Hindu Marriage Rituals at HTOS

IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ FIRST.

  • At HTOS, our priest only provides the guidance for the bride, groom and their families to perform the rituals of a Hindu Marriage. In the State Of South Dakota, you need an Officiant to Solemnize the marriage (see State of South Dakota’s website here) and only certain persons are qualified to be this Officiant. Neither the priest nor any of the officers and representatives of HTOS can be the Officiant of any marriage and thus cannot sign any document related to the marriage.
  • It is important that you obtain the needed marriage license and have it officiated and solemnized prior to performing the Hindu marriage rituals with the help of our Priest. This applies to rituals performed either at the temple or outside the temple. The marriage license MUST be shared with HTOS before the event.
  • You can instead choose to bring your own person licensed in the State of South Dakota to officiate weddings to the event. Along with the marriage license application to be shared with HTOS, the Officiant should be present during the key moments in the wedding and witness the marriage. HTOS has no recommendations on this choice of Officiant and it is up to the marrying couple and their families to plan, schedule and facilitate the Officiating process and obtain needed marriage license.
  • (Version 2, Oct 3 2025)

Procedures for signup

  • Please sign up with the recommended donation at our registration site (HTOS Marriage/Wedding Ritual) with the following required information:
  • It is important to schedule a phone discussion with our Priest to establish type of rituals you want performed and availability of the priest and temple premises (if performed at temple). This step is critical to ensure the priest and if needed, the temple, is available for you and can be reserved.
  • Download the list of items you need to be ready with as mentioned below. Please print it out if needed and ensure all the items are procured and ready before the event.
  • If your version of rituals includes “mangal sutra” or “mangalya dharana”, ensure that it is safe, secured and brought to the event. The mangal sutra including any gold/silver versions and yellow threads, will have to be procured by you.
  • Ensure you signup and schedule at least 1 month in advance of your requested date.

Use of temple premises

  • Registering for performing the rituals at the temple includes the use of temple premises and the hall for the duration of the event. A typical marriage ritual takes between 2 to 4 hours. If you need time for setup before the start of your event and time for cleanup after completing the event, please let the Priest know during your critical phone discussion mentioned above.
  • Typically, we can accommodate 2 hours before and 2 hours after the event though other functions and festivals might affect this availability.
  • Homam (havan) cannot be performed inside the temple premise. If this is needed as per your ritualistic needs, please ensure the priest is aware and arrangements are made outside the temple.

Other charges

If you have more than 20 people for your event, there is an additional cleaning charge of $150 which must be separately paid by check payable to “Hindu Temple of SiouxLand”. Please give this check to the priest or an HTOS representative. This is after all the cleanup you will do as part of performing this event at the temple.

The temple hall can accommodate a maximum of 40 people for the event.

DOs and DONTs

DOs

  • Be fully prepared with all the items required.
  • Timely arrival and departure are required since somebody has to be available to let you in and close after you leave the premises.
  • Keep temple clean. Do needed cleaning after your event even if there is a separate cleaning charge due to the size of your group.
  • There are few floor coverings available in the temple for you to use during the event. If your group is large, you may want to bring additional floor coverings. After the event, please help fold and put back the floor coverings where they belong.
  • There are some chairs available for your use, especially for any elders in your group. After the event, please fold the chairs and put them back where you took them from.
  • If homam (havan) use is scheduled please ensure the following:
    • Please come early for the “setup” time and ensure appropriate tents and places to sit are setup outside the temple at a place designated by the priest.
    • Please setup the bricks and fireplace properly keeping safety of people and property in mind.
    • After the event, please ensure the fire is completely put out by pouring enough water.
    • Remove the bricks and fireplace properly and put items back from where you took them from.
    • Remove any tent and seating you established.
    • Keep track of nearby fire extinguishers which are typically inside the temple so that you can use it quickly in case of unexpected need.
    • If it is too windy or unsafe, avoid homam (havan) altogether.
  • Everything you used during your event – chairs, floor coverings, homam (havan) items – should be back in their respective places.

DONTs

  • Do not walk in with shoes inside the main hall where the deities are.
  • No food is allowed in the temple for the event.
  • Do not use the kitchen or the supplies from the kitchen for your event.

Priest’s Dakshina

The donations and charges paid is for HTOS and use of its facilities. Please ensure you take care of the following:

  • Dakshina for the priest for having performed this major event. Our recommended amount is a minimum of 75% of donations paid to the temple.
  • If the event is outside the temple, please add mileage cost of 50 cents/mile for travel in both directions from and to the temple. Please provide this amount to the priest in addition to the dakshina.

Items typically needed

Check the PDF below. Download and print if needed.