Lalitha Arrives
To the Marriage Hall where the wedding has taken place
The Mandapa or the stage on which we got married
Floral decoration and design of the mandapa was all Lalitha.
Ever so Beautiful with a dot on her cheek to ward off the evil eye !
With Mehendi on her hand..
Getting ready for the big event Lalli does the Vara Pooja with her mom and dad.
Having a shirt on was not an option!
All Smiles before the event.
Oh.. Lucky Vishnu but she wasn't the only one ;-) ! Lalitha was just gorgeous.
Doing some more traditional stuff before the main event.
Ravi Arrives to the Marriage hall along with his Parents and entourage while the Melam (Musicians) play the traditional Indian fare.
All Smiles..
Ravi with his Parents, Mother-in-Law, Cousin Sridevi
Welcome with flowers, perfume, smiles and love.
The Brother-in-Law !
Oh yea... Ravi got lucky !
Oh well... I tried ..
Did I come close atleast ?
We sat together for reception. This is before the main event.
I liked those comfy chairs.
Family, Relatives, Friends and Ben
Ravi in his traditional wedding attire.
Ravi doing the pooja(Hindu ritual) before wedding.
They used this cloth to make sure the groom does not see the bride when she arrives on to the stage. It has a nice limerick written on it that roughly translates to the rise of "ravi" (Meaning sun ) in the blue sky of Lalitha..
She arrives on to the Mandapa. She was carried in a basket by her uncles
We can't see each other so the white cloth
Washing Ravi's Feet.. Checkout the cool design on the feet
For the photographer
Giving Lalitha's Hand to Ravi.. This still is not the main event though
More traditional washing of the feet ritual
Symbolic feeding.
The green stuff is a paste of ..hmm.. I am not sure what it is but we have to put it on each others' head..Its kindda sticky too
Put the sticky thing on the head
People shower you with petals and rice
Ravi's Parents and Lalli's Parents
Tying the sacred thread.
Doing the pooja together now.
Tying the sacred thread. This is called Mangalya Dharanam. Considered one of the most important part of the wedding ritual.
I was a bit tense with with weight of the moment but not Lalitha :)
Pouring rice on each other. It kindda looks weird but trust me it is a fun game
It got a bit competitive at some point.. more because people of each side were egging us on.
More fun
This time with rose petals
Notice that Lalitha had to get up to put a garland
Note that Ravi did'nt have to..
After the rituals.
Us in color
Us in B&W
Thanking people for attending and blessing
With Lallis' mom and dad
With Ravi's Mom and Dad
Lalli's Uncle.. The main orchestrator of the event.
All of Lalitha's first cousins. They made the wedding so much more fun.
Looking up to heavens for blessings
Showing the star in the big dipper constellation. There is a story that goes behind why this is done.. Probably out of scope :)
Feeding Lalitha at around 3 in the morning. We have'nt had any food for close to 24hrs.
Lalli feeding Ravi
Ravi's Mom putting rings on Lalli's toes.
This ritual is done so our hearts are synchronized and we feel like doing same thing at the same time. The priest who wed us was really good and explained in detail why we were doing what we were doing.
This is another fun game we played. The priest basically put a ring in that vessel (it has a narrow neck so its kindda hard to see in there). Lalli and Ravi try to fish it out. Whoever takes it out
I won once and Lalitha won twice :).
She pinched me inside the vessel !
I let Lalitha win ;-)
During Reception. This is for the photographer
With Ben who traveled farther than anybody to make it to the wedding.
