Re: Nikkah - Shaadi/Baarat
same here…all of the wedding i’ve ever been to (here in the US that is!) have always been like this:
invitation start time 7:00-7:30 pm (either with or without a cocktail hour)
arrival of baraat (groom’s side) 8’ish
arrival of bride/nikkah 8:30 pm (most wedding here have the bride and groom together on the stage while nikkah is being preformed)
dinner/cake cutting- 9:00 pm
and then in the past couple of years, various slide shows, speeches by friends/family are now taking place during dinner
rukhsati..usually happens around 11:00 pm
I think I’ve only been to one wedding where the nikkah was earlier in the day followed by the reception/rukhsati in the evening.
One exception to this…I have quite a few Ismaili friends, and their weddings ALWAYS have their wedding ceremony in their jamatkhana around 4:30 pm, followed by a string of useless rasams at an offsite location, culminating in a joint reception later that night…
EDIT—absolutely no offense meant to ANY Ismaili Guppans who may be out there!!! Like I said, I have quite a few Ismaili friends (including my best friend, and I was her bridesmaid for her wedding!) I have just never understood all the ceremonies, very different from what most pakistani’s are used to!