indian wedding

after several weeks away i am back in town. it was hectic and fun. first stop was houston for a friend's indian wedding. so much colour and so much dancing! the morning (8am!) started with a bharat where the groom rides in a procession on a white horse...surrounded by members of family and friends dancing and singing. fun! this was followed by the wedding ceremony which was informal and very family-orientated. it lasted 3 hours but guests weren't sitting to attention getting bored; they were walking around, having breakfast, chatting, children were playing - all the while the bride and groom were being married on the stage. it was a lovely, relaxed and at the same time, very special occasion. lunch followed - a selection of ghujarati dishes - all delicious. after a few hours break, we got dressed for the evening event. the bride looked resplendent in a beautiful blue sari with matching diamond accessories - stunning. after speeches and dinner (with cuisine from yet another part of india), the dancing began. compared to the weddings i grew up with where it takes a few glasses of vino to get people up on the dancefloor, the guests at this wedding had rythmn in their blood...everyone was up on the dancefloor dancing away, from 2yrs to 80yrs old - fantastic! the following day we had brunch at the groom's family home. more delicious indian food, this time from the groom's family's region of india...i am afraid i have forgotten the different areas.. i will post the very colourful photos later. we flew back home sunday evening and i packed for my trip to the UK which was the next day... ps my sari didn't arrive in time!