Indian weddings are all about gold and glitter. From the wedding attire to their wedding location, everything screams of being ‘EXTRA.’
I mean, there’s a reason why Indian weddings are called- Big Fat Indian Weddings.
But these bride and grooms have taken the unconventional route, not just setting themselves apart but also breaking many stereotypes and taboos while they’re at it.
1. Meet Sanjana who chose to wear a pantsuit to her wedding instead of the usual lehenga.
Sanjana Rishi wanted to be true to herself on her wedding day without putting a ‘show’ for people. It is, for this reason, she chose something that she simply liked. And, just like that, a stereotype was broken.
2. A family in Bihar decides to break archaic wedding traditions as a woman performs a ritual which a man was supposed to do.
It is only when people come together can they challenge age-old traditions. In one such step, a family in Bihar in the absence of an elder brother encouraged the elder sister to perform the ritual for his brother.
3. After a Bengali bride gets down on her knees to seek blessings from the groom, the groom does the same.
First, he helps the bride stand and then gets down on his knees to seek blessings from her too.
4. A Bengali wedding was conducted with all-female pandits and sans any rituals of ‘Kanyadaan.’
Even during the ceremony, the bride was introduced with her mother’s name first and then the father’s name.
5. To shatter the taboos set against widows, a Gujurati businessman invited 18,000 widows to bless the bride and the groom.
Businessman Jitendra Patel wanted the couple to be blessed by widows as he wished to show the world that this belief is nothing but a figment of superstition stemming from regressive thinking.
6. A single mother of 5 performs ‘Kanyadaan’ ritual for her daughter cus why not?
Although the ritual still views a daughter as an object to give away but Rajeshwari Sharma who had been a mother and a father to her kids broke this stereotype, one step at a time.
7. 15 transgender women got married in a one-of-its-kind mass wedding in Raipur.
The transgender community organized the event while keeping all rituals in mind such as haldi, mehendi, and even sangeet.
8. After surviving cancer twice, the bride had her wedding photoshoot just the way she was, bald and beautiful.
Navi fought cancer twice which obviously took a toll on her. She lost her hair because of the treatments but she didn’t let this deter her. Navi went ahead and had her wedding photoshoot just to inspire other struggling people. She shared that she wanted to help other people cope with their situations in her own way.
9. Actress Tanya Gupta told the world a bride decides how she wants to celebrate as she hit a bar right after her pheras.
TMKOC actress Tanya didn’t just set her own rules as to how a bride is supposed to be but she also looked stunningly beautiful while breaking such ‘rules.’
10. Back in 2016, an IAS officer from Andhra married in just Rs. 500 as court fees.
Instead of investing in a big fat Indian wedding, Dr. Saloni Sidana and Ashish Vashishta married each other within Rs. 500. After court marriage, the couple had a simple wedding as per their customs. She even returned to her duty within 48 hours.
11. A couple in Kerala smashed stereotypes by having a transgender person as a witness for their wedding ceremony.
According to reports, the couple had a wedding without any religious rituals and they also planned to have only women and transgenders as witnesses.
Well, steps like these will go down in history for breaking archaic cultural norms.