I am curious, for those of you who have been part of an arranged marriage, or live somewhere where it's done.. how does it work? Do your parents pick who they want you to be with randomly or is there more to it? I've always heard of it, but know nothing about it.

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-Brittany Brydahl

There is definitely more to it. The parents arrange this initially
according to social status, religion, caste etc.

This is how things happen in India.

Usually it is some family you know or related to.
Then they match horoscopes to make sure it matches.

then the boy and girl meet (usually at the girl's place) where
they eat sweets and drink coffee and ask the girl to sing etc.
At this time there is an oppurtunity for the boy and girl to talk
and figure out if there are any major disagreements.

If all parties are ok now, then the engagement is scheduled on
an auspicious day and then the wedding after that.

Then they consult astrologers to fix a day which is auspicious
and that is when they have sex, which can be days or even weeks
after the wedding.

-F

Oh okay, thanks for the info Farce. I've never really been educated on it at all. That doesn't sound as bad as I thought. I really thought it was completely forced ALL the time, and that even if it was a terrible match, the wedding would happen anyway. Good to know

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-Brittany Brydahl

This is very interesting. I never knew that people consulted astrologers for this kind of reunion. Although with all the complaints that I have read online from people who are in arranged marriages, it doesn't seem to be working too well for some...

I've always heard complaints too. That's pretty much all I've ever heard. Maybe that's because when they're happy, they don't mention how they met.. not sure.

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-Brittany Brydahl

Hi guys,

I want to share some of my ideas about this... In chinese tradition, this arranged marriage is very common to them... Chinese parents are arranging this as early as the child was born.. And you, son or daughter, you don't have any choice but to follow this arrangement whether you like it or not... Here in our place, we call this "balata".

I think arranged marriage in some countries differ depending on their culture. this is an interesting post, I already gained some informations about arrange weddings in India. In our country it don't usually happens especially if you are just in the normal status of living.

I have read from books that Men of Saudi Arabia seeks their mothers' advise whom to marry. For parents who have daughters, when their daughters menstrual cycle first occur, they put a red flag in front of their houses announcing that they have a daughter ready for marriage. Other, they publish it on newspapers that they are looking for someone to marry their daughters.

A new study has, however, discovered that this behaviour is more common in societies that practice arranged marriages or in cultures that place a high value on parental influence in the choice of mate for their children.

It also found that mate guarding is not an exclusively male phenomenon. Women can be just as forceful in protecting their monogamous relationships