Bridesmaids at Indian wedding blocking the car before getting their gifts

Fun Indian Wedding Vidai Tradition

Many South Asian weddings are full of fun and games. This article is about a fun Indian wedding vidai tradition.

From stealing the groom’s shoes to wedding party photos to milni. Another tradition observed in some weddings is blocking the couple from leaving after the vidai. Usually the bride’s female friends blockade them and at same-sex weddings, the friends gather together and do not allow passage until they’re showered with money and/or gifts.

The End of the Vidai

Many people think of the vidai as a time of bittersweet happiness and tears. The vidai is when the bride’s family bids her adieu. It’s symbolizes a bride leaving the home where she grew up to join her partner’s family. But at the end of the vidai, before the couple zooms off, at many Indian weddings, there’s a tradition of the bride’s friends blocking them from leaving. It’s intended as a way to tease the newlyweds. To get their permission to leave, the groom has to pay up! Usually in the form of cash.

Bridesmaids at Indian wedding blocking the car before getting their gifts
Geeta Randery Photography

At weddings where the groom’s shoes are still incognito, this is often the point at which the harborer reveals possession and negotiates for money and/or gifts.

This fun Indian wedding vidai tradition is meant to be all in good fun and spirits before the happy couple zooms away while! Since Indian weddings are considered a marriage between two families and not only two individuals – these games are like built in ice breakers. They’re a way for family members to interact and have fun at the same time.

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Cover image: Randery Imagery

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