The day after I arrived in Seattle, I attended (and participated!) in the wedding of my good friend to his beautiful lady (also a friend of mine).  The wedding was a traditional Indian ceremony and let me tell you, Indian weddings are AH-MAY-ZING! When I get hitched, that’s what I want. Hah! Can you imagine a Filipina/Irish and Korean/German/Swedish couple having a traditional Indian ceremony? Things that make you go, “Whaaaat?”

The ceremony started off with the groom’s family and close friends leading him to his bride. There was a large group of us leading the groom, who was on horse and carriage to the venue. In the middle of the group was a dhol player. We took up a lane on Western on the waterfront in Seattle. I think passersby thought we were a parade because there were a bunch of folks taking photos.

The venue for the actual wedding ceremony was outside in the Marriott’s courtyard. It was a gorgeous day, and the decor was beautiful. In fact, it was so exotic and extravagant that more passersby stood around to witness the wedding. I also saw hotel patrons out on their balconies to watch the show.

The reception was a blast. Usually at a wedding, at least most weddings I’ve attended, it takes a few minutes before the dance floor gets semi packed. Even to that, most folks are sitting down. Well, not at an Indian wedding. The dance floor was PACKED, I kid you not, in 20 seconds. And who led the charge? The aunties! It was hilarious that aunties and uncles were show us (sorta) young’uns up. Also, the DJ played a great set list that rotated between Top 40, Indi-pop, top 40, Indi-pop. It was perfect because no one was alienated by the music for too long, and eventually we were all getting down.

I ended up spending the night at the hotel, even though my Seattle home is just 20 minutes north. The next morning, we had a MiKandi team meeting (note to self- never agree to 10 am meetings the morning after a wedding). Walking out of the hotel in my dress, smudged makeup, messy hair, shoes in hand, and limping because my feet were killing me from 5 hours of dancing is not a cute look. It was pretty much the walk of shame x10, but without the naughty romp the night before. 🙂