{So, How Does a Catering Executive Use This Info and What Does It Imply?} 

The point of sharing this info with you is so that when you get a new client and you’re sending them info or doing a site visit you can walk them through the space and share info that’s meaningful to them. For example, if a Sikh person contacts you for their wedding, one of the questions you’d ask is, “are you looking for a venue for the ceremony and reception, or only the reception?” because they may be hosting their wedding ceremony in a Sikh temple, called a Gurdwara.

Or if it’s a Muslim wedding, you can consider ways to meet the Food and Beverage minimum since they’re not going to be serving alcohol.

If it’s a Jain or a Hindu wedding, you’ll know that they need the ceremony flame, so you can talk to them about how that works and any safety measures such as a fire watch.

Jain weddings – by religion, Jains are vegetarian. That’s good cultural knowledge for you to have. Their wedding setup will be the same as Hindus – ceremony set up theater style with the open flame. They’ll need the ceremony flame. And a banquet with rounds and maybe Kings tables, outside catering. They may or may not serve alcohol.

All Jain weddings will have a baraat.

Some people will opt to host lunch after the wedding ceremony. Regardless the lunch will be a vegetarian outside catered meal and there will be no alcohol served, as the ceremony is considered a religious occasion.

Hindu weddings – Their wedding setup will be the same as Jains – ceremony set up theater style with an open flame. They’ll need the ceremony flame. And a banquet with rounds and maybe Kings tables, outside catering. They may or may not serve alcohol – but most do.

All Hindu weddings will have a baraat.

Some will opt to host lunch after the wedding ceremony. Regardless the lunch will be a vegetarian outside catered meal and there will be no alcohol served, as the ceremony is considered a religious occasion.

Sikh weddings – Sikh weddings ceremonies are unique in terms of setup at the venue. At Sikh weddings, everyone sits on the floor while only the officiants, musicians and most importantly the Holy Book – the Guru Granth Sahib are elevated on a stage. For an indoor wedding that means no chairs to set up except maybe a handful for the elderly or disabled. Alternatively it may mean laying down padding and sheets to make seating comfortable. There is no ceremony flame and the ceremony is usually 1-1.5 hours.

Another thing you’ll notice is everyone’s head is covered – both mean and women. This is required for all Sikh wedding ceremonies.

And lastly, unlike Hindu, Jain, and Muslim weddings, no one is allowed to wear their shoes. So in terms of set up, they’ll want a designated area to place or organize the shoes on racks.

All Jain weddings will have a baraat.

When you’re on a site visit, imagine the impact on the client if you already knew that info. They would instantly get that, “this catering manager understands me” feeling which is we have seen repeatedly, is a major factor when couples choose their wedding venue.

Muslim Weddings – Muslim weddings are called a ‘nikah’ pronounced (nikk-aa). The ceremonies are relatively short (compared to Hindu, Sikh, and Jain weddings) – usually around 30-45 minutes and there is no ceremony flame. Some Muslim couples will have a baraat. Some may not.

The main distinguishing factor that impacts the venue, is that at Muslim weddings alcohol is not served.

This article is part of ShaadiShop’s series

I hope this article has been helpful to you. If it has, please let me know in the comments; and you might like to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest – whatever your preferred media is, as we frequently publish articles to help make  planning an Indian wedding just a little bit easier.

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“We’re so glad we joined ShaadiShop to market this hotel to the South Asian community in the Orange County area. Every wedding we close from their leads returns more than 3x our investment. Moreover, they pre-qualify leads and educate consumers creating a much better sales cycle for our catering team. Venues looking to reach this market, join ShaadiShop!”

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Ryan Hurd
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Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove

“We just booked a full Indian wedding through ShaadiShop at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. In addition to the business, we appreciate the exposure ShaadiShop creates about our venue, as the couple didn’t know about our resort until ShaadiShop told them about us. Additionally, we appreciate the pre-qualification work that ShaadiShop does to match couples and venues that are a good fit for each other. We had all the info needed to conduct the initial meeting. What a great service for venues to market to the South Asian community!”

Angie Florence
Catering Sales Manager
Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort

“Cannot say enough good things about the service from Samta and ShaadiShop who helped us research venues for our wedding this year. We wanted a non-hotel venue, and to get married within 6 months. ShaadiShop immediately found us venues, contacted them and educated us about all the things we needed to think about while selecting a venue. They put all the info together in a fabulous, super impressive, spreadsheet that helped us compare venues – seriously amazing and such a great help. Working with them made the whole stressful process MUCH easier and I can’t believe it was all free! ShaadiShop’s website is fantastic and such a great service for South Asians – so glad I found them!”

Anjli Shah, Bride

“Shaadishop helped me not only find venues but also understand how they work, the fees, and tips that I wouldn’t have otherwise known. Definitely a need service in the desi community. And best of all, it was free!!”

Hinna Shaikh, Bride

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