South Asian weddings are deeply enriched with rituals (rasm) from the first to the last event – and I love most rasms! Joota Chupai is a tradition that stems from the Indian culture. So what exactly is this ritual? Joota Chupai is when the bride’s family/friends steal the grooms shoes and return it in exchange for money.
The entire rasm of Joota Chupai is lots of fun – there is alot of back and forth while both sides try to negotiate a deal. The point isn’t to rip off the grooms side (okay, maybe a little!), the ritual is meant to be a fun way of engaging your guests.
Counting the money
Photography by Aamer Kapadia
Things can get pretty heated... haha
Photography by Aamer Kapadia
Tip: Please decide a maximum time limit for the negotiations. I’ve been to weddings where the Joota Chupai takes over 20 minutes – by the end, none of the guests are having fun! 15 minutes should be the absolute max.
Shaza's Scrapbook 
March 22nd, 2012 at 7:16 am
Looks like a lot of fun : )
March 22nd, 2012 at 11:00 am
It definitely is! 🙂
~ Shaza ~
March 22nd, 2012 at 7:25 am
Gorgeous pictures!
March 22nd, 2012 at 11:00 am
Thank you!
~ Shaza ~
March 22nd, 2012 at 7:49 am
Every time I see wedding pics from india, I am amazed how beautiful everyone looks and the colors are so stunning. A photographers dream.
March 22nd, 2012 at 11:06 am
Yup, the colours are always so vibrant! In our culture, the brighter, the better! Haha
Your pictures are stunning – I checked out a few of them right now 🙂
~ Shaza ~
March 22nd, 2012 at 7:48 pm
its long cause the cheapo groom doesnt want to give the money!
yea, once it was like more than an hour long…and the guest didnt know what was going on since so many of the relatives huddle the couple on the stage…
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Haha – wow, an hour is SO crazy! I get bored after 15 minutes – short attention span! lol
~ Shaza ~