indian wedding

When I was in high school, one of my dearest friends was Monica, a lovely girl whose parents immegrated here from India. Yesterday she got married and I attended. I can only remember attending one wedding outside the temple and that was my cousin's when I was about 11. So, this was a new experience for me. And I was especially unprepared because I haven't even seen any movies with Hindu wedding ceremonies. Everything I've ever seen has been with American weddings, and usually these involve someone barging in mid-ceremony trying to tell the bride/groom why they should marry the barger instead.

Anyway, it was a highly entertaining experience. The wedding started with a "Barat", which was basically the groom dancing around outside with his relatives. (If you have seen Slumdog Millionaire or Bride and Prejudice, it was a lot like those dancing scences, only less choreographed.) (Also, please note: this is only what happened at their wedding - I'm not sure if they followed all the traditional Hindu wedding rituals.)

Then the ceremony itself actually starts. It was a bit on the long side (over two hours). Mostly I didn't understand what was going on, despite the program we got with the steps outlined. It was just funny because people weren't expected to stay in their seats. People came and went and chatted amongst themselves. The brides maids passed out treats in the middle. A couple of times some old Indian ladies just started singing from the audience while the priest went on talking about something. Another interesting thing is that the bride's parents were a big part of the ceremony. They had to recited a bunch of lines - thanking the groom for taking their daughter (I think) and stuff like that. The bride herself didn't show up until about 45 minutes after the ceremony started. But it was lovely and symbolic and a neat experience.

And after the wedding was the reception. This was one of the best receptions I've been to for the following reasons:
1. Being a non-Mormon wedding, they actually served dinner. We had tables that we sat at and even though I was assigned to the nerdy white people table with people from high school who I hadn't kept in contact with, at least I didn't have to try to make small talk with people I didn't know. And it was Very Good Indian Food.
2. The bride and groom didn't feel the need to kiss every other second. They kissed once when they were cutting the cake and that's it. I mean - I'm all for kissing, I just don't need you rubbing it in my face that it's been a while since I've actually done it myself.
3. No line. Since this was pretty much an all day event with the ceremony and the reception and all, they bride and groom were able to go around during dinner and the course of the evening and talk to everyone. If you wanted to say hi, you could just go say hi. I don't know why we still have the "line" tradition. It's silly.
4. Dancing. Usually when I hear there will be dancing at a reception, I groan internally. But there was some good dancing here. Apparently Indians just really love dancing. There was some fun times on the dance floor last night. (Helped, no doubt, by the open bar.)

Mostly I just liked it because it was different from most wedding receptions I force myself to go to - it was actually fun. And the traditional Indian clothes were fun to see. And I wore my four inch heals and when I was talking to Monica's mother and sister I actually felt like I giant. ("I will eat you!") How often does that happen? (Answer: never.)

So, in conclusion and in summary, I had a lovely time at Monica's wedding yesterday and best wishes with your new husband!