A Wedding in the City Beautiful

Ladies Sungeet
We arrived 30 min after they told us to come in which we still found ourselves one of the first to arrive! We sat around for maybe 45 min or an hour before anything really started. Then all the ladies were asked to come sit on cushions that had been set up on the floor. (Picture on left: remember one of my simple joys was christmas lights?? this was so fun!)
So we all sat in a group around a lady with a drum and they sang a bunch of songs that I couldn’t understand. A few ladies took turns getting up to dance to the song while we watched and clapped. Different on lookers would come and twirl money around their head as if giving a blessing then putting the money in their hand.After this, the dancing started on the dance floor and servers came in the room with drinks and appetizers galore. Every 2 seconds a new waitor was in front of you with a different plate of food or tray of cold drinks. This went on for like 30 min – 1 hour when the buffet line was opened for people to get food. It was mostly Indian food – dal muckni, chipati, alloo mutter, paneer dishes, rice palao..etc there were a few Indian Chinese dishes such as noodles and spring rolls.
After this we waited around a little bit longer then said goodbye to the bride and groom and their family and left soon after since it was really really hot in the non ac building
Haldi Ceremony
At about 11 or 11:30am we went to the building where the wedding would be held that evening. This ceremony is for close friends and family. They were serving breakfast and snacks. After they finished eating we went to Nidhi’s family’s hotel room. So we went to their hotel room and all squished in - sitting on the bed, the floor and a couch or two. The pundit came in and started setting up all his stuff ie flowers, powders, water, stuff for tikka (the stuff they wipe on their forehead in between the eyebrows during puja) there was a small shrine set up as well with incense lit. The men participating had their heads covered and so did the bride during most of the ceremony. The pundit did a lot of chanting and reading from their holy book. This was such a chaotic ceremony…there were babies crying, cell phones ringing, people answering their cell phones, people changing spots ever two seconds and walking around, with the bridal photographer taking pictures and moving around as well. Finally after about 2 hours of this, the bride sits in the middle of the room and the men get up and move. Everyone gets in a line, and once it is your turn you squat down or get onyour knees and get the haldi out of a bowl to spread on her face. It is to make her skin glow for the ceremony that evening and it is your chance to say something to her or give a blessing or a hug. It was a very emotional time for her when the bride spoke to her mom and dad. We left after this with everyone else and went to eat lunch and take a break before we had to get ready for the all night wedding to come.

The wedding:
Before we went to the wedding, Julie, Emily and I went to Kyle’s landlord’s house where his wife and 2 daughters had agreed to wrap our sarees for us. So now we know how to wrap sarees and wear the tikkas in our hair like true Indians! They were so excited to help us and did a great job! We have been invited back to see them anytime we come to visit Kyle. So that is really neat!(Above: Jules, me, Emily, and erika). We arrived at the wedding at 10:30 or 11pm. The bride and groom were on stage getting their picture taken with all their family and friends. They must have been soo hot, since the room was already sweltering and they kept having a bright light put on them from the photographer. We waited our turn and got our picture taken with them, that pic is on James’ Roberts camera so you’ll have to wait for that one. =) This sign below just made me laugh so i had to take a picture of it. Afterwards we ate dinner, they had buffet tables lining 2 walls with enough food to feed an army. They had Indian food, Chinese food, and some pastas followed by ice cream for dessert and a frozen Indian sweet on a stick. After this the dancing started. But it didn’t last too long, evidently this wasn’t a crowd too excited about dancing anyways. By this point a lot of people had already come, eaten and left. That didn't stop us and the continual flow of Backstreet Boys, Usher and Hotel California to keep us away from the dance floor. to the right is a pic of me,James, and Jules. James was our chaperone for the evening... things just go so much smoother when there is a guy around!

A little after midnight we were told to move to a different room since they were trying to break down and clean the main room. We went outside and waited in chairs near the tent where the actual ceremony would start. Which the ceremony didn’t start until after 2 a.m. oi. They had cold drinks, chai, and coffee being circulated during the ceremony by waiters to keep their guests awake. The same pundit that was at the Haldi ceremony performed the marriage ceremony as well. The main things that I can remember from the actual ceremony was that at the beginning there is a string tied from the bride and groom to the brides parents. The bride’s mother poured the water from a pitcher into a bowl. The pundit read from the book he had and chanted. After another hour and a half we finally start in on their 7 vows that each take. Then they walk around the fire seven times to symbolize the seven vows they have just taken. Finally around 4 am they finally announce that they are man and wife. Then everyone who is still there stand around them and throw rice at them then later throw flower petals at them. It was about 4:15 am at this time so we said our goodbyes and left to go pass out in our beds at the hotel.


The same day as the wedding was an indian holiday to honor brothers. The brother is given a bracelet as a symbol of honor that he must wear for the next year. I don't have a real brother so its nice to know i have some great honorary ones that look out for me over here.

there are some more pictures on Jules blog: http://julia22gulia.blogspot.com