Thursday, May 26, 2011

My first Indian wedding!

One of the women that works at the education center, Swati, generously invited me to her wedding.

Indian wedding getting ready

You can barely see her here surrounded by, oh, about 30 women in a room the size of a big closet.  Having trouble getting shots of the bride will be a theme for the evening.



Indian wedding child with camera

But don't worry, Poonam or any of the other kids from the residential program will be thrilled to help you.  In the background on the left, you can see part of a big display of household items the couple will be receiving.  Or the dowry?  I'm not really sure.

Indian wedding guests

Supriya, her boyfriend Benjamin and I sitting with some of the kids before the ceremony got started.  The audience seemed to be divided into a men's side and women's side.  This picture doesn't capture it well.  Almost all the men are in white, while the women represent the entire spectrum.

Indian wedding procession

The wedding procession.  You can even see the bride and groom on the right (he's in white), if you look really closely.  

Indian wedding honored guests white people in turbans

Part of the ceremony included inviting honored guests onto the stage to receive gifts of  coconuts.  This apparently included all the foreigners, but only the men got awesome turbans. 


Yes, even me.  And in a sari!  It was a great excuse to get one.


Finally a good shot of the bride.  Isn't she beautiful?  If she looks sad, Supriya tells me that she is supposed to cry during the ceremony to show her sorrow at being separated from her family as she makes the transition into the groom's.

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