Bhawani had done us proud. We were suitably dressed as guests for an Indian wedding. Gemma and I looked impressive in our saris especially after the local laundress had undid our first attempts at dressing and pinned our saris correctly. Stuart looked like a maharajah! We set off at 6pm. The venue was a large hotel on the edge of the desert. 500 guests were expected, Bahwani explained, so it wasn’t really going to be a big wedding!
On arrival, Stuart was taken away to meet the groom and join the immediate wedding party. Gemma and I were left in the capable hands of his wife, Helen. Her mission was to add bling to our outfits by the addition of large numbers of bracelets. She actually had an entire suitcase of them.
Then we were lead to a gathering area where soft drinks were served. Entertainment was plentiful. There were singers, dancers, a military style band and actors. Gemma and I attracted a lot of interest! Meanwhile Stu had helped dress the groom and had been taken to the secret bar for whisky and beer. Generally, Indian weddings are dry so there is a hidden drinking corner for the men.
Eventually the groom appeared. He looked like the hero of a Bollywood movie – resplendent is a white shalwar kameez with a jewel encrusted red turban. He actually emerged from the foyer on a white horse. Honest!
The wedding procession began – a mile long trek for all the guests – to fetch the bride. Spotlights, music and everyone dancing all the way. We were ushered to the front with immediate family and important people. The official photographer filmed us throughout, cameras flashed constantly and the request for selfies was never ending.
Finally we reached the bride. There was much cajoling before she joined the groom in a Cinderella-like carriage and they led the way to the reception. It was held outdoors in a huge enclosed quadrangle. The wedding party held court on a large stage. There were several large screens showing photos and video footage of the happy couple. More dancers, acrobats, singers, drummers and performers entertained the guests. Drones flew overhead taking aerial photographs of the wedding. Around the perimeter, there were tables of food everywhere. It was all vegetarian and it was all delicious. One hundred servers had been employed. Everyone welcomed us, chatted to us, included us, looked after us, brought us food and queued up for selfies.
We were called to the stage to present our money envelope to the Bride and Groom. There was more dancing, The final part of the 3 day ceremony was due to take place at 4am. This was the most auspicious time as declared by the wedding astrologer. We were never going to last that long. We slipped away at 2am. Exhausted, exhilarated and humbled to have been included in such an unforgettable experience.
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