Here Comes the Bride!

In February I went to 3 weddings- in the span of about 3 weeks. The first was really exciting because it was my first Indian wedding- something I've heard so much about. So, I got dressed up in a "fancy" suit and embarked on this new adventure. 

Andrea and I ready for our first wedding

At the wedding there was so much food. I didn't realize that there is first a "snack" buffet, then a "meal" buffet. I was filling up on snacks, thinking it's the meal, when a whole other world of food opens up. The food was delicious and I got to try many new dishes.

Andrea and our friends eating delicious wedding food

Then, there is dancing. Complete with strobe lights and smoke. It was really fun because Indians dance with lots of throwing your hands into the air and no one cares how well another person dances. It was a blast!

Two men were having a dance off- it was hilarious!

The second wedding was a daytime wedding, so sadly there was no dancing. But it was still really fun, especially since I was friends with the bride. And since I knew the bride this time, I decided to wear a sari. Unfortunately, the sari was not quite long enough for me (oh the joys of being tall in a short country), but not to worry, my friend successfully tied my sari in a way that she said "is the new fashion". I think she was just trying to make me feel better because since no one else was wearing it that way haha, but it still looked great!

Saris are fun!

With the beautiful bride

By the third wedding I was going broke buying all these fancy outfits, so I did a repeat of the first outfit. This was my first Hindu wedding (the first two were Christian), so I learned alot about more traditional weddings. For example, the groom comes in with his face covered while the youngest sister of the bride welcomes him by holding a jar looking thing on her head. Everyone is surrounding them, excited for him to enter the wedding.

The youngest sister of the bride welcomes the groom

 Then the bride and groom sit for hours while a video camera films them and everyone takes pictures of and with them (this is true for all the weddings). I must say I am glad this tradition is not part of our weddings. I cannot imagine how tedious that must be. No wonder they never smile in their pictures- their mouths would be trembling after hours of smiling.

The couple being filmed and photographed

Weddings are an important part of this culture so I feel very blessed that I was able to experience so many of them!