How is an engagement ceremony held in India?

In India, engagement ceremonies are uniform across most ethnicities across the country however differing only in nuances and details of the rituals. 

In some customs, families get prepared Lagna Patrika (wedding letter), which is a formal declaration and promise to each other to perform the wedding in the future. While in some it marks the formal ceremony where the official date of the wedding date is determined by the two families. 

While in some cultures. engagement precedes the wedding by months or even a year whereas others it is held a day or two before the wedding ceremony.  

According to few customs, the father of the groom requests for the father of the bride for the bride’s hand in marriage with his son. Having confirmed and mutually agreed they make a promise for the marriage, which is called Wagdaan. The bride’s father then tells her that he will plan the wedding ceremony at an appropriate date in the future. The couple then exchange rings and the ceremony ends with best wishes and blessings from all the attendees.

Exchange of rings is not mandatory or common in all weddings across the country, but it does involve the ritual of the formal announcement of the impending matrimony.

In Punjabi weddings, the engagement function usually takes place only after the Roka ceremony.