The mandap is integral to any Hindu or Jain wedding ceremony. It’s sacred and a symbol of love. No wonder so much time is spent designing them. This is a step-by-step guide to help narrow down your choices. This article details things to consider and mandap styles for Indian weddings.

When it comes to Indian wedding mandap styles creativity abounds. People are not afraid to modernize, balancing this sacred tradition with practicalities of working with the venue.

1. Location

{Will Your Wedding be Indoors or Outdoors?}

If you’re having an indoor Indian wedding, some things to consider are:  

1. weather worries. rain or shine, your guests will be shaded from the elements
2. privacy. except for the baraat, other guests/public won’t be stand around and watch the ceremony. 
3. lighting. indoors, it’s a good idea to add some lighting to the stage and mandap.
4. some venues let you continue the baraat (sans animal) through the venue to the ceremony space…now that’s really cool.
5. not all venues allow a flame indoors
6. re-use the same space. At some venues you might have to use the same space for the ceremony and reception. Some couples don’t prefer that as they want a totally different look for each event.

In the photo below, you can see the resort guests watching the Indian wedding happening below the pool deck.

At this Hindu wedding below, the couple had the ceremony and reception in this same ballroom. So they built in enough time in-between the wedding and reception so that the venue staff and their vendor team could ‘flip’ the room from a ceremony setup to a reception setup.

Outdoor Considerations:

1. All the colors coupled with the fresh air just makes the whole event more grand.
2. Something different. It’s kinda nice to be outdoors, especially since other events are going to be indoors.
3. There’s always a risk with weather but you can take steps to be prepared if the ceremony has to be moved indoors.
4. I strongly urge you to invest in a canopy to place over the guest seating

2. Type of Structure
{Gazebo vs. Custom stage}

There are two basic ways to build a mandap:

• on a pre-existing gazebo/pergola at your wedding venue
• on top of a custom made stage.

The photo below shows an outdoor, Hindu wedding with a custom made mandap on top of a stage that the venue provided. (By the way, most venues hotel and resort venues provide that stage whereas golf clubs and banquet halls may/may not).

Gazebo vs. Custom Considerations:

1. custom mandaps are just that…custom so you can make it look however you want; whereas mandaps on pre-built gazebos can be decorated differently but the core structure is always the same.

2. custom mandaps take more time to setup. You’ll want to work closely with your design and decor team and your venue to ensure there’s enough setup time.

3. gazebos are sturdier – I’ve heard about mandaps that were blown down by the wind or the structure wasn’t strong enough to hold the wight.

In the photo below, this venue already has a pre-built gazebo which couples choose to decorate for the mandap. The photos following show that same gazebo but at other Indian weddings so you can see what the same structure looks like when decorated differently.

A structure-less ceremony doesn’t have a mandap but has all the furniture etc. This is an ultra-modern style. Some might like that it provides unobstructed views for guests. Furniture: Us To U Rentals

3. Shapes

 {Circular vs. Square vs. Open}

{Open Mandaps}

Not only are these super modern mandap styles for Indian weddings, but photographers and cinematographers love them too because there aren’t any pillars obstructing their shots. Now traditionally a mandap, by definition, is a structure with four pillars but we’ve seen couples take a fresh approach to the mandap concept and done some beautiful things with it.

In the Hindu wedding below, they simply had the green archway with no canopy or anything. In the photo below that, they had a completely open mandap with 270-degree seating around it. Now that’s a photo/cinema team’s dream come true as they can get truly unique shots at various angles.

4. The Look
{Canopy, Transparent, Metalic}

In the photo below, this couple had a floating mandap style designed on the resort’s swimming pool. Click here to see their full wedding feature on ShaadiShop.

5. Dressings
{Drapes, Flowers, None}

Compare the photos above and below. The mandap structure is very similar. However the styles vary. In the photo above they decorated it heavily with flowers whereas the mandap below has none. What do you like better?

6. Dressings Coverage
{Whole vs. Some; Floral vs. Draping?}

In this article you see a lot of different Indian wedding mandap styles. Selecting and/or designing a mandap is very subjective and personal. The photos in this article are inspiration. Make sure you read the photo captions!

In this gold mandap below, they skipped floral designs altogether.

7. Aisle-way
{Ground/floor vs.  Elevated Runway}

On this mandap at an Indian wedding, they emphasized draping with a flower framed Ganesh in the background.

You see elevated runways at weddings like the photo below. It looks really cool and creates a whole different flare when the wedding party and the bride walk down the aisle. This dye-cut mandap has a floral pattern built in and the yellow flowers are the perfect accent.

Things to consider with runways:

• For brides arriving on a palki, the ground/floor is more stable.
• Cinematographers find the runways difficult because there’s no way for them to shift to either side of the mandap, quickly with minimal disruption.

8. {Backdrop Decor}

{Take Aways}

This article is all about Indian wedding mandap styles. Mandaps are a major part of the decor at many Indian weddings and its design and style are completely subjective. This article is meant to be used as a guide and provide inspiration.

Here are 4 important things to think through:

• 1st: is your wedding going to be indoors or outdoors?
• 2nd: do you prefer a pre-built gazebo or something more custom?
• 3rd: what shape are you going for? Round, square, 360-degree, open against a wall?
• 4th: what design are you looking for? lots of flowers/decor? minimal? draping?

If you keep these things in mind while you scour Pinterest and Instagram it will help you home in on ideas and designs.

Resources

• Non-gazebo mandaps
• Mandaps Pinterest Board

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

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