7-15-08: Pranee & Andy's wedding Part 1

This past weekend, Adam and I travelled to my old stomping grounds - Winston-Salem, North Carolina - to attend the wedding of our dear friends Praneetha and Andy. It was an event we would never miss!


The weekend festivities started with a Mehendi party/luncheon at Pranee's parents' house. Pranee had gotten her henna done the day before, but here's a picture of us together.

For more info on Mehendi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehendi


Here is a close up of my Mehendi right after it was done (the "crust" still on). It took about 20 minutes to set and then another 2+ hours to dry completely. When the crust flaked off later that afternoon, the henna tattoos were fairly light. The next morning, it had gotten quite a bit darker. Four days later, it hasn't faded much and still looks great.




After the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner later that afternoon, the bride and groom's families had organized a garba and raas. Garba is a traditional Indian dance, for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garba_%28dance%29



Here's a picture of Adam participating in the Raas part of the evening - which was a big group dance where everyone used sticks. For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raas





The wedding day started with a Methodist ceremony. Here I am during the processional.






Here comes the bride!!




The Hindu ceremony started with a procession through the streets of downtown Winston-Salem. Here's Andy and his horse!



Here Pranee's parents and extended family are welcoming Andy upon his arrival at the wedding hall. This portion of the ceremony is called Varaswagatam.

Later in the ceremony, the bride arrives!! I can't remember what the name of it was, but Andy's brothers carried her in on a carriage-type apparatus. This part of the ceremony is called Vadhu Agamanam.

The bride and groom are separated by a curtin until the equivalent of the vows (Sumuhurtam). At this point, a sacred yellow thread is being tied around the bride's and groom's wrists for protectionn from evil elements (Rakshabandanam). The wedding ceremony takes place in an altar called the Kalyana Mandapam (wedding pavilion).

Much later in the ceremony, the guests shower the couple with flowers and rice (Asirvadam).