In our Indian culture, marriage is considered one of the most significant milestones in a person’s life. Marriage is a sacred ceremony that celebrates not just a union of the bride and the groom, but their respective families as well. Preparations for marriages begin months in advance in India and each and every member of the family diligently prepares for all the pre-marriage and post-marriage rituals and celebrations and try to put their best foot forward with the arrangements.

The ceremonies last from a few hours to an entire day. Since every ceremony is an important step towards the grand finale of the wedding day, the gifts and invitations for them should be unique and beautiful to look at.

Let us look at the most significant ceremonies and how ChocoCraft makes your life easier when planning for them.

The Roka ceremony is the official announcement of the consent of both the boy and the girl and their families for getting married to each other. It can be considered as stamping the boy and the girl with the title of “booked”. Both the families gather together for the first time and exchange sweets, gifts, dry fruits, etc. with each other and also bless the soon-to-be-married couple. Sometimes a Puja is performed by a holy priest who recites the holy verses.

The venue of the Roka ceremony is usually the home of the bride. Sometimes, the families are willing to celebrate the Roka ceremony on a large scale. Hence, a banquet hall or a hotel can be selected to host the ceremony.

The proceedings are very simple. The first ritual to be performed is the Tilak ceremony, where tilak or a paste made of vermillion or sandalwood and rice grains are applied on the foreheads of the boy and the girl. After the tilak ceremony, the elders present at the occasion, bless the boy and the girl. This is followed by the exchange of gifts between both the families. These wedding favor gifts include sweets, fruit baskets, dry fruits, clothes and other assortments.

The mother of the groom adorns the bride by placing a beautiful red chunni or dupatta over her head and blessing her with clothes, jewelry, cash, etc. On the other hand, the parents of the bride gift clothes and cash to the groom and shower him with their blessings.

At ChocoCraft, we make personalized chocolates and chocolate boxes that can be custom made to be gifted to the bride, the groom and their families. These gifts will stand out from the traditional gifts of sweets and fruit baskets.

The Roka ceremony marks the beginning of the wedding ceremonies which are to follow. It is the first step taken towards making the marriage decision official among the friends and family. The families throw a party for their close ones to celebrate the fixing of marriage between their son and daughter.

After the Roka begins the task of sending out engagement invitation and wedding invitations to the near and dear ones. At ChocoCraft, we have simplified this task for you by offering unique options for wedding invitations. You can have a custom-made chocolate gift box which includes the marriage invitation card accompanied by delicious chocolates.

For a unique package, you can customise the design of the box, the invitation card, and the chocolates to create a truly one of a kind wedding invitation. We also offer an exclusive range of wedding invitation card designs to choose from and special marriage invitations that feature pictures of the bride and groom.

The engagement ceremony is a very important pre-wedding ritual where the would-be-bride and the bridegroom-to-be are formally betrothed to each other by their families.

The Hindu tradition of ‘Vagdanam’ dates back to Vedic ages, and it involves the groom’s family giving their words to the bride’s family that they will accept their daughter and will be responsible for her future wellbeing. It is sort of an exchange of pledges between the families and a chance of getting to know each other’s customs or rituals.

Engagement ceremonies are uniform across most religion and ethnicities across India, differing in subtle nuances and rituals. In some cases, the engagement ceremony marks the formal announcement of the betrothal, while in others it marks the ceremony where the official date of the wedding is determined.

In some cultures, the engagement precedes the actual wedding by as much as a year whereas in others they are held a day or two prior the actual wedding. Exchanging of rings is not mandatory, but it is a distinct part of the engagement ceremony.

At ChocoCraft, you can choose between a wide variety of beautiful custom invitations for your engagement. The wedding box can be customized to announce the names of the soon-to-be-wedded couple as well as the venue in a stylish manner.

You can choose the design of the chocolates to be put inside and have quirky and fun visuals related to the engagement ceremonies and ring exchange rituals on them. The package becomes wholesome with a custom message about the ceremony on a butter paper.

Mehandi is another traditional and exciting pre-wedding ceremony. The Mehndi ceremony has become such an integral part of the wedding celebrations that it cannot be imagined without it. Mehndi is one of the sixteen adornments of the bride and her beauty is incomplete without it.

It usually takes place just before marriage. The bride and the groom’s family observe this ritual separately at their own residences.

According to the ritual, the bride does not step out of the house after this ceremony. The Mehandi ceremony is essentially organized by the family of the bride and is usually a private affair which takes place in the presence of friends, relatives and family members. The scale of the ceremony depends upon individual choice.

Elderly ladies sing traditional Mehndi songs with dholaks and other musical instruments. Women relatives of the bride also get Mehndi applied to their hands, although the designs are not as elaborate as the bridal Mehandi.

Somewhere within the intricate bridal Mehndi, the groom’s initials are included which the groom has to look and find out. This becomes a nice ice-breaker for the newly wedded couple, especially in the case of an arranged marriage.

It is also believed that the darker the color of the Mehndi, the more love the bride will receive at her in-laws and especially from her husband. The ceremony has now become a symbol of grandeur, fun and festivities, and excuse for some major pre-wedding girl bonding.

Using ChocoCraft, you can send out beautiful themed invitation boxes for mehndi ceremony, custom made to reflect the aesthetics of this ritual. Choose a box with Mehndi motifs on the top and chocolates with images inspired by the Mehndi ritual on them. We print special invitation message on butter paper as a part of the box with elaborate designs on them.

One of the most popular and anticipated pre-wedding ceremonies, the Sangeet is a celebration of coming together of the two families which offers some much-needed respite from all the hectic seriousness of the wedding preparations.

Women of the family get together a day before the wedding day with dholaks and spoons, surround the bride and sing traditional wedding songs like ‘Mehendini Mehendi’, ‘Lathe di Chadar’, ‘Laung Gawacha’ and ‘Kala Doriyaan’. Subjects of the songs range from about daily life of women to teasing the bride about her upcoming wedding and her groom.

On a more serious note, some refer to the dreams and hopes of the bride who is separated from her family, while some tell of the pain parents go through while sending off their daughter. In these songs, the groom is referred to as Banna and the bride is known as Banni or Banno. The women and men of the household dance along with the bride.

Nowadays, DJs are hired and guests can dance their hearts out to contemporary tunes. In some NRI or uber-rich businessman weddings, Bollywood celebrities are hired by the event management companies to dance at the event. Some even hire famous musicians and singers for beautiful melodic performances.

During Sangeet, the families come together to celebrate the two young hearts coming together. Relatives from out of state and even out of country gather and bring bits and pieces of their newly adopted cultures. Ceremonies like Sangeet prove how much of a social importance an event like a wedding holds in the lives of us Indians.

Using ChocoCraft’s custom-made Sangeet Ceremony invitation boxes, you can delight your relatives and get them excited for the wedding. The box design usually reflects the energy exuded by the dancing that takes place in Sangeet.

The personalized chocolates can be printed with pictures or names of the bride and the groom, along with a special invitation on butter paper.

A bridal shower can turn out to be the best way for a bride-to-be to spend some relaxed and cozy time with close friends before her big day. It is usually a fun-filled affair with a delicious menu, themed decorations organized by the girl’s close friends. Bridal showers are about food, fun, and pampering.

The theme is usually related to the bride-to-be’s personality and held at her place or any friend’s place for an intimate gathering. A lot of fun activities are planned which may serve as ice-breakers before the wedding. A sumptuous cake is usually ordered with delectable frosting and is usually personalized according to the theme.

Traditionally, bridal showers used to have an all-women guest-list, but nowadays close male friends are also invited. After consulting the guest-list with the couple to finalize a list of invitees, and send them well-designed party invites.

ChocoCraft makes your job easier with custom Bridal Shower invitations . You have the option of choosing a box design to reflect the event’s mood and have printed chocolates inside to build up the anticipation of the wedding. Inside, you can have creative messages printed on butter paper as invitations.

A bachelor party is none of the most awaited events before the wedding. It is also called ‘Stag Night’ and is planned by the groom-to-be and his best friends. It has a more intimate gathering than other ceremonies and is usually held in a pub or a friend’s place.

The idea is to have fun without parental supervision and enjoy the last few days of bachelorhood with your friends. For some wealthy Indians, it involves a trip to exotic locales like Las Vegas or Thailand. The event is usually marked by consumption of liquor, loud music, and rowdiness, hence relatives are usually not invited.

Using ChocoCraft’s quirky custom-made Bachelor Party gift boxes you can send fun and cool bachelor party invitations with themed boxes and printed chocolates. Get personalized invitations on butter paper and you’re all set to host a great night.

Boys don’t get to have all the fun! A bachelorette or ‘Hen party’ is organized by the bride-to-be and her friends, given in honor of the bride-to-be, in the style that is common to that social circle of friends. It can be held in the privacy of a home as a dinner or cocktail party or involve a night-out or trip to a party town. Sometimes it is a themed party with a formal luncheon or spas for attendees. A fun idea would be to go to a karaoke bar or organize a scavenger hunt with exciting prizes for everyone involved in the end.

Send ChocoCraft’s fun Bachelorette Party invitations and customize them according to the party’s theme. In them, put exclusively printed chocolates for the guests and print personalized messages on butter paper with details for the party.