éliseMoroccan Wedding: How Is It Celebrated
Summary
– Preamble of the Moroccan wedding
– Moroccan wedding: the days before
– The Moroccan wedding: the D-day
The Moroccan wedding is part of the Muslim tradition. The stages of this festive event are numerous, and some of them start before the D-day.
Here is a small overview of the process of a Moroccan wedding.
Preambles of the Moroccan wedding
It is well before the day of the celebration of the Moroccan marriage that one prepares for the khetba. This is how the engagement is called the first phase of a Moroccan wedding, during which the parents of the young man ask for the young girl’s hand to her parents.
Only when both parties are in complete agreement that the wedding preparations begin. Then the following are planned:
– The first ceremony Al Kaghet, or Helel (The engagement ceremony), is an intimate ceremony that brings together the future spouses and their respective close relatives: during this stage, the forthcoming marriage is formalized, and the marriage act is sealed. An adel is called in to draw up the marriage certificate.
– The date of the marriage.
– The dowry.
– The place.
– The decoration.
– The list of the different service providers that will be used, such as the halal caterer, the orchestra, etc.
– The gifts that will be offered to the bride and groom.
– The budget.
Good to know: it is also necessary to decide all the outfits the bride will wear at her Moroccan wedding. For this, we call upon a negafa.
Moroccan wedding: the days before
The few days before the Moroccan wedding are essentially a women’s affair. It is during this stage shared with the women of the young bride’s family that the future bride is purified.
During these few days, one proceeds :
– a session in the hammam for all the women to take a milk bath under the sound of youyous and songs;
– the henna ritual: a tradition calling for prosperity and which implies that the young bride wears a green outfit that day as well as the presence of a nekacha in charge of adorning the feet and hands of the young bride with henna tattoos;
– the hdiyya: a festive meal during which gifts are offered to the bride.
Good to know: most guests also get a tattoo, a symbol of happiness and prosperity.
The Moroccan wedding: the D-day
The day of the wedding:
– The bride surrounds herself with women from her family and friends to go to a beauty salon where a negafa takes care of her makeup, hair and clothing.
– Then, in the evening, the festivities can begin. Thus the oriental orchestra settles on the place of the party. The waiters put on the tables drinks, dried fruits and snacks.
– The guests arrive in the wedding hall. The bride, beautifully adorned in a pristine white dress and a choker tiara, enters two to three hours after the guests. She is paraded through the wedding hall before joining her groom. The couple is then seated on a throne.
– The wedding meal is then served, usually consisting of a pastilla, a main course such as couscous or tagine, a dessert and a platter with a rich assortment of fruit.
– Throughout the night, the bride will change her outfit and jewelry. She is assisted by four women whose mission is to help this princess of a thousand and one nights to get dressed. In the early morning, the bride’s white dress is put at the disposal of the young girls who dress it in turn.
Good to know: although the Moroccan marriage tends to be Europeanized, the traditions are, for the great majority, preserved by the young couples.
Do you want everything to go well for your biggest day? We advise you to find a wedding planner quickly. Their agenda is often taken a year in advance. So, be quick and don’t forget to tell us how it went!
