Sometimes there is a person who is hired and therefore responsible for finding a match for a male or female of marriageable age. This person researches the family of the person they chose for their client to marry. They look for insanity, felon and undesirable behavior. These days it has been a family friend or distant relative that approaches a family for a match. This person ensures that both families are of the same social, economic and religious status. They also make sure the families speak the same language, have the same religion, beliefs and values.

After the client?s family accepts the family in question, both families meet to discuss the marriage. They talk about their beliefs, values, issues that are important to them and expectation of each other. It is also during this time that a possible dowry is discussed. As arranged marriages have become more influenced by Western culture, sometimes couples can get engaged for six months before deciding to commit, or they may have a meal alone together.

Then both the bride and groom decide if they want to marry each other, if the answer is yes on both sides wedding plans begin.

Depending on the culture of the two families involved in the marriage, sometimes a dowry is expected. A dowry can be money, property, jewelry, cattle of anything worth money that is given to the brides or grooms family. In India and China where daughters are seen as a burden, a large dowry would be offered to attract possible grooms. In Muslim families, the Grooms family has to give a dowry to the bride to make sure she is financially independent.

Many people living in North America who are ignorant concerning arranged marriages have false conclusions on the subject. Every arranged marriage is different; for some people it is arranged when they are 3 for others it can be 23 and some people have a choice in whom they marry while others do not. The ultimate question is why would people allow their parents to decide whom they get to marry?