Just Some of the Requirements of a Perfect Brahmin Wedding

The mehndi henna patterning for “making the bride”

Austere clothes for the bridegroom to dress as a monk in the pre-ceremony rites

A palanquin for carrying the bride to the groom’s house

Two banana plants cut off at the root with fruit still hanging on them

Mango leaf chains and jasmine, marigold, and kanakambaram flower decorations

A coconut for breaking before the bridegroom as he arrives

Two tall brass lamps

An idol of the elephant-headed god Ganesha

Rice flour and red dust for floor designs where the bride and groom sit

A sari that’s held as a divider to keep the bride and groom apart in the early stages of the wedding

Hearth and small logs for fire; ghee and camphor to light it

Five types of fruits, and some betel nuts and leaves, crystal sugar, dried fruits

Garlands for bridegroom, his parents, and his sisters’ husbands

Small photo of family deity and photos of parents of bride and groom if they are not alive

Cumin and jaggery paste, turmeric sticks, kumkum, plate of flowers

White pendants with designs for bride and groom’s foreheads, made of Styrofoam

Rice to be used as confetti

Brass plate and tumbler for washing groom’s feet

Bronze bell and idols of Krishna, Ganesha, and other deities for praying in new household

Silver tumbler with water and spoon for anointing and drinking

Sprouts of nine types of lentils for Gayatri Puja

Clear area to display household artifacts that the bride will take with her

Silver or gold toe-rings to be put on the bride by the groom

Grindstone on which bride will place her foot while the toe-rings are being put on