Getting married to a Goan Catholic partner?

SAYING 'I DO'

Love is the beginning of all and in Goa it has to end with the wedding ball. A lot goes behind organising a ‘big fat Goan wedding’. Flip these pages to know.

BE PREPARED

To be on the safer side, plan your wedding a year in advance. This means complete all the bookings like church, wedding hall, band etc. Leave nothing to chance.

BIKREA JEVONN (Beggars' lunch)

This tradition is essentially about seeking blessings for the couple. A meal is prepared with traditional food items and served to the needy and poor. It is also to remember ancestors of the bride and groom’s families.

DOCE

Doce, a traditional Goan sweet made from coconut milk, is prepared some days before the wedding at the bride and groom's place. Relatives, friends and neighbours partake in making doce.

ROCE

Roce is a pre-wedding ritual followed by Goan Catholics, and is pretty much similar to the haldi ceremony of the Hindu community. The translation of the word roce (also spelled as ros) is 'juice' in the English language.

BESANV (Blessing)

Besanv, or blessings, takes place on the wedding day. Family members and loved ones bless the groom and bride and may offer them money or gold as a token of their well wishes and blessings.

PORTONNEM (Return)

This practice takes place a day after the wedding. The bride returns home with her new family to a celebratory evening. Portonnem marks the end of all wedding rituals.

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