ann and i were lucky enough to be invited to an amazing wedding in pune, india! the festivities went for 3 days, but unfortunately due to my work schedule we could only make it to the last day. better late than never though!
we arrived in mumbai at about midnight, and right away took a shuttle to pune, which took about 4-5 hours in heavy traffic. slept for 2 hours at the hotel orchid pune, then up for the wedding!
the wedding was at a very nice baquet hall called the marigold, and the day started with a number of rituals around a fire, with attendees mingling around. all the men got a fabric hat tied on their head, the color of which indicated if they knew the bride or groom. then, all proceeded to the rooftop of the building, where the groom entered on a white horse to the beating of drums and the dancing of guests! this is a northern indian tradition, so apparently there was some struggle of the organizers to find a white horse in pune, but they came through! the groom then needed to try to get to the wedding ceremony room, but was ceremonially blocked by the bride’s family, and they had to negotiate his passage, another custom!
the ceremony then occurred in large room flanked by literal walls of real flowers, and then we had an amazing meal. it was definitely worth the trip around the world; thank you nayha and vineet!
