Post Wedding

Well, the big wedding weekend is over and most of the family is back in their respective locations. I'll be leaving later this evening so Mom and Dad can finally have a vacation.
It's a general consensus that this was on of the best weddings ever. It was entirely too much fun. The ceremony was beautiful, an incredible mixture of cultures and faith. We knew we were off to a good start with the baraat (groom's procession, when the groom's family presents him to the bride's family). In India this would mean going from the groom's village or home to the bride's parents but we were at a hotel so it was a bit shorter. Nevertheless, we certainly represented the Grady family well. There was a drummer (of course, now I can't remember the correct name) who led us in and Colin was a sight to behold. Dressed in his sherwani, he set the tone for us all and danced like we've never seen him dance (and probably will never see again). A group of his buddies also helped us dance him in and they were spectacular. Even Father Tim got really into it, pulling up his robes so he could jump and dance better. It was an unseasonably hot (VERY hot) day so everyone was sweaty. None more so Colin but my dad mopped his brow for him and Galen held a decorated umbrella over him. I don't think the Newport Marriott had seen something quite like this; we drew quite a crowd of onlookers. Especially after people realized that it was a white man dancing like a maniac in the middle of all this.
Once the barat was over, things calmed down a bit. The HIndu ceremony went on and it was great. Pandit Dilip Bhatt talked everyone through it so we could all understand and then Father Tim did the same with the Catholic ceremony. In the end, the similarities were more striking than the differences and Colin and Sarina were married. I cried a few times but never too much. just leaking tears.
The reception was tons of fun. People gave lovely toasts and some of Sarina's cousins did a dance performance and one of her friends sang a song. For me, Galen's and Nolan's speeches were the highlight though. They were perfect and completely in character for the both of them. After all that was over, the dancing began and didn't stop. Those Indians love to dance and turns out, all the rest of us can hold our own too. So we all danced well into the night until finally the lights were turned on. Slowly people drifted out though it was clear not many wanted the night to end. We all went to bed very late but very happy.
I don't think we could have asked for a better celebration. But now I have to go back to my real life where there's a lot less dancing. However, John will be out in Vancouver for Labour Day so I'll get to have two fun weekends in a row!