Looking at other traditions

Yesterday I posted about my friend's Greek upcoming wedding. Today I figured I wanted to learn more about another type of wedding. Muslim Weddings.

Three Days of a Traditional Indian Muslim Wedding

Muslim weddings throughout the subcontinent have developed specifically Asian traditions while maintaining Islamic marriage requirements.

Pre-wedding rituals

* Mehndi ceremony

The Mehndi ceremony is held at the home of the bride on the eve of the wedding ceremony or a couple of days before it. The female relatives of the girl anoint her with turmeric paste to bring out the glow in her complexion. A relative or a mehndiwali applies mehndi on the hands and feet of the bride. The event has a festive feel to it with the women singing traditional songs. The bride wears sober clothes. According to custom she must not step out of the house for the next few days until her marriage. The bride's cousins sometimes apply a dot of mehndi on the palm of the groom. ...read more here

Another religious ceremony very different from mine (Roman-Catholic). Reading the entire article and all the photos I realized how amazing, extravagent, and rich in tradition their weddings are. I found some other quick references to customs:

In the Muslim world, marriage customs and traditions vary as much as the colors in a rainbow.

All retain the Islamic obligatory acts, which make a marriage valid and include other practices, which are individual to their surrounding cultures.

There are many different customs from some parts of the Muslim world. Note: not all Muslim marriage customs are necessarily in line with Islamic values.

Source