The Wedding

I decided to wear a sari to the wedding, which in retrospect was not the best idea. My aunt tied the petticoat on soo tight ( I asked her to, because I was afraid that it would fall off), that by the end of the night, the mixture of the heat and trying to eat while unable to breath made me very sick. But I am glad I tried it out. Next time, I will risk flashing everyone in favor of being able to breath.

The wedding was very different from any wedding I have experienced before. We (I went with my cousin J.) sat in chairs facing the stage where the wedding ceremony would take place. It is Parsi tradition that the wedding take place after sundown--so we (the wedding guests) sat and waited for the sun to set.
There was a lot of talking and milling about. Most of the women were wearing saris and it was quite a display of different sari designs. Some women had very old tradition Parsi saris on. The younger women had daring saris with low cut backs.
I didn't want to take too many pictures for fear of being rude. At the last Indian wedding I went to (the brother of my aunt's driver)-- I was treated like royalty--given a coke to drink, moved up to the front of the stage so that I could take the best pictures--at this wedding, I was just another guest. Finally, the sun set and the groom walked down the aisle (to fast for me to take a picture). And then the bride with her father.
The priests came to the stage and blessed the bride and groom and threw rice. There was a sheet btw. the bride and groom to keep them from seeing each other, which was eventually removed. Then, they could face the crowd and receive more blessings. The priests spoke an ancient dead language, so I am not sure what they said, but it was very interesting to listen to.
When the ceremony was over, the bride and groom had to leave to go to a temple to be blessed. While everyone was waiting for them to return, there was a large reception with food and dancing. I wish I could of stayed for this. But we had plans to attend another party (one with amazing Indian food).