The Gujaratis Wedding

Gujarati weddings have only four pheras.  This is the last length of the ceremony after which the bride becomes a part of her new family forever.

This is when the two families take advantage of the vulnerability of the situation and play pranks on each other before the pheras are completed.

During one of the pheras, the groom holds onto his mother-in-law’s pallu, with a demand for gifts before he lets the pheras continue.

Usually the mother-in-law per-determines this and has a gift ready for him, unless of course it’s a demand for a specific something!  In another phera, the bride’s brother holds onto the groom’s foot and he won’t let the peras continue until his demand is met!  It’s like getting back at him one last time before he gives his sister away.

These must have started of as customs of len-den (give and take) but nowadays are just small gimmicks to make the wedding ceremonies more interesting and fun.