Sacred Vows: The Meaning Behind Hindu Wedding Rituals with Pandit Neall

Planning a Hindu wedding or simply curious about the beauty and depth of Vedic traditions? In this episode of Beyond Vows & Veils, Brittany sits down with Pandit Neall to explore the intricate details of Hindu wedding ceremonies—from selecting the perfect date to blending traditions in fusion weddings. 💫

Neall shares his journey as a Vedic priest, offering insights into the spiritual significance of marriage, the importance of mutual consent, and how couples can embrace both tradition and modern expectations. He also clears up common misconceptions and provides practical advice on ceremonial preparations and venue arrangements.

Whether you're newly engaged or just love learning about rich cultural traditions, this episode is filled with wisdom to help you create a wedding experience that’s both meaningful and unforgettable. ❤️✨

For more Beyond Vows & Veils or Eventrics Indian Weddings, follow along at:

Instagram: @eventricsw
TikTok: @eventricsweddings
YouTube: @EventricsWeddings

ABOUT EVENTRICS INDIAN WEDDINGS

Eventrics Indian Weddings is an award-winning team of experienced wedding planning and management experts, specializing in large-scale Indian Weddings & Fusion Weddings in Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach, and destinations worldwide.

The Eventrics Indian Weddings team offers complete and partial planning services with a personal and hands-on approach. We believe each couple deserves a fully invested wedding planner to be engaged throughout the entire process to ensure no detail is missed or overlooked!

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Pandit Neall and His Journey
• 5:52 The Importance of Date Selection in Weddings
• 12:09 Understanding the Vedic Ceremony and Its Significance
• 18:59 The Essence of Vedic Marriage Rituals
• 26:25 Preparing the Venue for Indian Weddings
• 31:48 Addressing Misconceptions About Hindu Ceremonies

Transcript

Brittany (00:01.506)
So anyway, thank you again so much for joining me. really appreciate

Pt. Neall (00:04.557)
Of course.

Brittany (00:07.63)
lot of, I have a lot of clients. And I also have a lot of I know couples out there that are very interested in today's episode and just some of the things we'll be diving into. But before we get too crazy, Neall, for those who don't know you maybe just share a little bit about yourself, your background. I'm sure people are just curious.

Pt. Neall (00:26.576)
Yeah, so my name is Pandit Neall Prashad and I've been a Vedic Hindu priest. This year will make 22 years I've been. I started this journey when I was 15 years old. I had the privilege and the honor of having the guidance of my guru, Pandit Muniram, and he was able to answer a lot of questions that I had.

I was very curious about Hinduism and the whole, all the rituals and everything, the philosophy. And lucky for me, as you can hear, my first language is English. So everything was new. I had no idea about any of the languages, Sanskrit or Hindi. And luckily what he did is everything that he did, he had translations for

and he would explain everything. So that was kind of my mindset from the beginning was, you know, if I had questions, I'm sure people similar to me and my age at the time would have questions. So that's been my whole philosophy is to share the richness about this culture, about this, the tatama as we call, we don't necessarily say it's a religion, it's more of a way of life. And that's what I've been trying to do. So for 22 years, I've

I've been fortunate to travel all over and perform many different types of rituals and ceremonies and meet a lot of incredible people like yourself and your team that we get to work with, you know, at many weddings. So that's kind of in a nutshell about me.

Brittany (02:10.35)
Yeah, that's incredible. I actually had no idea that you've been doing this since you were 15. Was there a pivotal moment in your life that you decided that this was for you?

Pt. Neall (02:14.338)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (02:19.024)
You know, one of the things I was telling someone the other day is that my guru had so much faith, more faith in me than I had in myself. Like even at 15 and then 18 and then even in my early twenties, I was kind of like, you know, maybe, you know, at one day I might take this up. You know, I kind of was doing it like on the side and more of like a part-time thing. And then it was really like after I finished college, my undergrad, I went to UF and I was able to study Sanskrit there for a few years.

And then I said, you know what? Yeah, I'll do this. And he kind of didn't give me an option. It was 2009, I remember. And I think he was going to Canada. And he was like, hey, I have a wedding that someone had approached me to do. It someone very close to him, a close family friend. He's like, I'm not going to be here. And I need you to do it for me. He didn't really give me an option. He was kind of like, you just have

do this and I'd never done a wedding before, had no idea and 2009 he sat with me, he went through the entire ceremony and then I did it and that was my first wedding and you know, I meet them all the time and I tell them, know, you guys are my first wedding and they were like, we didn't even know, you you were very prepared and that was, that's always been my thing, you know, if I do anything.

I have to be prepared and just honor the tradition and honor the sanctity of the rituals. yeah, and at that point, it just kind of ballooned from there.

Brittany (03:54.486)
Yeah, I mean, that's incredible. Honestly, I definitely get that from you, even our experiences working together. And I think one of the biggest questions that gets posed a lot, you know, is sort of that there's been this pull from couples lately to consolidate the ceremony, to be a lot of a, you know, a shorter ceremony. And then obviously you have family members that obviously want to make sure that all the rituals and everything is kind of withheld. How do you find balance in that? Because

Pt. Neall (04:00.593)
Thank you.

Pt. Neall (04:10.916)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Brittany (04:23.822)
It's a lot, mean, traditional ceremonies I think used to be certainly a lot longer than they are these days.

Pt. Neall (04:23.93)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (04:29.772)
They used to take all day and sometimes multiple days, you know? And frankly, you know, I look at it as it's a fine balancing act. You know, you're trying to honor the traditions and honor the spiritual aspect. Because at the end of the day, the wedding, the ceremony, the Vivasanskara, as we say in Sanskrit, it's a spiritual union of two souls, right? So you have to honor that sanctity of it

but also adapt to modern times. Luckily for me, I'm a Vedic pundit. So what that means is that we perform the original ceremony as it was thousands of years ago. So the Vedas, without getting too much into the philosophy, are the oldest scriptures on earth. So the ceremony as a result, I always say, is the oldest marriage ceremony that has been occurring for thousands of years.

And what has happened is over the years, people have added their own regional influences to the ceremony. So what I tell couples is that we keep it very traditional. It's the Vedic, everyone can get married this way. it's very, it honors the traditions and the spiritual aspect. And it also, it's naturally very short, right? So we're able to cut down the wedding in a fraction of a time.

I say an hour and a half is a fair time if you want to get everything that we need to do. And of course, there are some options in there that where we can make that a little bit more accommodating as well. So it's really to find out what one, the couple and their families, what are your regional backgrounds? What are some things that you want to include in the ceremonies? And a lot of times people...

They might not know, but the Vedic ceremony already includes a lot of the things the families want to include. It might just be under a different name or, you know, might just be a different way of doing that. So it's just to have that conversation. And one of the things that, as you know, that we do quite a bit with the couples is to have multiple conversations with them, with both sides of the families. And, you know, it goes for both. It goes for couples with

Pt. Neall (06:45.616)
know, traditional Indian backgrounds from maybe different regions that might be getting married. And also couples that may have, you know, one part of the family that might not know anything about this culture or about this ceremony and to balance their questions and what their expectations are as well.

Brittany (07:07.02)
Yeah, I mean, I love that because it really is about sort of educating the client, right? Although it is their background or their customs, a lot of times this is family's first union and getting married and planning this special occasion. So these are new conversations to have. And we deal with a lot of fusion weddings. And so it's really important that obviously those things are pre-discussed. No, but that's really helpful, Neall.

Pt. Neall (07:12.357)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (07:20.804)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (07:26.17)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Brittany (07:35.596)
You know, curious if you also, know a lot of couples depending on like again, what region of India that they're from or like how traditional they are. Do you get into a lot of date selections? Cause lately I've sort of noticed some couples will come to me they have to have, they have to have a very specific weekend. It only can be this weekend. Can you shed some light on that process maybe for like couples who maybe are, grew up a little bit more Westernized or aren't as familiar with that process?

Pt. Neall (07:42.832)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (07:54.692)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (08:00.944)
Sure. Yeah. Now, I look at it, know, a lot of that where that's coming from, and I have been seeing that quite a bit lately, is, you know, reliance on a lot of the astrological markers. Sometimes people will say that, you know, we want an auspicious date, and that's based on the astrology. you know, when it comes to the Vedic perspective, we're a little bit more

We're not as strict in terms of having a specific date. Like my and my guru's belief, which I got from him, is that there is no such thing as an inauspicious date. And a lot of times people will say that there are certain times where you're set on this date or you have to avoid this date. Ultimately, the ceremony and what we do and a lot of what is in the ceremony already is filled with so much rich advice for the couples.

And ultimately it comes down to the couple balancing the expectations of marriage to determine the success of how that marriage will be. So a lot of times I see couples, they're focusing on so much about the inauspicious or focusing on the date and really it comes down to what you're doing as a married couple. So what I'd like to say is there are certainly dates that are more auspicious

Brittany (09:29.837)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (09:30.02)
that we can look at and we can recommend, obviously, when the time periods and it's aligned with the planets. it's not so much astrology, as I say, it's more related to the astronomy of the planet. So we can certainly look at things like that. But from a modern perspective, I really try to emphasize on the

qualities and the companionship and those things that are more important for couples.

Brittany (10:00.578)
Yeah, yeah, I absolutely love that. And I think that's really great to get into those specifics with couples. Because ultimately, we do going back to just kind of the fusion concept. I'm sure that you've done this, Neall. I don't know that we've done this together, but there's a lot of couples out there that not only are they kind of creating a custom ceremony with someone like yourself, they may also have like a second person involved. So we've done like Hindu Jewish weddings or.

Pt. Neall (10:07.237)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (10:19.94)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (10:26.136)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Brittany (10:28.032)
I mean, I've done Hindu Chinese weddings and all sorts of fun things, which is so cool. I love to see all the cultures come. How do you, do you work with other priests when you're trying to blend that? Like how do those conversations go? What would you recommend?

Pt. Neall (10:30.298)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (10:41.424)
I embrace that. think, you know, from a spiritual perspective, God is one and we all have different paths. You know, our scriptures in the Vedas tells is that God is one truth and wise men and women experience that truth in many different ways. So what I like, like you said, we have worked with so many different backgrounds. There was a recent wedding where there was a Sikh component. There was a Sikh priest.

And then also a Christian, I believe, a Christian pastor that was involved in the ceremony as well. So my whole thing is that once we keep the sanctity of the Vedic ritual, I'm willing to accommodate. So think one of the things that we did there was that we had a certain point in the ceremony where we had the

the priest from that faith give his contribution. And then we proceeded with the Vedic ceremony after. So a lot of times how that happens is, again, having a conversation beforehand with the family and also that priest or that rabbi or pastor, whoever it might be, and then just coming to an agreement and where both

cultures in both backgrounds can be honored and the families feel like they're, you know, it's an inclusive ceremony and they can feel that sense of attachment to their culture as well.

Brittany (12:20.746)
Yeah, absolutely. And I think for any couples that are listening right now, I hope that, know, Neall's conversation is making you feel a little bit more comforted in the sense that, you know, while you absolutely can keep the traditions of your ceremony, you know, things have evolved in the sense that you certainly can blend culturals together and it not be like a four hour event. You certainly have some baseline there, like you mentioned, Neall that, you know, has to kind of be in place to still maintain the sanctity of the overall

Pt. Neall (12:48.357)
Yeah.

Brittany (12:50.652)
union, right, of why you are involved, why we gathered, why you're here. But I think that that's really important because a lot of couples feel like they're with their parents that it's going to be like an hours and hours long ceremony when they're like, we need this to be and we need to much to do today.

Pt. Neall (12:51.983)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (13:02.116)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (13:05.968)
And just to touch on one point, know, there's a time and place for the four hour rituals and things like that. I think a wedding where you have your guests and you have maybe people from different backgrounds, I don't think that's the place for it, especially in living in the United States. So, you know, my whole thing is keeping a flow in the ceremony. I think if you lose that flow at any point in time, you lose the audience. And then

Brittany (13:15.394)
Yes, of course.

Pt. Neall (13:35.758)
You know, the goal as a priest, as a pundit for me, is I'm trying to keep the audience engaged so that they can learn about this rich culture and learn about every different step in the ceremony. You know, so they can ask questions and they can say, well, I know why we do this now. It's not just, you know, something that is blindly followed, but there's a specific reason, you know, why we do the jai malas why we exchange the garlands, why we do the kanya dan where, you know, the couples are holding hands with their families and things like that.

What is, you know, all those things, every single thing that we do in the Vedic ceremony has a meaning and it has a reach, a deep tradition that is associated with it.

Brittany (14:14.774)
Yeah, I actually love when you do go into descriptions. And even sometimes I have couples are like, well, everyone knows that, you know, they've all attended a million weddings. But I'm like, for me, it's kind of like a reminder of why we've gathered here today. And for that couple, it's their first experience having that. And sometimes, you know, that emotional chord that it hits when you rehear like, this is why we're doing this step, or this is what this means. This is what I'm committing to you as my partner in life.

Pt. Neall (14:23.109)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (14:27.994)
Definitely.

Pt. Neall (14:31.92)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (14:36.164)
Yeah. Yeah.

Brittany (14:44.88)
And I think that that goes a really long way. And that's why I'm a big fan of the ceremony programs too, because I think sometimes having guests who maybe, even though they're engaged and they're listening in, they're able to also identify what each of those meanings are.

Pt. Neall (14:50.148)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (14:57.605)
Yeah.

And you know, another thing on that is that I tell my couples at the end of the day, this is your ceremony. And sometimes you might not realize you we've all as Indians, we go to a ton of weddings, right? And it's a different experience sitting in the audience and watching along. And even for me, when you're sitting under that mandap and you're looking at the person that you love in their eyes and you're you're you're feeling, you know, all the vows and all the steps, it's a different feeling. It's a different emotion.

that comes to that, it's almost like a, yes, this is why I'm doing this. This is why I'm making this lifelong commitment. And if you go through that process and you have no idea, maybe you might have a general understanding, but if you have, if you're able to connect the deeper meaning of everything and, you know, get down to a spiritual level of understanding that this is a commitment between two souls. This is a commitment that transcends even this earthly existence.

Brittany (15:56.024)
right.

Pt. Neall (15:56.28)
And I feel like that is something that is more, it stays with you much longer, especially in those moments where life will present its challenges and you're faced with those ups and downs and those questions and those frustrations, then you have something that grounds you. You have something that keeps you really focused on why you're in this journey and why you're in this struggle of life with somebody that you chose to be with.

Brittany (16:25.068)
Right. And someone basically witnessing your life too, right? I mean, you're choosing to say, hey, I'm going to be there for all the moments. I'm going to honor you in all those times. And I love that.

Pt. Neall (16:29.412)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (16:34.468)
Definitely.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Brittany (16:38.446)
You know, part of also one of the questions I wanted to ask you just in terms of ceremonies, I know you mentioned again, there's like kind of the baseline, I don't know that's the correct word for it, Vedic traditions. Can you just kind of like briefly outline those for just the couple that they understand? Like here's the things that you definitely would need to incorporate, even if you were having a fusion wedding, just to make sure that it feels like more completed.

Pt. Neall (16:48.335)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (16:54.01)
Sure.

Pt. Neall (16:58.65)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (17:03.546)
Yeah, no, I think it all starts, you know, even before the ceremony starts, it starts at the end of the barat, where the groom and his family is met by the bride's family. And he is greeted specifically by the bride's mother. And she does the arkeying, which is, you know, the dia place and the thali, which is the plate. And then that is kind of the first, like, welcoming of the groom and his family. And that's really the start

of everything. And then once we get under the mandap and the groom comes and the bride follows after, then one of the first steps we have is the kanyadana. And I always explain it this way, in a modern sense, the kanyadana is not so much of a giving away of the bride as it's maybe traditionally understood, but it's more so a union of two families. This is why I have the couples hold their hands.

Brittany (18:00.718)
Hmm.

Pt. Neall (18:00.824)
And then the bride, her parents hand support her, and then the groom's, his family, his parents hand support him. And that symbolizes in the beginning of the ceremony, two families are coming together. Through these two individuals that have decided to make this commitment to each other, you have this blessing of two families coming. And that's kind of, you know, I look at it this way as family plays such an important part in many cultures, specifically, you know, our culture as well.

Brittany (18:27.981)
Right.

Pt. Neall (18:30.088)
And it's like you get your blessings from your family members and then now you're proceeding with the ceremony. And the first thing that happens after that in the traditional Vedic sense is the Jai Mala which is the exchanging of the garlands. And that emphasizes a concept known as swayamvar. A lot of people think of Indian weddings and they might think of traditionally they might have been arranged. They might have been people don't have a choice in who they marry. But this concept of swayamvar goes back even

Brittany (18:44.248)
home.

Pt. Neall (18:59.812)
to the Vedic times and to the original times of when Dharma and Hinduism was first created, is that two couples have to agree. They have to give their mutual consent before they can move forward in the ceremony. So that garland becomes an exchange of that Swayamvar, of that commitment to say that not only am I choosing to move forward in this ceremony with you, but also in this life as well.

And then after that, have the Panigrahan, which is the vows. Our sages knew from thousands of years, you know, what are some things, what are some aspects of this journey and this life as a couple in marriage that would be important for two individuals to know? And what are some things outlined in our scriptures that might benefit them that they can choose to implement into their lives? And that's

basically what that is. It's a commitment of the responsibilities of this journey of being married and being together. So, and then after that, we have some traditional prayers, mantras that I chant, which kind of just honors the divine presence of the ceremony. And then one of the most important ones is the production, is the circumambulation around the fire.

Brittany (20:13.646)
her.

Pt. Neall (20:22.116)
And that is in a Vedic sense that there's times around the fire, four times where the groom will lead, and then three times where the bride will lead. And that emphasizes the aspect of shared responsibility. Sometimes the bride, the wife, or the husband might be the one to lead in that marriage.

That's an important part. That kind of solemnizes the wedding and the marriage. By walking around that fire, it bears a lot of spiritual significance. And then there's the saptapadi, the seven steps that happens right after that. And that's kind of a commitment, once again, seven steps moving in the same direction of a commitment between two individuals. And then we get into some of the

the steps at the end, which involve the sindur, which is the red vermilion that is placed in the parting of the hair. That becomes a symbol of a bride being married. Also the mangasutra, which is the necklace that is also before there were, you know, rings, there was also mangasutra, the necklaces that showed that a woman was married. And then, of course, the ring. The ring is the final step where that becomes an exchange.

and that commitment of those two individuals. And the ring is not necessarily a traditional part of the ceremony, but I've kind of incorporated that, at least to the end, because a lot of people know in modern times, when the ring exchange, there's not much else that comes after that. So we've kind of adopted that a little bit. So the ring happens at the end. then the last, after we make the announcement of

you're now husband and wife, then the first thing to do is to take blessings from the parents. Take blessings from any elders, parents, grandparents, any uncles, aunt, anyone who they want, mainly it's just parents and grandparents. But a lot of people choose to expand that as well. And that's pretty much in a nutshell, of course. As I mentioned throughout the ceremony, I explained in a little bit detail each of the steps. And I try to leave the couples and also the guests something

Pt. Neall (22:45.658)
to take away from the ceremony

Brittany (22:48.012)
Yeah, I love that. mean, that's such an amazing description because I feel like every time that I go on site, you know, we've seen so many gosh, you know, at this point, I've seen so many but it's nice even for me to like, rehear the refreshers of like kind of like, almost like you're

Pt. Neall (22:57.754)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (23:02.01)
Yeah.

Brittany (23:03.672)
summarized almost even modern takeaways of it, because it's helpful, I think, for couples who are obviously just now going through this to even understand what are these different steps that you're essentially taking. And, you know, obviously if they decided to work with your team or whoever they're going to be moving forward with, I think it is important that you have someone that's willing to kind of share and explain what the different steps are so that you can even feel a little bit more engaged in your own ceremony, right?

Pt. Neall (23:27.716)
Yeah, for sure. Absolutely.

Brittany (23:31.352)
for sure. Neall, question for you. I know that there's a lot of, I don't know the correct term at all. We call it ceremonial items. There's ceremonial items that are needed to obviously perform the ceremony. Traditionally, does the family go out and get all these items? Do you provide them? Like, what have you found to be the most popular? What is the best way to go about this?

Pt. Neall (23:34.638)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (23:39.461)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (23:44.229)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (23:54.234)
So I think traditionally, and I explained to the families, traditionally it's almost performing the ceremony is one aspect, is one blessing that you get. There's also a certain blessing of getting the items yourself. So that's kind of been the traditional way that you get the items and then you have it ready to perform for the ceremony. Now I understand a lot of couples, especially ones that may be

Coming to Orlando or coming to Florida or wherever they might be going maybe going to somewhere else in the destination wedding setting It might be difficult to carry those items or to bring those items to Florida So I like to simplify things if if a couple would like me to provide the items. I certainly can You know, but a lot and or we can do a mix, know, like sometimes people would traditionally go to India

Brittany (24:27.256)
Bye.

Brittany (24:38.574)
Thank

Pt. Neall (24:44.719)
So they will go and they might find garlands there. If they're not using fresh flowers and fresh garlands, they might get it there. Or they might get certain aspects that will work with them. But the actual ingredients, then maybe I might be able to provide. But I always say whenever possible, any time you're doing any type of ritual, if you can provide it, then obviously go ahead and get them.

Brittany (24:44.91)
you

Brittany (25:09.742)
Sure.

Pt. Neall (25:10.128)
I like to accommodate and try to be helpful. One less thing for the couple to worry about if they're traveling, then I can certainly bring all of them.

Brittany (25:14.818)
Right. Right.

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's really helpful because I know a lot of the couples we work with are coming in from a different state. You've always been so accommodating with that and so I think that's really important for sure.

Pt. Neall (25:24.238)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (25:29.73)
Yeah, and you know, at the end of the day, like you all do, you know, this is why we start the process, or we like to start the process so early, is that we have everything organized. And this is why I like working with you and your team, because, you know, we've come to this understanding now of what, well, one, you all have an understanding of the Indian and the Vedic ceremony. So you're very accommodating and we're able to work together and know like where things need to go. And it's ultimately about

making this journey for the couples and their families to be, it's truly the biggest day of their lives and something that they'll look back at and say, you know, there's a lot of planning already that goes into it and as much help as you can get from the team that's supporting you and even for me as well as a pundit, it's very helpful to have that opportunity to work with individuals that make that journey much easier.

Brittany (26:25.558)
Yeah, absolutely. And you know, that's such a fun because that kind of segues into the next thing I was going to ask you. Obviously, you don't only work with my team. You work with a plethora of other planners and at temples and all that good stuff. Is there any advice that you have for couples in terms of supporting them to prepare their venue or their planner in terms of just being ready to host Indian Wedding Ceremony?

Pt. Neall (26:31.834)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Pt. Neall (26:50.116)
Yeah.

Brittany (26:52.876)
Is there any advice that you have? Because I think one of the biggest things that always I feel like is less common for people to look at me like deer in the headlights now as it was years ago. But every single time they say, hey, there's going to be the homa kund. We're going to have a small fire. People are like, can't have fire in the ballroom. It's like, we can't have a Hindu ceremony without it. I don't know. But anything like that can be helpful for couples to make sure they're educating their venue or plan in general. I don't know what you run into.

Pt. Neall (27:00.346)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (27:07.288)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Pt. Neall (27:13.743)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (27:18.308)
Yeah.

Well, I did want to mention, I'm so glad you brought up about the Hoenn Kund because we just dealt with this, I think, last year where a venue that I had not worked with before, but a very, very reputable destination here in Orlando, they had not heard of the idea of the fire. And they got, you like you said, they got kind of scared when they heard.

a fire is going to be there. And know that, you know, as for any couples, whenever you're educating your venue or speaking about this, if they're not familiar with the ceremony, it's a very small fire. It's manageable. You know, our pundits and our priests have been managing that small fire for thousands of years. I like to say that we're the original pyros, you know, so we focus on that, on that fire for a long time. So it's very controlled. It's not something that even the smoke.

You know, we use ingredients that don't trigger the smoke alarms and we manage it. That whole process is being managed very well. So just, you know, reassure your venue. And what we did last year is I ended up having to have a conversation with that director at that venue. And they felt more at ease because they were asking the couple to get a fire permit, which I had never heard about.

And after we were able to do that, think everything worked out. just educate. Educate is a big part. And I think one of the things that I really like working with your team and other event planners that do this is to having that document that you create with all the steps and just plan everything out and make sure, like I said, my biggest thing is flow.

Brittany (28:41.976)
Bye.

Pt. Neall (29:11.236)
my biggest thing is organization and to know like, you know, what's coming up in the ceremony because the one thing that I hate more than anything else in a ceremony is downtime. I hate when we're waiting on something or we're waiting on someone because you know, that can take an hour and a half wedding and that can make it two, two and a half hours. Luckily I haven't had to deal with that in a long time because you know, I've been working with, you know, great teams like yourself and your team. And you know, so they know that when

the Jai Mala is coming up, someone has to go get the garlands. If they're in a fridge somewhere, you have to go get that. I remember the last time we had to deal with that, I was in Jamaica and we were doing a wedding and someone forgot that they were in the fridge and they had to go to a different building at this location. So we were just waiting there on the beach. It wasn't bad, it was a great location, but in terms of the ceremony.

We always want to make sure that things are flowing. So knowing whose responsibility is to do what when that time comes up is very important. And that's why having that information ahead of time is super helpful.

Brittany (30:19.724)
Right, 100%. I was literally gonna ask you like what fun things have happened to you on site at events. And I think the one with the garlands in Jamaica is definitely a good example to showcase to people that, you know, things happen and sometimes, you know.

Pt. Neall (30:30.597)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (30:34.031)
Mm-hmm.

Brittany (30:34.958)
I'm with you. think assigning someone like if you're not working with a planner and you're you're gonna assign a point of contact family like just have everything in one location because most likely Neall or whomever you're working with is should be there I would think probably an hour before things are starting whatever to get things set up so that would be the time to obviously have those things ready and available so also your priest isn't arriving and he's like okay where is everything and then it also delay because you're not able to also get things set up

Pt. Neall (30:43.717)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (31:00.773)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (31:04.314)
And that's an important point. try to be from before Bharat starts, I try to be there at least one hour before. So I take look at all the ingredients. If the couples are providing the ingredients, we have them there and I'm able to sort everything out, make sure we're ready to go. We're not scrambling, where is this? Where is that? During the ceremony, everything is pre-planned.

and we have it ready to go so that once the couple is there, we're just going through the steps and keeping everything moving. That's important.

Brittany (31:36.962)
Yeah, absolutely. Are there any like, misconceptions or common questions that we haven't covered that you feel like would be supportive for anyone that's tuning in just to hear?

Pt. Neall (31:48.206)
Yeah, I think oftentimes, you know, some of the misconceptions maybe not necessarily with people who might be familiar with the ceremony. You know, but a lot of times because we deal with a lot of and even younger couples who might have been raised in United States away from India or away from that culture, you know, might not be familiar. But it mainly applies to cultures that have no idea about the ceremony. And I see a lot of hesitation, especially like

Brittany (31:56.11)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (32:17.518)
When I have families that may be American, or maybe Christian or Jewish, or even Sikh or another faith or Muslim background, they might not know what this ceremony entails. And I always say that because it's more of a way of life, this ritual honors the spiritual aspect of two individuals. There's no conversion that happens in the beginning of the ceremony. That's usually.

something that people are worried about. When they see the fire, they hear things like, well, Hindus worship the fire. No, we don't worship the fire. The fire is just a representation of God and what the beauty of this entire dharma is. And we make offerings into that fire that are combined with the mantras that are chanted.

to create that vibration and that spiritual aspect within us. So, you know, there are certain questions that we, you know, we tend to have. And sometimes when we're on the calls, I see a little bit of the hesitation and I try to ease their minds and I, you know, explain those things. And also for maybe a bride or a groom that might not be familiar with any of these rituals, you know, I try to tell them that, you know, we'll go through it as much as possible before.

but also the day of, you know, I will guide you through everything. I'll let you know what you need to do, where you need to put your hands, what you need to do during the ceremony. And I think that eases their mind a little bit, especially because, you know, you're under a microscope, you're under a mandop and you have so many eyes on you, you're recording this, this is gonna be something that you're gonna look back at and you just wanna make sure everything goes well, so.

to having the proper guidance, I think is very important, regardless of any priest that does your wedding, is making sure that you those expectations in the beginning and they can guide you through the ritual while you're there.

Brittany (34:25.292)
Yeah, I love that Neall because you know, honestly, I, I feel like a lot of times I always say this to my girls on site and I always say it's the client I say, it's the pundit show once you're in the madap because at that

Pt. Neall (34:37.388)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Brittany (34:38.062)
We're doing everything, all hands are on everything. We're with you every step of the way. But once you're in that ceremony space, it really is someone else like yourself guiding them and being a part of that experience with them, which is essentially why we've all came, you know, gathered in the first place. And so I think having your ability to give them that comfort and that support goes a really long way. And so for any couples that are out there too, you know, make sure that the person that is going to be facilitating such an important union

Pt. Neall (34:55.365)
Yeah.

Brittany (35:08.016)
is taking the time to explain these things to you because, you know, I think it is vital and I think it is very important that everybody feels comfortable when you're, because it allows you to be more present as opposed to anxious and, you know, asking questions. You're able to be a little bit more present in what you're actually doing.

Pt. Neall (35:18.852)
Yeah.

Pt. Neall (35:25.006)
Yeah, couldn't agree more.

Brittany (35:27.092)
Yeah, Neall, you know, it has been obviously a pleasure to chat with you. I always sign off each of my episodes with, know, you don't know what you don't know. Is there anything that you feel would be supportive or any final tips or parting words that you have for us today?

Pt. Neall (35:36.176)
Mm-hmm.

Pt. Neall (35:42.544)
You know, one thing that I see, especially in the modern, I guess, takes on Indian weddings is that, you know, we all get to enjoy the grandeur and the glamour and the beauty of, you know, everything coming together and all the hard work that the couple has put together and all the vendors and everyone, you know, your team that helps to organize the ceremony. You know, my goal also is to encourage all

you know, all couples, all guests of any Indian wedding is to really understand the meaning behind that ceremony. And that ceremony from a spiritual standpoint is meant to bring two couples together and to connect their souls. And, know, our scripture tells us that once those two souls undergo that viva, that bond of that ceremony, then those souls are

inextricably linked. There is a mantra that we chant when we do the garlanding. And what that says is that just as two droplets of water, and the metaphor is two droplets representing the soul, just as when two droplets of water come together, they cannot be separated. It's the same way that we're praying that may God honor your souls and honor that bond.

that you are embarking to make that bond become everlasting. And while a lot of the focus gets lost sometimes in how everything's gonna look or how everything's gonna go, is to know, I always tell the couples that no matter what you've done, and I'm sure all the hard work, it always pays off. It always pays off. You've done so much to make this event so wonderful.

on the day of, you know, exhale and just enjoy it. Just be in the moment and be in that presence of the one that you love, the one that you've committed yourself to. And really that's gonna be the springboard and to take you on that trajectory of life, of building a life that you're gonna be happy with for the rest of your life. don't forget that meaning of the wedding in all the planning and all the frustrations while you're going through it.

Pt. Neall (38:02.852)
you know, everything will work out great.

Brittany (38:05.45)
I love it. Well, thank you again so much, Neall, for your time. That was so incredibly helpful.

Pt. Neall (38:07.972)
Yeah.

Thank you, Brittany, and thank you to you and your entire team for all that you do. All right, namaste.

Brittany (38:15.854)
Thank you. Take care.