Any do's and don'ts for a Muslim wedding?

pickledonionspaceraider

I went to a Mendhi night last year - the only one I have ever attended.

I had no idea what to expect, but honestly it was one of the best nights I have ever had. Everyone was so very very welcoming and the dancing and merriment were far more than I have experienced at any other wedding I have attended.

You will love it

Londoner_1

Mehndi Night:

Mehndi night is like a hen party and is a cultural practice and not islamic in nature. This event is held in the house or hall for women only, where the bride gets henna imprinted on her hands, arms and feet, and is attended by women only who will be eating nice food and drink (non alcoholic). It will be attended by female members of family, relatives and friends who will all dress up for the occasion , sometimes music will be played with the odd dancing depending upon how orthodox they are an dloads of pics/vidoes will be taken.

You can take with you decent alcohol free drinks and vegetarian food ( a nice cake) and wear nice clothes (not dress tarty or in revealing clothing). You will meet your colleagues friends and get to know them, pretty sure they will be happy to see you.

Wedding:

Usually held in banqueting halls, mostly segregated (some aren't and are similar to Western weddings if the muslim couple aren't orthodox). Again dress respectfully and not in revealing dress,, you will most probably get to see the friends you made on mehndi night. Food will be nice and again non alcoholic, there may be a some drummers and music being played but you will see lots of bright dresses and be wowed by the costumes being worn.

No need to take anything, no boxed gifts, however cash is normally given in an envelope with your name on the back of it, vouchers will also be acceptable.

Hope that helps.

Let us know how it went.

Gloomendoom

Wife's sister is a muslim convert. At her wedding we just behaved and dressed in exactly the same way as any other wedding we have been to. If it caused offence, nobody mentioned it.

JReacher1

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Wife's sister is a muslim convert. At her wedding we just behaved and dressed in exactly the same way as any other wedding we have been to. If it caused offence, nobody mentioned it.

Indeed it's the British way.

Do what you want to do and don't worry about offending anyone else as long as you yourself are alright

Gloomendoom

JReacher1 wrote: »

Indeed it's the British way.

Do what you want to do and don't worry about offending anyone else as long as you yourself are alright

Exactly. I think it is important to recognise the cultural norms, whichever country I am in... especially my own.

duchy

Dressy but covered up -or to put it another way- classy but yes I'm sure your friend is expecting you to ask anyway

The no boxed gifts isn't a Muslim thing - It's the British wedding speak for "We'd like cash as a gift"

dirty_magic

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Wife's sister is a muslim convert. At her wedding we just behaved and dressed in exactly the same way as any other wedding we have been to. If it caused offence, nobody mentioned it.

This! Most people dress fairly modestly for a wedding anyway, and I'm sure she's not expecting you to go out of your way to fit in. You'll probably find she'll welcome you whatever you do (within reason!).

JReacher1

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Exactly. I think it is important to recognise the cultural norms, whichever country I am in... especially my own.

Agreed.

If we started to respect other cultures what would the outcome be?

It could literally be anarchy!

esmy

I've been to two weddings as a friend of the bride and they were very similar - one in a restaurant and the other in a large hall. They were segregated although on both occasions we (as a group of mixed sex friends) were invited to sit together with the women. No one seemed concerned.

Gifts were exclusively cash as far as I could tell. The food was fabulous - no alcohol of course.

For both I wore wide legged trousers with a long sleeved tunic style top. I didn't cover my head and neither did many of the Asian women guests. Some friends wore traditional Asian dress - both were acceptable.

In a lot of ways I found them much less formal than a Western Christian wedding and enjoyed the spectacle of everyone dressed in their finery, especially the brides who were stunning.

Gloomendoom

JReacher1 wrote: »

Agreed.

If we started to respect other cultures what would the outcome be?

It could literally be anarchy!

Unlikely, if there is mutual respect for all cultures present.