INTRODUCTION:
The Islamic and Hindu religions have an array of similarities and differences regarding their customs and laws in relation to the ‘wedding ceremony’.
Within Islam, the wedding ceremony is believed to be both a religious and social obligation to get married. As a result, there is a great weight placed on religious, social and cultural dimensions of the ceremony which tends to be simple in nature, paralleling Islamic beliefs. Hindus also place a lot of importance on marriage ceremonies which signify customs, rituals and elaborate celebrations. However, a key difference lies in the fact that Islamic marriages are seen as contractual agreements, whereas Hindu marriages are perceived to be sacrilegious.
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Guests who attend an Islamic wedding must ensure that their attire isn’t too revealing as this would be seen as improper.

Seeing that Hindu weddings are also of Asian origin, ceremonial attire is colourful and lavish. The bride traditionally wears a sari given to her by her maternal uncles and during the actual wedding ceremony she puts on a red sari, a gift from the groom’s family. The bride wears ornaments in her hair and her arms are covered with bangles. Henna is also used to decorate for hands and feet. Similar to Islamic weddings, the groom wears either a traditional Indian outfit or a suit. Guests are permitted to wear what they wish, although it is best to avoid black.

Setting the date
The Islamic religion works on a lunar cycle with no fixed dates for weddings. However, the two days Muslims are prohibited to marry are on the two days of Eid which occur after the Ramadan feast and the Day of Pilgrimage (‘Haj’). In addition, it is also impractical to marry on the Day of Ashura, which happens to be on the 9th or 10th of the first Islamic month (Muharran). There is no particular time of day or notion of auspicious time that a wedding ceremony must take place at nor is there any fixed notice period before the marriage as there is no registrar system. Islamic wedding ceremonies tend to be celebrated over a five day period. Like Hindu marriages, the ceremony can be