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Published: January 1st 2006
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King Sized Bouquet
This flower arrangement was sent by a close friend of Praveen's who couldn't make it to the wedding because his employer (in the US) wouldn't let him have the time off even though he already had a plane ticket. His whole family came though, and brought along this huge bouquet crowned with a bottle of champagne on the top. Note: I have had some trouble posting photos and you also may have had trouble seeing them. It's just a temporaty glitch in the system, so be sure to try again if all you get are black squares. I was waiting to post this entry and the next one until I had photos to add but I will just send them along now and post the photos in a seperate blog later.
The Reception
....I have already attempted to tell you about the wedding so this one is about the reception, which was held the night BEFORE the wedding on December 24. I can’t remember much about how we ended up on the stage, but it must have been something similar to the wedding minus the big procession of pretty girls in front of us. Mostly the reception consisted of Ruth and Praveen greeting people one by one as they made their way to the stage. At times they stood and other times they sat down in two throne like chairs. I DO remember that it took a long time to greet everyone and that many of the families, like at the wedding, posed to have their photos taken
with us. The video camera lights (like at the wedding) came on and off according to the photographers agenda and they were HOT and bright. I was most definitely sweating, as was almost everyone…
Part way through the line it became apparent that although it seemed “formal” it had casual aspects such as various people disappearing off the stage… like Prasanna or Santhana or whoever…. So I followed suit and took leave off and on. Angela and I mingled with the crowd or took a break in that little back room I mentioned earlier… no further comment on that…. Haha
After people had gone through the reception line they made their way downstairs where a meal was offered. Unlike the wedding, this one was not served to the tables, but in a buffet style line. A band was there to provide music for the dance that followed and a wild time was had by all…both the dancers and the watchers. I tried to take pictures, but few of them came out because of the bright video lights and the packed dance floor.… mostly all I got were people’s backs. I must say though, that Ruth was truly in
Praveen & his Parents
Praveen with Santhana and Prasanna, his parents. her element. My favorite part was when the dancers cleared the floor to make room for Ruth and Praveen to dance together….alone.
As Ruth got hotter (don’t take that wrong) she tried to shed a bit of clothing, specifically the scarf that was the part of her outfit that sort of covered her belly…but Prasanna told her that would not be appropriate.
I forgot to mention that Ruth wore a two piece outfit…a midriff top and skirt with that scarf thing draped over it. It’s actually a North Indian style called a (phonetically) Lahanga (actually spelling is who knows what). It was beautiful on her…and even in the hotel as we walked to the car before the reception, I started crying when I looked at how beautiful she looked. Heck, it’s making me cry now, just remembering it!
Praveen looked like a prince in his long jacket, pants and scarf. Sorry, I don’t have a clue what they are called here. Greg also had on a similar but not so fancy version of this.
The guys apparel for the reception was much fancier than for the wedding when they were wearing the traditional white “skirt” that men
Mutachen, Praveen, & Ruth
This is Praveen's grandfather, his mother's father. wear so often here. By the way, seeing Praveen and especially Greg in skirts was great…especially when they (and all of Praveen’s friends) did a demonstration of how the long skirts can be transformed into mini skirts…all while wearing them! I have a group photo of that…stay tuned to see it.
Angela wore a lahanga but without the bare midriff which may have meant that it was called a gargha … My outfit was a loose “dress” worn over baggy pants. Doesn’t sound too dressy? Well, it was because of the fabric and the gold border….that made it formal enough for the occasion. Good looking garghas or lahangas were had to find here in Coimbatore and I wanted to get something before going to Delhi where the girls found theirs. I think mine is called a Sal-war (phonetic) or maybe Sal-var (V’s and W’s around here get all tangled up). Actually I like the way this style feels all except for the scarf that is meant to drape gracefully in any number of ways (but on me all it does is fall off and cause me grief). I bought two more of them in casual fabrics and might even
wear them at home….minus the scarf. (by the way, the total cost for the two casual ones was under 20 bucks.)
We had sort of planned to have a little shin-dig after the reception with the closer friends but because of the late hour (something like midnight) when we arrived back at the hotel, we decided to forgo it….knowing that the hairdresser and sari-wrapping-helpers would be arriving the next morning at 8 AM. We were to be at the wedding hall again, all dressed up, by 9:15 or so….
As it turns out, the hairdresser was running a bit late and appeared at our door at about 9:15…. Not a good sign for us arriving on time. Very little happens “on time” around here so we felt like maybe we are becoming Indian in more ways than just eating with our hands….
Sandhya arrived sooner and turned out to be the best help and encouragement of all. We could not have pulled it together without her. Poor girl…she had the three of us to deal with PLUS herself. I cannot say enough good things about Sandhya, she’s a great girl. Interesting for her that she went from
On The Thrones
Taking a little rest before greeting more well wishers. having NO sisters (only one brother) to having SIX of them. That is the way they see it here. It is truly a marriage of the families. Maybe someday she will be able to visit us in Fulton and we can take an updated “sister picture”. She already knows everyone’s name and can point them out in photos. She also knows quite a bit about each of them (and her new brothers as well)…. Hummm….so….kids of mine who are reading this….what do you think she knows about YOU?
That’s it for the reception. There was more, but that’s all I can get into words for now.
Happy New Year!!
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