceremony, and How It Differs From Roka
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 Sagai is the formal Indian engagement, at which the couple exchange rings in front of both families and the marriage is publicly announced. It comes after the roka, which is the private commitment between the two families, and it is the point […]
Read article
Ganesh Puja Before a Wedding: Why Every Indian Wedding Starts Here
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 Ganesh puja is the first ritual of an Indian wedding, performed days before the ceremony at both homes. Ganesha is the remover of obstacles and is worshipped before any undertaking, so nothing else in the wedding formally begins until this is done. […]
Read article
Laja Homa: The Puffed Rice Offering and the Brother’s Role in a Hindu Wedding
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 In laja homa the bride’s brother pours puffed rice into her cupped hands and she offers it into the sacred fire, usually with the groom’s hands supporting hers. It is the one ritual in a Hindu wedding built entirely around the brother, […]
Read article