Natasha & Sameer
The weekend before Halloween, my oldest and dearest friend was married in a series of the most beautiful and elaborate ceremonies that I have ever seen. I felt as though my senses were being assaulted and I simply couldn't take all of the beauty in. There were so many events leading up to their wedding that the whole process seemed to last for weeks rather than days. Each one was amazing in their own right but here is just one part...with more to come:
Disclaimer: I'm sure that the majority of the information I am about to share with you is probably slightly confused if not just flat out wrong but hey... it was a lot to take in, really fun and if I know Sameer friends.... I'm sure they had fun messing with the "whities" too.
Anand Karaj - The Indian Wedding Ceremony
It is very cool how much attention the groom gets, his entrance alone was at least 30 minutes long. Sameer looked totally different. I had never seen him in a turban and he had grown a full beard for the wedding ... he looked so regal! First he rides out on a horse and all the guest greet him by dancing all around the horse. In India, the groom normally comes out on an elephant but unfortunately Santa Ana has a city ordinance against elephants. Please note... the problem was the city ordinance ... not the elephant! This will begin to give you some insight to what I mean by "elaborate".
The young boy standing next to Sameer also rode in on the horse with him. Traditionally, the boy is a nephew and I guess way back in the day the boy would have to stand in and marry the bride if the groom decided to bail.
The bride's family and friends had the job to stand outside the temple and greet people. There was a prayer and ceremony outside the temple where each member of Natasha's family greeted and welcomed the corresponding member of Sameer's family into their lives by placing a lei around their neck. For example, Natasha's brother greeted Sameer's brother. I greeted her Sister-In-Law because it was "sister-like" greeting "sister-like". There was an incredible amount of inclusion of the two families during all the rituals. It really felt as though the marriage was much deeper than just the bride and groom and was a marriage of the two families.
The Reception of Barat... I think ... It's during the prayer just before we greeted family.
The ceremony in the temple was beautiful and very moving. Everyone sits on the floor, men on one side and women on the other. When Natasha walked in I was stunned, she looked like royalty. The bride and groom do not speak during the ceremony. They walk in a circle around ... um something ... four? times and it symbolizes the journeys in their lives to come ... um, I think. I was pretty overwhelmed by this point.
Jessica (Natasha's sister), Me, Natasha, and Sweta (old college friend and very generous girl who lent me all my Indian garb).
Natasha was adorned with so much jewlery. The bangles are amazingly difficult to get on. You need tons of lotion to slide them on and it still feels as though your hands are going to break by from trying to squeeze them through. The henna on her hands was on the front, the back and even on her feet. Somewhere on her hands is her groom's name and he is suppose to find it before the night is through.
She also has huge cymbal type things hanging from each wrist that we tied as tight as possible so it would be incredibly difficult for Sameer to take off. "It's a game between Natasha & Sameer" I blurted out as I got some funny looks from the people at the table. An Indian woman kindly, and quietly, explained to me what exactly "the game" was. Apparently, in the days of arranged marriages when the bride and groom did not meet until AFTER the actual wedding ceremony, the bride would tie her jewelry on very tight so when they were undressing for their wedding night the groom would struggle to get her jewelry off and the nervous bride could have more time to get to know her husband.
I could not stop staring at how beautiful she looked. I would have thought she was some kind of Indian Princess Royalty if I had not know her.
I quickly ran out of battery on my camera and missed the extravagant departure. Natasha was carried out in a carriage that looked eerily like something straight out of Cinderella. It was the role of the men in Natasha's family to carry her out on it but they were a little light on young men that were in any shape to carry the whole thing. Martin helped to "carry" (read: roll) her out as family and friends walked behind them throwing at least one hundred crisp dollar bills at the carriage. All the little girls present ran behind the carriage gathering up the money, it was very cute.
The final piece of business that we took care of at the cerimony was the tradition of the groom buying back his shoes. Upon entering the temple, everyone removes their shoes. It is the brides sister/brother/close friends job to steal the grooms shoes and not return them to him until a full out bargaining war between the two families is settled. Jessica did an amazing job! Sameer bought back his shoes for $300 AND each of us girls received a gold ring with a row of 6 saphires or emeralds. CRAZY!
Martin & I posing for pictures with Princess Natasha.
Martin and I outside the temple.
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