The royal wedding of the Rajputs has created a unique enigma over the years. Rajputs are the only race perhaps who have carried forward the custom of the royal family weddings, the grooms` riding of elephants and the brides` decked up in diamonds and other precious stones. The ceremonies are always sober and the proceedings are marked with apparent firmness. Thus, in a way marriage is known to be a very serious affair in which not only the boy and the girl of both the families are involved but also the their parents and families have equal say.
A royal wedding in Jaipur brings about regal magnificence from an era gone by. The royal Rajput wedding takes place amidst of medieval grandeur and majestic brilliance with all the splendid equipments that were so important to royal weddings since ages. Preparations for a conventional Rajput wedding begin long days in advance of the actual ceremony.
Match Making in Rajput Wedding
Rajput gives particular attention to the matchmaking aspect of the marriage. Taking into consideration many important facts makes the match between a boy and girl. The family is the first and the foremost significant of all factors. Every care is taken to ensure that the alliance is perfect. The status of the families has to be at par. It is also very essential that the bride and the groom come from separate clans. The horoscopes have to be accepted and coordinated by the family astrologer. Rajputs prefer to marry within the community only. However, there are exceptions if either the bride or the groom comes from a royal family.
Costumes Of Rajput Wedding
 Both the bridal costume and grooms attire are eye catching and attractive ones. The bride wears a customary Rajasthani poshak. The bridal dress comprises a ghagra or a long pleated skirt, a gorgeous blouse and a dupatta. The clothing is always colorful as to put up a distinction to the dull bleached hue of the sands across the Thar. Color and vitality is very important in this barren land, color is the only authenticity. So, there is a sense of both elaborateness and coquetry in the bridal dress.
Majority of the traditional bridal wear is in red but other colors like those of the orange, bright yellow and pink are loved as well. A bright parrot green is a particularly the favorite of a particular Rajput clan. A lot much jewellery adorn the bride as well. There would be the Rakhri or a circular piece of jewellery for the forehead, hanging earrings, the timaniyaan or a choker studded with uncut diamonds, the chooda or a set of ivory and gold bangles, the bajuband or gold and stone-studded armlets, gold anklets and the bichhiya or gold toe-rings for the feet and finally, there is the geometric shaped nath or the stone-studded nose-ring.
The groom`s attire is the conventional attire for the Rajasthani male. The costume includes a long coat in golden color known as the Achkan. There are the very majestic saffron turban worn along with a churidar or tight salwars and royal shoes. Surprisingly, the groom also wears some eye-catching jewellery. The jewellery include those of special jewelleries like Serpech to be worn on the turban. Sometimes necklace is worn around the neck and a cummerband at the waist.
Rajasthani Wedding Rituals
 Some of the rituals that deserve a special mention are the haldi ceremony, mehendi ceremony and the ladies sangeet that form an inseparable part of all Rajput weddings in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
The mesmerizing traditional rituals that have been performed over the centuries, are reenacted at all Jaipur weddings, and yet have not lost their unfathomable appeal. Dressed in heavy brocade lehengas, ethnic jewelry and henna adorned palms and feet, the glowing bride awaits the onset of the groom under a brightly decorated veil. The groom with his relatives and friends arrives at the venue with a lot of fanfare and is received with blowing of shehnai, sprinkled with rose petals and rose water.
Rajput grooms put on expensive sherwanis and colorful turbans. Almost all Rajput grooms carry the traditional sword, which is a sign of the typical Rajasthani pride and valor. The main royal wedding ceremony is fixed in a regally decorated mandap ornamented with hand decorated earthen pots, marigolds and other brilliantly colored flowers.
The Rajput marriages are grand traditional affairs. The royal weddings usually extend to a number of days and are mind-boggling. There are innumerable events, which are exhaustively rich. Even the Rajput marriage of the aristocratic class is an elaborate affair with variety of traditional customs and rituals.
Pre-Wedding Rituals
The pre wedding rituals announces the magic of the forthcoming day.
Tilak Ceremony - This is the official engagement ceremony among the Rajputs. Only the male members of the girl`s family go to the boy`s house. Only the bride`s father, brother and other male relatives take active participation in this ceremony. No ladies accompany the men in this particular occasion. The ceremony, as its name goes, describes the girl`s brother applying the tilak to the groom`s forehead. The men from the girl`s family usually present the boy with plentiful gifts such as a sword, other presents, clothes, sweets, fruits etc. This ceremony makes the engagement or solemnization official.
Ganapati Sthapana and Griha Shanti Ceremony - Few days before the actual marriage, the Ganapati Sthapana and Griha Shanti ceremony takes place. These are conducted as very important as it takes place in the place of the ring ceremony. The groom or bride`s parents to propitiate the gods perform a havan and an idol of Lord Ganapati is placed. All ceremonies start only after the sthapana or installation.
Pithi Dastoor Ceremony - This is a lovely ceremony, which takes place at both the bride and the groom`s places. This ritual is applicable to both the bride and the groom. It would continue till the final wedding day. The rituals include the application of turmeric and sandal wood paste to the one going to get married. The bride and the groom would not be leave their respective houses as soon as the pithi starts. The pithi dastoor takes place on a grand scale at the bride`s house.
For the occasion, the bride has to wear an orange Rajasthani dress. She is made to come under a silken, decorated canopy that is held with the help of swords at the four corners by four ladies. These ladies should belong to the same clan. Then she is brought to the ladies gathering and these ladies then apply the paste to her. The pithi at the groom`s place is held on a minor scale. Dholans or the women singers with dholak, sing auspicious pre-wedding songs while the ceremony is in progress. Throughout the wedding celebrations, the dholans are present, along with the Shehnai and the nagara players, though the latter one remains at the courtyard or the garden.
Mahira Dastoor - It is again a custom exclusive to the Rajputs only. It takes place at both the girl and the boy`s houses. This particular ceremony involves the maternal uncle of either side. The maternal uncle along with his family arrives with much fan and frolic. The respective families receive him with greetings. The uncle then gives clothes, jwellery and sweet dishes to the entire family. It is a ceremony that symbolizes the fact that the maternal uncle has to lend a hand of help at the expenditure that his sister undergoes during her child`s marriage.
Janev Ceremony - Janev ceremony is an essential ritual of the  Hindu marriages. It depicts the rite of making the groom wear the sacred thread. Men wear the janev only. The groom is made to wear the janev on the eve of his becoming the householder. He is made to wear a saffron robe and perform a yagna with the priest. The Rajputs wear the saffron robe with the thought that the groom has two particular choices before him. One that of renouncing the world by becoming an austere; and the other is of getting married and accepting the responsibilities of married life. At the end of the yagna, the groom has to act as if he wants to become an ascetic by running away. And the maternal uncle tries to stop him and persuade him to get married.
Palla Dastoor - Palla Dastoor is one of the customs typical to the Rajputs. The ritual involves the people from the boy`s family coming with the trousseau called the palla dastoor. A day or two before marriage some relatives from the boy`s family come along with a set of things like the clothes and the jewellery, which the bride has to wear during the wedding time and also some gifts.
 Rajput Baraat - Rajput Baraat is dissimilar from all other Indian baraat styles. It is elegant, balanced and individualistic. For one thing, the Rajput baraat is once again an all men`s affair. So, to speak it consists of only the gents of the groom`s family. Ladies do not take part in the procession. As much as that there is no dancing as the baraat progresses across the street. The groom usually rides an elephant or a horse and also carries a sword. Also, each of the other male members of the family carries a sword as a convention.
Wedding Rituals
The bride`s mother takes the groom to the ladies section after performing the customary Aarti. He is then preceded towards the wedding mandap. In all this only a married male relative, a brother, or a male cousin goes along with him. The wedding takes pace as usual with the yagna fire and the Vedic mantras. There are the pheras also. The only exceptional thing about the whole matter is that the bride has to keep her face hidden behind a long veil throughout the marriage. The women of the family mostly attend this ritual, as the men of the house remain busy attending the barati and other guests.
Bidai - Bidai or farewell to the bride takes place a little strangely in the Rajput clan. The norm is that during the bidai, a coconut has is placed under the wheel of the car. The moving car has to break the coconut before going on further. The bride would pull up her veil before she rides the car. The husband normally gives his wife a piece of jewellery as a mooh dikhai or a token gift as a part of thanksgiving for showing her face.
Post Wedding Rituals
After the wedding is over, starts the post wedding rituals which are equally colorful .
Grihapravesh - Grihapravesh is actually the entry of the bride into her husband`s house for the first time. Some important pujas and other rituals take place as the bride arrives at the sasural or the father-in-law`s house. Certain games between the bride and the groom and those alike to the usual games that take place in other Hindu weddings.
Pagelagni - The day after the grihapravesh, the ritual of pagelagni takes place. This is a ceremony where the bride, still in veil, is formally introduced to all the members of the family of the groom who bless her and give her gifts of different kinds. The veil is then finally removed.
Celebrations in Rajput Wedding
The Mehfils are the prime attractions of the Rajasthani wedding. A mehfil is a stage to rejoice, where the ladies of the house gather for music and dance evening. There is of course a mehfil for the men as well. At the ladies mehfil, the women gather together at an surrounded courtyard or hall. They are usually decked up in sparkling dresses of all colors. Then, they perform Ghoomar, a famous Rajasthani dance number. The bride at the mehfil is given the position of the guest of honor.
The ladies mehfil at the boy`s place is the same except for the groom being allowed to be present at only ladies programme. The men`s mehfils at both the girl and the boy`s places have a different taste altogether. In these mehfils, professional singers are being invited to perform and these are exclusive all male parties.
Cuisine of Rajput Weddings
Rajput cuisine comprises vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian delicacies. The Rajputs who are Vaishnavs and those who worship Lord Krishna are strictly vegetarian and the cuisine have the dishes, which are traditional and purely Rajasthani like the daal-bati. Daal-bati is a dish of cooked lentils and roasted balls of dough, served along with a number of dried or pickled berries cooked in different ways. The warrior classes among the Rajputs take non-vegetarian dishes. The food is again miscellaneous, inclusive of the seafood and vegetarian dishes. Then, there are the tandoori mixed grill delicacies with chicken, lamb, fish, and shrimp, and a dash of curry offerings.
More on Marriage System in Indian States
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