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Marriage · Wedding traditions
The living heritage of the Kathmandu Valley.
Newari weddings carry centuries of Kathmandu Valley custom — distinct rituals, a feast unlike any other, and music played on instruments found nowhere else in Nepal. Long before the wedding day, many Newar girls undergo the symbolic Ihi ceremony in childhood; the adult wedding that follows years later builds on that same foundation of ritual and community.
The traditional process
Every family follows this in its own order — we plan around the version yours keeps.
Family priests compare birth charts and select an auspicious date and time before anything else is planned.
A formal proposal visit, where both families agree on the match and the terms of the wedding.
The bride's family greets the groom's procession at the door with rice, vermillion, and a short ritual welcome.
The couple receives ceremonial sagun and completes the Vedic fire rituals, carried out in the Newari community's own sequence and language of prayer.
An elaborate traditional Newari feast, served course by course on a large plate — a centrepiece of the celebration in its own right.
The bride's departure for her new home, accompanied by the dhime and other traditional Newari drums that mark every major life event in the valley.
