A Punjabi wedding

Unlike the common misconception that punjabi marriages are a show of wealth and splendor , they form a unique, life long string of moments where each tradition is followed, each individual... however related to the family takes part , and each side (bride or the groom) gets to make fun of the other side. A week before the wedding, both the sides organize a "Ramayan Patth", intended to bring the family together and share words of wisdom. This is followed by "ladies sangeet", where the female members of the house, sing folk songs , called "suhag" on the bride's side and "godhi" on the groom's side.The songs are usually satirical in nature ,one such example being.... " meri saas ne kamade vande, mere hise aayi tati" !!! , which translates into "on my arrival, my mother- in- law distributed rooms in the house , and I was given the toilet !!!". On the morning of the wedding day,a ceremony called "chudi" , is organised , where in, the brothers of the bride's mother ,gift red and white coloured bangles , along with a toe-ring to the bride .She is bound to wear the bangles for a period of 40 days.This ceremony is preceded by"shaggan", where both the sides share gifts with each other. In the evening, the "baarat" is welcomed by the bride's sisters.During this period , the male members of the family, for example, father of the groom with the father of the bride, brother of the groom with the brother of the bride ... so on and so forth , meet and hug each other.This tradition is called "milni". After the welcome of the "baarat", the bride walks down the aisle accompanied by her sisters and seats herself along the groom. The "Var mala" is followed by dinner and dance. In the early hours of morning, the bride and the groom take the solemn oath, under the holy fire, to remain together... always. This ceremony, called "fere" is the formal declaration of marriage. After this and a lot of fan-fare , the bride's sisters return the shoes of the groom, stolen previously, in exchange for money called"shaagan", and gold ringscalled "klichdi" . The groom then is asked to sing a few words for his mother and sisters in law.
Finally the "baarat" departs for home with the bride, leaving her family in tears.
The next day the "bride" now a wife, visits her own family, along with her husband for a short duration.