The Main Event by Memory Makers Event Planning, LLC

Today we held a traditional Indian wedding in my backyard. Yesterday the couple was married in an American-style wedding. Their plan was to have a second wedding in the fall in India in the groom's hometown until they learned last week that in India there is no such thing as a vow renewal ceremony. If they were to have an Indian wedding, it must occur at the same time as the American wedding. When the groom's mother arrived from India with the news that everything must occur now, we scrambled to create a second wedding. Because we wanted some degree of privacy and the ceremony involves fire, we needed to hold it in an outdoor location and my backyard was the most private (and affordable) place available on short notice.

I have coordinated Indian weddings in the past, but always the groom was Indian. This was my first traditional Indian wedding with an Indian bride (the groom was not). There are numerous differences. In India, the celebration can last up to five days. This one started on a Friday with the bride's mendhi, the application of henna tattoos to her hands and feet. Yes, we have a mendhi artist in Boise. On Saturday, we had a mendhi for all the guests though only ladies were able to receive a tattoo. The event lasted two hours, with food and music. The actual wedding ceremony occurred on Sunday morning. We gathered at the event center at 7 a.m. to erect a mandap, the "shelter" under which the couple, their parents and the officiant sat during the ceremony. It looks much like a Jewish chuppa and was elaborately decorated with flower garlands, lights and fabric. The ceremony begins with the groom's procession, called a barat. In India the groom would arrive on either an ...