As with Buddhist funeral rites, Buddhist marriage rites are an interesting thing themselves as they’re mainly secular affairs. There’s no universal marriage rite in Buddhism. When Buddha was married, there was no “Buddhist” funeral rite. He wasn’t even Buddha yet when he was married. Before that, he was known as Prince Siddharta Gautama.
An Indian Buddhist ceremony is very simplistic.
Invites only go to relatives and close friends for the wedding ceremony. A “lama” which is a priest will preside over the ceremony which is mainly at the bride’s home. All the rites are supposed to be followed and so forth. After that, they are husband and wife. On either the same day or the next day, the newly wed couple leaves for their new home.
All ceremonies will have Buddhist monks or priests present to bless and legalize the marriage.
Laws of the country do apply as well. In Great Britain and the United States, Buddhist ceremonies are legal as long as the person conducting the ceremony is registered. However, there are civil ceremonies in place.
A Buddhist marriage is more civil and legal than religious.
It depends on the culture and where you live. But it mainly reflects around your culture and upbringing. There’s no universal Buddhist marriage rite.
Marriage rites are mainly by customs with a Buddhist priest present. That goes for: Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Burmese, Laotian, Cambodian, and so forth. To understand Buddhist weddings, you must understand the different wedding customs. These wedding customs could even be applied to other faiths such as Baptism and Catholicism.
