Originally posted: March 2nd, 2014
Before ever even coming to this country, it seemed to be a pretty commonly agreed upon idea that India has the best weddings of any country/cultural group on the planet. Sure it’s an opinion, but it’s one shared by many people who are not even of Indian descent. It is no surprise, then, that I was beyond pumped when Apoorva told me Sahil, an F&M student from India was getting married in Delhi during my stay. Happy to report that although we did not go to day one of the wedding, day two lived up to the hype, and today, day three, should bring fun times as well. Last night I donned my kurta and watched in amazement as Apoorva, with her mom’s help, transformed into the most amazing sight I’ve ever seen. I’ve been to maybe 5 or 6 American weddings, and sure, the women all put on nice dresses, but they have nothing on the process or end result of Indian women. I’m probably saying this cause I’ve never really seen women wear saris in person, and new is always cool, but believe me when I say, it’s a good look. The women even ball out on jewelry like no one in the US has ever seen, and I quickly found out it wasn’t just Apoorva. Every woman at this event was draped up and dripped out, saris and gold dangly thingies and bindi’s of all types crawling all over the event. After the wedding, I found myself thinking I hope I meet an Indian woman to marry just so I can have one of these (not knocking anyone’s wedding I’ve been to, of course).
Backing up, Apoorva and I spent the hours leading up to the wedding hanging out with her awesome friend Vedanti before we had to get ready. I showered and threw on my kurta and pantaloons and was invited to come see the sari-putting-on-process. She starts out with a long skirt and a blouse which looks like a mix between a glorified bra and half a tank top. I know theres a name for it in the US but I’m not a girl so you can’t expect me to know the terminology here. Then Auntie (Apoorva’s mom - all adults older than you that you know you call Auntie or Uncle) went to work wrapping five meters of this amazingly beautiful gold designer sari around her with folds and twists and pleats and folds on folds on folds, eventually tying it off and leaving Apoorva looking like this:
Apart from looking like a million bucks (or 62,500,000 rupees), it was a lucky accident that my kurta matched her sari exactly, so it definitely looked like we planned it. WIN
ps you can’t see her earrings in this but they were some crazy gold contraptions that wrapped around her ear and dangled and looped through and dangled some more and were on some next level trippy bling shit, while still classy. Unbelieveable
Anyway we left, picked up some more friends Ambika and Keya, met to caravan with some more friends, and rolled up 40 minutes later to the wedding. This wasn’t the actual wedding, this was just day two of the events, and was a large outdoor place with a huge bar, endless tables of catering, and several hundred people milling about and mingling, and also looking crazy fancy.
I also had the pleasure of running into the only other person there that I actually knew, Aradhana, who also looked beautiful. Doubt you’ll ever see this but if you do, it was so nice to see you again!!!
First was a video of the bride and groom’s lives, pretty standard. Then everyone gathered around a stage where friends, family, and the bride and groom themselves performed the story of how they grew up and met each other and the blossoming of their romance in the form of over an hour’s worth of dances. Old people did dances, little girls did dances, friends, etc. At least 45 people all had parts in different dances set to some of the sickest Indian music I’ve ever heard (it’s all fun). I was token camera guy, holding three, and trying to film for a couple people that were on stage, so I captured a lot of video for them.
Group of friends of Bride and Groom maybe? Cool dance
Parents of Bride and Groom gettin down
Bride and Groom, Sahil and Devika! Congrats!!!
After the dances had concluded, the dance floor opened. Apoorva and I ate some food and danced but soon had to leave to beat the late night traffic. Trucks aren’t allowed on the highway before 9pm, so after 9 was super thick traffic, nearly all of which is trucks. After a stressful drive home, we came in and passssssed OUT.
Apoorva driving, in a sari, killing it.