Here comes the Bride

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The Wedding Ceremony:

Oh wait, before the wedding ceremony. I forgot to say what also happened at the Gateway To India...

Gateway to India:

A "holy man" dressed in robes grabbed my wrist and tied yellow and red strings around them. He then blessed me. I thought it was pretty cool and said Namaste (thank you) to the guy. But nothing is free in India so he asked for a donation and shot him a ten. Later, in the shower, my religious strings bled and I had to throw them away. It looked like psycho in the shower as my blessings went down the drain...

back to...

The Wedding Ceremony:

This is what I wore my traditional Indian dress for. Yes, the Kaftan, scarf, and shoes. The whole nine yards. Danielle didn't wear a sari (because apparently, they're very difficult to put on without help) so she wore other traditional female Indian garb. I was surprised because it seemed like a lot of the western men wore traditional Indian outfits and the Indian men wore traditional western outfits (suits). The set up is as follows. The bride and groom are sitting with their immediate family on cushions underneath a canopy. The guests are in the round, either sitting behind them on pillows, or on seats just beyond the pillows. A Hindu priest was in front of Vikram and Melanie along with an english interpreter. So the Hindu priest would say things in Hindi and the translator would let the english speakers know what was said.

Because of the traditional aspect of an Indian wedding, I expect much more formal activities than a western wedding. But in actuality, the wedding had a very laid back feel. People were talking to each other during the service, eating, talking on cell-phones, drinking and even shouting out things to Vikram and Melanie during the service. Danielle and I kept on looking at each other during the wedding wondering if this was normal. I couldn't imagine if during my wedding if Aunt Rita shouted out something like, "Get me another shrimp cocktail!" while I was saying I do. I don't. I mean, I couldn't imagine this happening. Usually the flower girl or ring bearer is bawling during a western wedding, but no one speaks except for the Priest/Rabbi and the bride and groom during the service. But apparently, during the Indian wedding, it's appropriate for there to be a free for all. Even the Priest and the translator were yukking it up. Following with tradition, I went to the bar to grab me a rum and coke and talk cricket with some of the wait-staff.

The service took about two hours and needless to say, Melanie and Vikram looked like a Prince and Princess. I'm not gay, but I would have liked to tried on Melanie's outfit. That's how good she looked. And Vikram looked cool and collected as he was giving up his manhood forever. Welcome to the club, Vikram.

The food afterwards was again amazing and as everyone else there, I was very honored to have been there.

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Photos

Wedding beauties part 2
The before and after for hair club for men

the other happy couple 2
Look how cool my shoes are