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An Indian Wedding; with photos
Topic Started: Apr 14 2007, 10:29 AM (245 Views)
jon-nyc
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Cheers

I’ve separated out the pictures from the wedding, figuring they deserve their own thread (plus that other one has enough photos as it is).

Indian weddings are a multi-day affair, sometimes going on for a week. In this case, I think there were 3 days of ritual and ceremony leading up to the wedding itself, we were present for the last day (a party at the groom’s family’s home) and the wedding itself the next day.

This was a Jain wedding. Jains do not believe in killing animals OR plants, thus they don’t eat root vegetables. (you can eat beans without killing the plant, but if you eat an onion that means that particular plants was killed) Thus no onions, garlic, carrots, etc. As a result the food was very different from other Indian food I’ve had.

Here is a scene from inside the groom’s home. They put this canopy above the door, it symbolizes making a home (Rachel said ‘oh look, a chuppa’).

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This is Rachel and I with Jekkin, the groom.

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Here are some of the groom’s relatives. Everyone sat on the floor for the most part.

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The festivities inside the house were reserved for close family (we were invited as special guests). Ultimately it was only a 3 room apartment so it didn’t hold that many people. Outside, though, they had a tent set up for the larger party:

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Right inside the tent they had these girls doing mehndi for the guests – these are the designs they paint on your hand with henna. The men would get small ones, usually on one hand, the women would get more elaborate ones. The brides was beautiful, and went all the way up her arms. Here are Rachel and I getting mehndi:

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Meanwhile, there was a band playing on the other side of the tent, and people were dancing. Rachel and I were dragged to the dance area a few times (while holding our hands in the air for the henna to dry) but tried to avoid it when we could.

Here’s the band with some of the groom’s relatives dancing.

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It’s a shame I didn’t get a better picture of the singer – she was absolutely gorgeous and had a captivating voice. She is actually the groom’s cousin. She sang mainly religious songs in Hindi and Gujarat.


Here’s the bride and groom. She didn’t show up until later in the afternoon, apparently this was primarily an event for the groom’s family, while her family had another similar event across town.

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In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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jon-nyc
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Cheers

The next day was the wedding itself. It was about an hour away from our hotel, and our driver had trouble finding it. Then we approached this group of people by the side of the street, with something like a marching band and a bunch of people dancing. I took out my camera to take a photo, then I realized it was the wedding we were going to. They literally were just dancing on the side of the street, which was a pretty major road.


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Behind this group of people, the groom was in a car just sitting there. He was there with his sister and brother in law (and she’s holding their baby).

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Inside the building (it was an event space, not a religious space) the space was set up like a theatre - there was a stage and then rows of seats facing forward. No tables. The band (same band) was off to the side. There were 1000 people at the wedding. That’s not a typo.

We were treated like guests of honor – Jekkin had warned me that Rachel and I would attract more attention than he and his bride, and he was right. Kids were coming up to us and getting their picture taken with us.

Here’s Rachel and me with a relative of the groom. He’s a broker at the Bombay Stock Exchange – we had some interesting discussions.

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The groom’s father brought Rachel and I up on the stage with the wedding party. I was mortified, but we ended up getting a great view of the ceremony. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures during the ceremony itself (whichwas pretty elaborate) but I did snap a few before and after.

Here’s one of Rachel, the groom, and myself:

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Here’s the bride and groom – behind them are the brides (close) female relatives. Sitting with me were the grooms close relatives, and Rachel.

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Here’s a close up of the bride and groom. Check out her jewelry.

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Here’s a close up of the bride’s arms – check out her mehndi!

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Last one – here’s the bride and groom, now having reversed positions after the ceremony. Check out her gown in all its splendor.

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In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
Cool photos, Jon. I went to a wedding in Chennai, very similar affair. There was one point where the bride sat on her father's lap, and sort of "sprung forth from his loins" -- a rather primal expression of generation, and rather uncomfortably incestuous for my tastes and those of the other dozen westerners in our party. Was there any similar ceremony at this wedding?
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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justme
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HOLY CARP!!!
How beautiful! Thank you, Jon, so much for sharing.
"Men sway more towards hussies." G-D3
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dolmansaxlil
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HOLY CARP!!!
Jon, these are simply gorgeous! You look amazing (as usual. Sigh.) and Rachel is stunning (again, as usual. How am I supposed to be insanely jealous of her when she's so gorgeous? :P ) I absolutely love the turquoise dress she's wearing - did she purchase it while you were there or previous to the trip? The cream she's in is lovely as well (though I'd like to see a full length shot of both, if you have them!) I've always loved mehndi. I had it done at an event an Indian friend of mine had years ago (some celebration for her older brother, though don't remember exactly what the occasion was).

How do you know the groom?

You said the food was "different" - was it tasty?

And just on a side note, the bride (she's gorgeous!) looks like she could play one of the baddies in SG-1. :P
"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson

My Flickr Photostream


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kenny
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How wonderful.

I really love that tent.
I imagine it was magical to be inside with all those colors being the source of light.
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Jolly
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Geaux Tigers!
Very beautiful, very special.

An event to be remembered for a lifetime...
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
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xenon
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Senior Carp
ivorythumper
Apr 14 2007, 10:46 AM
There was one point where the bride sat on her father's lap, and sort of "sprung forth from his loins" -- a rather primal expression of generation, and rather uncomfortably incestuous for my tastes and those of the other dozen westerners in our party. Was there any similar ceremony at this wedding?

I've never even heard of that, and I'm Indian. Then again, Chennai is pretty far removed geographically and culturally from where my parents are from (Punjab). Indian weddings are an insane amount of fun though, especially when they're in India. I went to India for the first time a few years ago, and we had three weddings. More than a week of non-stop partying for each one. It becomes a whole village/town affair. Looks like you had a great time too Jon.
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1hp
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Fulla-Carp

I gotta say that the tent really caught my eye too! Have never seen one like that. Again, great photos. :thumb:

There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................
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Jack Frost
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Bull-Carp
WoW!

Great pictures and great narrative.

Thanks Jon for taking the time to share this. Amazing.

jf, who agrees that both the bride and Rachel are stunning, but then so is Dol....




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Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
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kenny
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Amazing.
We just can't get away from those resin chairs.

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jon-nyc
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IT - no, I didn't see anything like that. Maybe that was a regional thing.


Dol - you're sweet, as always. Re the groom, I work with the guy (I'm actually his boss, another reason for the special treatment from his family). He's already back in NYC with his new bride. Big change for her!


Regarding the dress, Rachel bought it in Queens but in an Indian neighborhood at a shop run by Indian women. As you can imagine, when we got the invitation Rachel's first thought was 'what on earth should I wear?' She found an online forum about travel to India and got some advice - she wanted something short of a saree but still appropriate.
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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Nobody's Sock
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Fulla-Carp
Nice Jon. All the color and happiness is wonderful.

Changes my ignorant view of India, all dirty, poor, crowded.
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
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