One Girl and a Big World

One of the coolest experiences I have ever participated in has been an Indian wedding in New Delhi. Over the course of three days, I got to witness the coolest wedding ceremony I will probably ever see. For a little background, the groom was my dad’s co-worker and friend for years and they were also rotational partners for a job in Africa.

However, to arrive in India, we actually had to take a flight on December 31st. This means that in between 2019 and 2020, we spent our time on an airplane! I was actually rather disappointed that they did not even say “Happy New Year!” on the flight, but oh well. I got to watch a whole bunch of movies and I can officially say that I have spent New Years Eve on a 16 hour flight from Houston to Dubai.

Phase 1 – The Shopping

Once in Delhi, India, even before the wedding festivities began, we had to go SHOPPING! The groom’s father offered to pay for the wedding attire of my family and two other American couples who had come to the wedding. Everyone went on a shopping trip in the middle of New Delhi. I had two western dresses I brought with me so I only needed an Indian outfit for the actual wedding ceremony. I chose an orange Anarkali. My mom bought two Anarkalis. One for the Mehndi and one for the wedding ceremony. My dad and brother both bought two different types of kurtas. After the dress shopping, we went jewelry shopping for the girls. Big earrings, arm bangles, and hair pieces were all part of the list.

Phase 2 – The Welcome Party

The start of the wedding festivities began with an evening welcome party on day one. The close friends and family of the groom came together to meet each other. There was food, music, and dancing. The welcome party was also my first introduction to traditional Indian dancing. As someone who is not a party person, it was definitely a lot for me, but I also enjoyed getting to witness the joyfulness of Indian culture.

Phase 3 – Mehndi Party

The first celebration on the second day of the wedding was the Mehndi ceremony. This was my favorite part of the whole wedding. Mehndi is a form of art. It is created by using henna to temporarily tattoo the hands of a female. The mehndi I got was incredibly beautiful and I was so disappointed when a week later it faded away. The Mehndi was also the first time I saw the bride from a distance. During the Mehndi party, there was once again dancing and food, but there was also a table full of colorful bangles. Women could get bangles that coordinated with the color of their dresses.

Phase 4 – Sangeet

The Sangeet was the second event on the second day of the wedding. During the Sangeet, the bride and groom’s families exchanged a variety of gifts and dances were performed by their family members. Once again, there was food, music, and dancing (if you are catching a pattern, nobody was ever hungry during the whole wedding). My brother and I did not stay long at the Sangeet. We were both pretty tired so we took the evening and relaxed in our hotel room.

Phase 5 – Getting dressed for the Wedding Ceremony

Pretty early off, people began to get ready for the wedding on day three. For me, that included getting my hair done. At this point in time, I still had long hair, so my hairdo was really cool. I cannot even tell you how they did it, but it looked like this long weaved braid. I actually had to wear my Anarkali before I got my hair done or it would be messed up if I tried to put on my Anarkali after my hair had been done. Once that was finished, I went into a section of the hotel to find my parents and stumbled into the Haldi ceremony. I was not even aware that that was going on but it made my day more interesting!

Phase 6 – Haldi Ceremony

The Haldi ceremony is a purification ceremony conducted before the actual wedding ceremony. It involves making a paste out of turmeric (haldi in Hindi) and friends and family of the groom and bride smear the paste on them to prevent evil spirits. It was definitely a sight to see my dad smearing turmeric paste on his friend!

Phase 7 – The Wedding Ceremony

And finally, the last phase of this Indian wedding was the actual ceremony. After the Haldi ceremony, everyone finished off getting ready. Since we were part of the groom’s party, we had to walk to the bride’s hotel in a procession. The groom rode in a carriage pulled by white horses and the procession included the members of the the groom’s party and a hired band to play music during the procession. Once the procession had arrived to the bride’s hotel, the groom’s party entered the hotel. A couple minutes later, the bride entered with her procession dressed in a red sati. The bride and groom then went to an outside patio where they were married. After they were officially married, the party began. Once again, there was food, music, and dancing. After waiting for our turn, my family also got a picture with the bride and groom. My brother and I once again returned home early because we were extremely tired.

All in all, the Indian wedding was an incredible experience and we learned a lot and got to see a lot. I will say, however, that these weddings are physically exhausting and I was very ready for it to be over. I did get to keep my Anarkali (it has been THE MOST comfortable dress wear I have ever worn in my life) and I hope that someday I can wear it again.

I wish you all a very happy new year and we will see what new adventures I take in 2024!

Happy New Year!

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