Shaadi

About Shaadi

Shaadi (or shadi) is the colloquial Hindi/Urdu word for "wedding." Used across North India, Pakistan, and the diaspora to refer to the entire wedding event sequence — engagement, mehendi, haldi, sangeet, wedding ceremony, and reception.

The formal Sanskrit term is vivaha, and South Indian languages have their own words:

• Tamil: திருமணம் (thirumanam) or கல்யாணம் (kalyanam)
• Telugu: పెళ్లి (pelli)
• Kannada: ಮದುವೆ (maduve)
• Malayalam: വിവാഹം (vivaaham)
• Bengali: বিয়ে (biye)
• Gujarati: લગ્ન (lagna)
• Marathi: लग्न (lagna)

In Indian-English wedding industry parlance, "shaadi" is often used as the generic term across all communities — "shaadi shopping," "big-fat shaadi," "shaadi season."

Related terms

• Banquet hall — A dedicated indoor venue used for weddings, receptions, parties, and corporate events — typically with built-in catering, AC, AV, and seating capacity ranging from 80 to 800 guests.
• Mandap — The ceremonial canopy under which a traditional Hindu wedding is conducted — typically a four-pillared structure with floral decoration, central platform, and seating for the couple, parents, and priest.
• Sangeet — A pre-wedding music-and-dance evening, originally a women-only Punjabi tradition, now mixed-gender and central to most North Indian weddings — features choreographed performances, DJ, and dance floor.