Always a Jersey Girl at Heart: My Very First Indian Wedding

Monday, June 13, 2011

My Very First Indian Wedding

So back in March (yes I know that was eons ago, but as you read here, I have been a bit busy recently) I went to my first Indian (Indian as in from India Indian, not Native American Indian... just to clarify) wedding. Let me tell you, it was like NOTHING I have ever experienced before in my entire life. I can't even begin to explain what it was like... but I sure am going to try.

The wedding was at the Sheridan Crossroads in Parsippany, NJ... the hotel seriously looked like it was a castle.

The place was HUGE and I was nervous that we weren't going to be able to figure out where the wedding was. But don't worry, we managed.

The bride and groom had a traditional Indian ceremony which was beautiful. N is Indian while her husband M is not, but they still decided to go with the traditional Indian ceremony which I thought was awesome. The ceremony started with the groom and all of his family/friends outside dancing to music and having a grand old time. Eventually the rest of us followed outside to clap, dance, get really excited, etc.

Getting excited for the ceremony

N the beautiful bride watching everything from inside

Yes that is the groom M and yes they have lifted him up into the air... I tell you, these people really know how to celebrate

Things eventually moved in side where there was something between the groom and the bride's family... I didn't really understand much of it since it wasn't in English. But it looked as though there was a lot of symbolism and like it was almost welcoming the groom into the bride's family. I could be wrong about that, but it's what it looked like to me.

Finally we all made it into the room where the ceremony was going to take place. The ceremony was not at all what I expected it to be like. First off I realized that for the Indian culture the wedding ceremony really is a time of celebration and a time for family, friends, etc. to be together and to really honor the couple getting married. There was lots of clapping and smiles, and everyone truly seemed to be elated for N and M. The ceremony also contained lots of symbolism... my favorite part being when the couple walked around the fire 4 times... with the groom leading for the first 3, and then the bride leading for the last time. I also enjoyed the part where the bride and groom had to sit down quickly and whoever sat down first was supposed to be the dominant one in the relationship... of course N sat down first. The ceremony was long, but it really was beautiful and I was so happy to have been able to witness it.

After the ceremony there was a luncheon for all the guests while the bridal party took pictures, etc. Then MD and I were off to see my parents for a while during the break before the reception. Cocktail hour before the reception was a lot of fun, but I was really looking forward to the reception and getting to see the bride and groom for the first time after the wedding. The reception was gorgeous! N and M looked fantastic. I have never been to such an upbeat wedding reception where everyone was just so genuinely happy, excited, and ready to party. We danced the night away (yes even the love of my life danced) and had a fabulous time all around.