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A wedding and a marriage are great cause for celebration in any culture. Hindu weddings – very varied, this is just one example - mark the idea that in Hinduism marriage is a duty. These weddings can be huge! The strong sense that a marriage joins two whole communities explains why. We follow Nikki and Hemal, busy getting ready for their big day. The ceremony is full of symbolism, and this is where the clip finds its focus. The wedding day is about the excitement of dancing, but also about expressing love, sharing life, creating a new partnership.

10 Symbols and meanings featured in the clip:
• Henna hand pattern painting: the darker the henna, the deeper the love.
• A canopy called a mandap: two people setting up their new home and life together. Standing together: keeping the good energy in and the bad energy out.
• Hemal has his shoes stolen by the bride’s family, after the ceremony he’ll have to pay to get them back: a fun way to show the two families are linking up
• Hemal’s face is hidden so he doesn’t see the Nikki before the ceremony: it’s not all about looks
• Nikki wears traditional Indian dress: white symbolises purity and red is for fertility, for children.
• Hemal and Nikki are treated like a King and Queen for the day: it’s their once in a lifetime ‘big day’.
• Nikki and Hemal walk around the sacred fire four times: they are united together and protected
• Hemal draws a sindoor on Nikki’s head, and gives her a special necklace: two symbols that show a woman is married.
• Nuts or steps are shared together: Each nut represents a different quality that a couple need in their new life together.
• The couple taking seven steps round the fire, tied together: these steps symbolise the qualities with which each partner will try to treat the other