Hindu wedding website

A site that names your rituals, not "ceremony 1"

The Hindu marriage ceremony is a sequence of meaningful rites, each with its own name and significance, and a generic wedding-website builder flattens all of them into a single "ceremony" block with a start time. That does your wedding a disservice — and it leaves guests, especially those from other backgrounds, with no idea what they are about to witness. Duva lets you name each ritual what it truly is and give it a short explanation, so the site reads like your wedding rather than a template.

That naming matters for participation, too. When a guest sees the baraat announced with a note that they are welcome to dance the groom in, or the kanyadaan explained as a sacred moment for the bride’s parents, they arrive prepared to take part rather than watch in confusion. The site becomes a gentle guide to the ceremony for everyone in the room.

• Real ritual names. Baraat, jaimala, kanyadaan, hasta milap, saptapadi, vidaai — each named, not lumped into "ceremony."
• A line of meaning each. A short explanation per rite so guests from any background understand what it signifies.
• Guests arrive ready. When the baraat or kanyadaan is explained, guests know how to take part instead of guessing.

The arrival: baraat, milni, and the garland exchange

The celebration opens with the baraat — the groom’s festive procession to the venue, often with a dhol, dancing, and the whole groom’s side in tow. Your site can tell guests where and when it gathers and that they are welcome to join, so the energy is there from the first moment. The milni follows, as the two families formally greet one another, and then the couple exchanges the jaimala (also called varmala) — the garlands of flowers that mark their acceptance of each other.

Publishing these opening rites with their timing turns a potentially confusing start into a shared one. A guest who knows the baraat begins at 10 a.m. sharp, outside the main entrance, shows up in time to be part of it rather than arriving as it ends.

• Baraat. The groom’s procession — announce where it gathers so guests can join the dancing.
• Milni. The formal greeting of the two families as the celebration begins.
• Jaimala / varmala. The exchange of flower garlands marking the couple’s acceptance of each other.

At the mandap: kanyadaan, the sacred fire, and the vows

The heart of the ceremony takes place under the mandap, the canopy sheltering the couple, the priest, and the sacred fire. The kanyadaan sees the bride’s family formally give her hand; the hasta milap joins the couple’s hands; and the vivah homa lights the agni, the fire that witnesses the marriage. The couple then takes the saptapadi, also called the saat phere — seven steps together, or seven rounds of the sacred fire, with a vow at each — and completing the seventh seals the marriage. Communities perform it differently: some circle the fire four times, others seven, so your site should reflect the way your family does it.

These are the moments guests most want to understand and photograph, and a short explanation on your site — what the pheras represent, why the seven vows matter, the meaning of the sindoor and the mangalsutra that follow — lets everyone follow along with reverence. It is the difference between guests watching a beautiful ritual and guests understanding one.

• Kanyadaan & hasta milap. The giving of the bride’s hand and the joining of the couple’s hands under the mandap.
• Around the sacred fire. The couple circles the agni, the fire that witnesses the marriage, with a vow at each round.
• Saptapadi (saat phere). The seven steps and vows that seal the marriage — the number of rounds varies by community.

The farewell: vidaai

The ceremony closes with the vidaai, the emotional farewell as the bride departs with her new family. It is one of the most moving moments of the day, and noting it on your schedule — and what follows, whether a reception the same evening or the next — helps guests understand the arc of the celebration and be present for its close rather than drifting off early.

• Vidaai. The bride’s farewell — the tender close of the ceremony, worth marking on the schedule.
• And what follows. Note the reception or next event so guests stay for the whole celebration.

One ceremony, many regional forms

There is no single Hindu wedding — the rites vary by region and community, and your site should reflect yours rather than a textbook version. North Indian ceremonies differ in how many times the couple circles the fire; a South Indian wedding includes rituals like the kanyadaanam and the tying of the mangalsutra with its own sequence; a Gujarati wedding features the madhuparka and four mangal pheras; a Bengali wedding has the shubho drishti and sindoor daan. You name your ceremony’s actual rituals and Duva schedules exactly those, in your order.

Because you write each ritual and its explanation yourself, the site never imposes one region’s customs on another’s wedding. Whatever your family’s tradition, the ceremony guests read about is the one they will actually attend.

• Your region’s rites. North, South, Gujarati, Bengali, and more — schedule the rituals your family actually performs.
• Your order. You name and sequence each rite yourself, so the site matches your ceremony exactly.

RSVP for every event, in every language

A Hindu wedding is rarely the ceremony alone — there are usually pre-wedding functions and a reception around it, each with a different guest list. Duva collects a separate RSVP and headcount for every event, so a guest can accept the reception while close family accepts the ceremony and the rituals before it. Guests reply by looking up their name on the site, or over SMS and WhatsApp if you send invitations by text — no app to install and no account to create.

And the whole public site can be read in Hindi or Gujarati, so elder relatives follow the schedule and the ritual explanations in their own language. The website, guest list, and per-event RSVP are free to run; only the extra day-of announcements you broadcast yourself use credits — a one-time $10 unlock includes 100.

• Per-event headcounts. Separate attending counts for the ceremony, pre-wedding functions, and reception.
• Hindi & Gujarati. Elders read the schedule and ritual notes in their own language.
• SMS + WhatsApp RSVP. Guests respond by text, WhatsApp, or on the site — no app, no login.