Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas are getting married in Jodhpur, India, and as Us Weekly notes, this wedding will be very different from other celebrity nuptials. These cultural differences mean that you shouldn’t expect to see a photo of the couple kissing at the end of the Hindu ceremony. That probably won’t happen because the ceremonial wedding kiss is not a part of Hindu weddings.
In fact, the bride and groom hardly even touch each other, says Sonal J. Shah, an Indian wedding planner and consultant.
“Typically at our weddings, there’s not like a ‘You may kiss the bride.’ … It’s very religious,” she said.
These wedding ceremonies are long and there are rituals scheduled for each day.
On the first day, the bride and groom are smeared with a turmeric paste by family members. This stage is called Haldi and is meant to serve as a spiritual cleansing.
“You’re preparing the bride and you’re preparing the groom. It’s almost like a bridal shower, but this is more religious,” Shah added.
Next, there’s the Mehendi ceremony, where the bride and her female family members get intricate designs drawn on their hands in henna. Shah revealed the history of this practice stems from the fact that in ancient times, many Indian families could not afford expensive bridal jewelry so they adorned the brides with these henna designs instead.
If they follow tradition to the letter, on the final day of the ceremony, Jonas and Chopra will arrive separately and won’t see each other at first.
“If it’s traditional, then she’ll get to the wedding venue, there’ll be a priest there that will stay with her and bless her. Meanwhile, [Jonas] goes to what we call the Baraat and he will have some mode of transport,” Shah said.
Even though they probably won’t kiss, Hindu traditions dictate that the bride and groom must hold hands and walk around a ring of fire. The fire is a symbol that represents the “several stages of life,” Shah added.
Everything Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas Wore During Their Wedding Celebrations https://t.co/w3K4POC33O pic.twitter.com/FT0rSANyVo
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) November 30, 2018
One thing that American weddings and Indian weddings have in common is that the reception is more of a party than the ceremony. So, guests at the Chopra-Jonas wedding can expect lots of food and dancing, Shah said.
According to Harper’s Bazaar , the ceremony will culminate at an opulent location called the Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace. The expansive property used to belong to the royal family of Jodhpur. Some of its most glitzy features include a spa, squash courts tiled with marble, and a throne room.
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas got engaged in July after Jonas shut down a Tiffany’s in London to purchase her ring, The Cut reports. They officially started dating after they were each other’s plus one at the 2017 Met Gala, Harper’s Bazaar notes, but they were reportedly flirting over text messages for a while before then.
In Pics: @priyankachopra and @nickjonas go all desi for a Puja held at Chopra’s residence today. pic.twitter.com/gmRiP8IuI9
— TOI Plus (@TOIPlus) November 28, 2018
