Arya Samaj Marriage rituals are not as elaborate as the traditional Hindu rituals. The wedding rituals are few in number, but there significance is quite understandable. The Vedic mantras are recited during the wedding procession ceremony and are explained to both the bride and the groom so that the significance of the relationship can be explained to them. This undoubtedly helps them in knowing and understanding the meaning and purpose of marriage as a ‘relationship'. Any person from Hindu or Non-Hindu religion or from any different cultural background can opt for Arya Samaj wedding. Arya Samaj weddings are performed in Arya Samaj mandir and the rituals involve the practices of mehendi, brahmbhoj, chudha and nath, thread ceremony, yagnya, kanya daan, pratigya mantra, shilarohan, parikrama, kesh mochan, saptapadikriya, surya darshan, hriday sparsh, sindoor dan, dhruv darshan, reception and taking off the chudha.
The procedure of Arya Samaj marriage involves worshipping of the sacred fire instead of idol worship. After the marriage is performed, the Arya Samaj mandir issues the marriage certificate to the married couple. The Arya samaj marriage can also be registered before a Marriage Registrar which can issue a marriage certificate to the married couple. Since marriage certificate is a document providing social security to married women and helps in getting the visa for the wife/ husband, it all depends upon the choice of the bride, groom and their family members whether they want to get the certificate from Arya Samaj or Marriage Registrar.
The marriage certificate issued by Arya Samaj mandir is completely valid and legal. After getting marriage certificate, neither any person nor any court can challenge the authenticity of the marriage. Since ceremonial marriages are not recognized by foreign embassies in India and abroad, the marriage certificate helps in getting visa from foreign embassies.
Arya Samaj was started as a reform movement for the betterment of the society and upliftment of women. This movement emphasized on the abolishment of Sati-pratha and child marriage. In order to make India free from caste system, untouchablity and racial discrimination, Arya Samaj worked for the empowerment of women and low caste people. Inter caste and inter religion marriages were performed in order to break the perils of the rigid caste system. Arya Samaj focused on the idea of performing inter caste and inter religion marriages that serves as a beacon light for social equality, irrespective of the caste, color, religion and race. This helped people in realizing that marriage is not dependent on factors like caste, color, creed and race. Arya Samaj helped in making people realize the core aspects of mutual understanding and compatibility in marriage, irrespective of what their religion, race or caste is. It laid stress on the understanding of core principles of marriage rather than just performing the rituals. The rituals performed have their own meaning and significance in the Arya Samaj marriage. The mantras recited during the wedding procession are translated in the language that can be easily understandable to the couple and their family members.