There are a literally scores of ways in which a marriage ceremony can be performed, though usually the religion/caste of the bridegroom (and sometimes the bride), decides the kind of ceremony and the nature of rites. Sometimes, the bride and groom choose to have an Arya Samaj wedding.
This kind of wedding is very different from the other types in many ways One of the basic rules of the Arya Samaj is that it conducts marriages only for Hindus, since the movement’s founder Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati sincerely believed Hinduism to be the ‘original’ religion and that conversions accounted for the spread of other religions from Hinduism.
If in case a couple belonging to religions other than Hinduism want to get married under the auspices of Arya Samaj, they first have to be converted, through a process called “shuddhi”, meaning purification. The wedding is conducted according to Arya Marriage Validation Act XIX of 1937 and is solemnized according to Vedic rites. In these weddings, the pooja is not performed to any specific deity because the Samaj doesn’t believe in idol worship. Fire and the other elements are the only witnesses to the ceremony.
Simplicity is the hallmark of Arya Samaj weddings. The rituals performed are the ones prescribed by the Vedas and the mantras are translated into the / Hindi / English so that the couple know what the meaning of their marriage vows.
The complete ceremony lasts about an hour and the bride and groom are not to be disturbed during the ceremony. Parents and relatives running helter-skelter, priests booming for things at the top of the voice and children running up and down the dais, the all so familiar scenes from the usually chaotic
Indian weddings are non existent. Instead, you end up having a beautiful and meaningful ceremony.