One Stop Bridal Network - Advice

Advice

SPECIALIST CEREMONIES

Everyone wants a perfect wedding but everyone has different tastes and opinions, different religious beliefs and views on the type of ceremony they'd like. With this in mind, this section is for those specialised beliefs, and to give a helping hand for these individual weddings.

Muslim Ceremonies

• Bit of background - The world's second largest religion is Islam. It was founded by the prophet Muhammad in the 7 th Century A.D. It's still the leading faith within the Arab world, as well as most of the Middle East! It's so much more than a religion; Islam, as a religion, is a supplier of the guiding principles of social and political life.

• Marriages - The style of a Muslim wedding depends on the culture of the two getting wed. Although, it is very similar to Asian wedding traditions in the way that the marriage is arranged by parents and then the bride and groom get the finial decision.

• What happens - In the Islamic religion, it's a social necessity and a religious duty to get wed. The actual ceremony lasts for about an hour and a half, a large part of that time is on the social and religious aspects. Traditionally, only two male witnesses are needed for the ceremony to be legal, but it's normally a really well turned out event!!

• When does it happen - There's no fixed day for weddings because the Muslim calendar works on a lunar cycle. But it's forbidden to marry on the two days of "Eid" (this happens after the feast of Ramadan and the day of Pilgrimage). Also, you cannot wed on the 9th and 10th day of the Islamic first month (Muharran) which is known as the day of Ashura!
But you can marry at any time of day that you'd both like and there isn't a fixed notice time frame needed before marriage. This is because in Islam there isn't a registrar system.

• What to do next - When the date for the day of the wedding is set, the next thing to do is to arrange the Mahar (the gift from husband to wife) which is known as an important role in the ceremony (Nikah). To do this, speak to the Iman of the mosque or your local cleric and they will be more than happy to assist. Decide who you'd both like to conduct the ceremony for you. Any male Muslim who understands the traditions of the Islamic religion may perform the wedding. And if not, almost all mosques tend to have marriage officers, and usually the head of the Mosque (the Qazi). But in no circumstance can a female Muslim perform the ceremony.

• Where to have it - The ceremony does not have to take place in a Mosque, although it's the preferred choice, meaning that you have vast numbers of venues to consider. When you are looking at different venues, make sure you take into account the number of people that will be able to fit into the venue, is photography and filming alright at the venue. Also, due to the Islamic religion, the Mosque does not get decorated in flowers, instead the bride and groom do. But if you are having the ceremony in a different venue, you can decorate with flowers and banners and make the room look really special. But it's best to make sure that this is alright to do with community leaders first.

• What to wear - This depends on if you are an Asian or an Arab Muslim bride. If you are an Asian Muslim bride you can wear bright sparkly glittering clothes, with bundles of flowers and jewellery. And if you are an Arab Muslim bride, you can wear a traditional white dress and veil, and usually your hands and feet will be decorated with henna tattoos. The Groom can either wear traditional or western style attire, or even combine the two! And for both ceremonies, guests should be reminded that revealing clothes are not really worn to a Muslim wedding.