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Paul was blissfully unaware of the plans we had hatched for him. Having failed to wonder slightly why John and I only spent a few hours in Varkalla before coming down to Kovalam we had managed to organise a venue for the night without raising the slightest suspicions. During the week in Kovalam I had liased with Michael and organised a 22 seat bus for us to take the boys up to Varkalla, wait the whole day and drive us back at midnight.
We all met up at Leo's. Paul was nervous. I told him not to be. He didn't fully believe any of us. I suppose he was dreading the Kiwi style bachelor parties he had witnessed or taken part in before. We all got a beer in us and walked up the hill to the bus. Everyone was excited at leaving Kovalam and seeing something different. Not only Varkalla but also the 1 1/2 hour ride up there offered some views of India that they wouldn't have got at the beach. The drive was pleasant, with everyone in high spirits talking nostalgically about the past and downing Kingfishers in the hot sun.
Arriving in Varkalla we made
the long trek down the ridge to the opposite end of the cliff-face which offered more privacy. We threw on our Ipods and had the entire top floor of a bamboo shack to ourselves. The night passed with food, music, jokes, drinks.. silliness.. At midnight we all walked/stumbled back to the bus and loaded in. The journey back was filled with rude Kiwi-rap while I tried to sleep unsuccessfully in the rear of the bus. I think over-all Paul was pretty relieved that nothing drastic happened. Having said that, I had to manually remove the batteries from Timmy P's shaver otherwise Paul would have been feeling the Eastern Winds a little closer to his balls than preferred.
The Wedding day arrived.
Thor arrived in the nick of time. I was basically leaving the hotel in 5 minutes to head up to the Leela to start taking photographs when he arrived without any bags yet smiling. British Airways had lost his backpack. That would prove to be another adventure to get back.
We ran over to Seaface and jumped in a rickshaw. Chess Park was decked out with white chairs and a view that no decorator could ever
beat. 180 degrees panoramic views of the Arabian ocean from atop a cliff with palm trees standing guard along the ridge. Perfect. The sun was beating down. The waiters were scrambling to cool the guests with drinks and juices. Music bellowed from a P.A.
I got to work. Thankfully John lent me his SLR camera in case the Lomo's didn't turn out. I snapped over 700 pictures and took 6 rolls of Lomo's. It was a majestic day. Almost 40 guests from as far away as New Zealand, Germany, Norway, Taiwan, Poland, Finland, Mumbai, Cochin, London, all summoned under the Kerala palms to witness Heidi and Paul's special day. An extra special addition was Neil who had managed to fly in and wed the couple. Having such a dear friend there instead of a stranger made everyone just a little calmer.
The bridal car arrived. Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Part crept out of the speakers and calmed everyone. Ann and Kristian stood either side of Heidi looking majestic. The wedding took place. Photographs were taken. Tears shed. Smiles erupted. And suddenly Heidi had become a Hart.
Straight after the wedding everyone was lined up for photographs.
Then the group headed down to the beach to change for the reception while Joe and I whisked the couple away in a golf cart to take photographs on the grounds of the hotel.
The couple then headed back to change into evening attire. I walked down to the beach and had a quiet pint on the balcony with Ann and Thor Eivind.
The reception started with speeches, food and drink. It all ran smoothly and was immortalized by an Indian Video Crew who worked tirelessly with their antiquated equipment and huge flashlight. The speeches rolled out efficiently. None were too long. The food was excellent. Wine was consumed. Friends talked to. Hugs and photographs. Then the grand finalé.... An elephant arrived on the beach to whisk Heidi and Paul off to their hotel..
This obviously caused quite a stir. Not only from our wedding party but some dodgy Germans who attempted to get their photos taken with the beast. Thankfully Stephen (quite used to zee germs) just shouted "Hey, move it along.. its a wedding not a photo-shoot".. They took the hint and left. The group then all dispersed and headed back to respective hotels or
backyards to sink a couple celebratory drinks and softly slip into sleep.
It was a magical day. A beautiful wedding in a setting to amaze even the most jaded person. Truly fantastic.
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heidi
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EPIC!
Ben, what an epic blog and gorgeous photos! Nice one.