THE Wedding

Haven't been to a wedding in a long time, but we were invited to one this past weekend. BTW - I did find the invitation - nope it wasn't at work, but in a pile of stuff downstairs. But a frantic call to the mother of the bride got me the address and we arrived ON TIME.

It was a Hindu wedding. The groom is Hindu and the bride is not.  Since a lot of guests coming had never been to a Hindu wedding, a beautifully prepared 10 page document was sent (via e-mail) to wedding guests so they would know what to expect.  We all thought it was a fabulous document and of course the venue was listed in the document!!!!   Thanks to Marielle whom I imagine is the one who prepared that document.


This was the scene in the parking lot upon arrival.  Loads of great music and the groom was seated on a horse as he was led to the wedding ceremony.  Sorry - I don't have the document in front of me to tell you the exact tradition.

The groom being led to the ceremony on a horse

Lots of beautiful outfits and dancing

The groom's father

I have to tell you that this guy could move!  I don't think he or his wife stopped dancing the entire day!!

The groom on the horse

The drummer and the groom 

The drummer (notice that wicked looking drumstick!)

I didn't understand it but Jay (the groom) came in on the horse. Then at one point, he got off the horse, then he got back on again and at last he got off.  A few ceremonies were performed before he entered the hall.

Tish (the mother of the bride) in her beautiful dress

Focusing very intently on one of the ceremonies

One thing we noted - all the documents and writing said "Jay and Marielle".  At first, I thought "hmmmmm".    But in retrospect - that's the way it used to be - Mr & Mrs. John Smith - the woman's name was never even mentioned.   BUT there was ONE place where Marielle's name came first.

Take a picture and share the wedding!!!!!   I hope they got loads of pictures!!!!

Then it was time for the ceremony.   There was a card on each of the seats that explained all the steps of the ceremony and good thing because I had no clue what any of it meant!!!!

Card describing the wedding ceremony

The first part of the wedding proceeded without the bride in the room.  This is quite common in weddings from East Indian cultures and I believe in the Muslin faith - the bride isn't even part of the ceremony!  Quite different from the weddings that I am familiar with!!!!

Here is a link to some of the traditions of the Hindu wedding (should you be intrigued).

The mandap - the altar

Priest on the left, Tish and her husband (Pete) and Jay

Tish and Pete (as parents of the bride) spent quite a bit of time on the mandap (the altar).  The traditional language of a Hindu wedding is Sanskrit which is an old language which many people including the Hindus often do not understand, but is considered the language of holy ceremonies.   I found that to be very weird since  the priest coached everyone through the ceremony because most didn't understand the language.  Just interesting.

The bride arriving with her father (note the curtain in front of the groom)

The bride is seated and the groom has yet to see his brider

The big reveal - I love the look on Marielle's face!!!!

The bride and groom after they have exchanged garlands (that wasn't the official name!)

Lots of prayers - notice the bride's parents are still "stars"

One of the things they had to do was light a fire. Lots of ceremony with the fire but then when it came time to remove the fire, rather than go down the center aisle - nope they chose to go right by the HIGHLY FLAMMABLE and flimsy curtains.  Ah - everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the fire was out of the room.  I wonder how they got that past the fire code????

Removing the fire

Marielle and Jay

This was right after the kiss (NOT part of the HIndu ceremony!)

Then we had a couple of hours to kill before the reception which was held in the same place.

The head table

The cake (not part of the HIndu tradition)

Love those roses in the backdrop - I wonder how they were made????

I thought the table set up was extremely creative and certainly solved a lot of issues.  They had round tables and square tables depending on who was sitting at them and the number of guests.  All the cousins got to sit around one big rectangular table which was awesome.

The cousins table

Oh yes - I got to meet Tish's Mom and Dad.  They are on the right hand side of this picture.  Uou hear so much about people's family and so nice to be able to meet them.  Good morning to Tish's Mom and Dad!!!!!

Pete and Tish arriving at the dinner

I missed the groom's parents - who came dancing in and I also missed the bride and groom!  Hey - I got the important ones - Tish and Pete!!!!!  Love the colour of Tish's dress!!!!!

Dancers as part of the ceremony!   They were VERY GOOD

Pete and Tish giving their speech

I have to say the two of them do have a wicked sense of humour and I truly believe they high fived each other when Marielle annouced she was engaged!!!!!  

Pyrotechnics at the bar after dinner

All in all it was a great experience. The outfits were gorgeous, I'm jealous of the dancing - I want moves like that!, there was a lot of emotion during the speeches at dinner, the ceremony was interesting to be part of. Thank you Tish for snagging us an invitation.   We had a great time and so glad to be part of the wedding.

I have thought a lot about this wedding. The mixing of cultures and traditions. I am sure it was challenging for both sides at times as you try to make everyone happy.  I think of the issues I have heard people have when they are trying to make a guest list - imagine having to give and take on traditions as well.  I'm not sure I would be up to the challenge!!!!


On that note - I have better get to work.


Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!!!!!!!