After 10 months in country, I was at last distantly acquainted enough to a family to be invited to a wedding celebration.There are just too many details to cover here, and from just one first experience, but here are some interesting insights.
-The bride and groom arrive separately with their parties, and endure having their photo taken with every guest. 400 people at this wedding. At this point they are only 25% through the rituals of marriage. Almost all guests will leave after eating and before the marriage rituals get any further.
-In some families the bride will try to not smile in photos to show a sadness for leaving her family.
-The oath-taking rituals start around midnight and last up to two hours. But no honey moon yet, the bride stays two more days with her family to mourn her leaving.
-During the rituals, both families sang satirical songs joking about the other family. Things along the lines of, "He'll eat so much bread and she'll have to make it every time"
-It was explained that a Hindu marriage is more of a joyous occasion for the parents, who are entering the last phase of life in a Hindu tradition. The bride and groom have the understanding, culturally, that marriage comes first, out of duty to family, then you work on being happy.
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