We made it to our last destination in India by train (of course) for our friend's wedding extravaganza. I don't even know where to start... but WOW what an experience! An Indian wedding lasts about a week from the ring ceremony to the big wedding reception with events every day. We watched (and helped) the groom get rubbed down in a turmeric powder everyday. Went to the tailor/stores and got fitted for outfits. Met with the choreographer to learn our dance for the ladies sangeet. And took part in all of the different events. The ladies sangeet: this is the first big event of the wedding. The groom's family gathers in a humongous "garden" that has been decorated and set up with a stage, DJ, lights, buffet, flowers, etc. and all his close relatives have to perform a dance - yes we had to also! There is a buffet to feed the 400 people in attendance. Nikasi: this is the actual wedding ceremony. It starts in the afternoon by getting the groom ready - we all had to shampoo his hair (gross!)... There is then a small ceremony at the house before we get him set up on the horse. Then this is where it gets crazy - the parade commences. We first head to the temple walking down the street with a band surrounding the groom on his horse and dancing in the street. Then, we take cars/buses to where the big parade starts. This consists of an elephant leading the troops followed by 2 camels, 2 horses, a car trailing a generator, rolling lights that make an illuminated path for everyone to dance/walk and finally the horse carriage with the groom. We walked and danced parading down the street (freeway?) for maybe 4 hours and didn't get to the venue until almost 11PM. Once there, the bride's family greets the groom's guests by handing out money (for good luck) and we can finally enjoy some delicious food. The bride finally makes her entrance at midnight and the couple heads into a clam to then pop out into the sky with blowing flower petals over their heads (I'm not kidding). The actual wedding ceremony can finally begin - the couple will walk 7 times around a fire before they are pronounced husband and wife. This goes on until 3/4AM. This event had about 800 people. Reception and dinner: the final event of the week long extravaganza! It was very similar to a regular wedding reception with obviously a big touch of India. The venue was beyond gorgeous with flowers and candles everywhere, a waterfall, a big stage with a swan mural and enough food for over 1,500 people (no typo here). The bride and groom made their entrance in an illuminated cinderella carriage and sat on the stage the entire night while their guests would go up to give them presents and take photos with them. Of course there was a lot of dancing and eating! We are so grateful to Jatin and his entire family for hosting us this entire week and making us feel at home. This was an unforgettable experience that we will forever cherish.
This completes our time in India and we are off to Sri Lanka tomorrow for 3 weeks!
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Author27. woman. product manager. expert traveler. yogi. Archives
April 2018
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