Bride and Prejudice

 India Comes to Chicago in a Hindu-Christian Wedding Mashup

If you've never seen the Bollywood gem, Bride and Prejudice, you are missing out. It is one of my favorite adaptations of the classic Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice. The iconic characters and story-line are transported to modern India with a plethora of upbeat quirky dance numbers. It introduced me to the elaborate, beautiful wedding industry in India. I love the dancing, the clothing and of course the food. You couldn't imagine my excitement when my friend Jessica, found an amazing Indian man to marry and wanted me to be a bridesmaid at their wedding, which would incorporate both Hindu and  Christian traditions. And holy cow do they know how to party!!  

The Couple

Jessica and Sorabh met at a training for flight attendants and immediately hit it off. They had their ups and downs in their relationship, but ultimately came back stronger and decided life is better together no matter how far apart they might be. They compliment each other's personality so well. Jessica is one of the funniest people I know and she needed someone who would keep up with her vibrant personality. Sorabh is one of the most thoughtful and generous people I've met. The first time I met him was at their joint bachelor-bachelorette party the night before the wedding and I could immediately tell why Jessica had chosen him. They communicate so well. Jessica helps bring Sorabh out of his shell and he helps ground her and provide the support she needs.

The Party BEFORE the Party

The night before the wedding, Sorabh's family threw the couple a Mendhi Party. They had some incredible food, loads of dancing, and guests were able to get henna tattoos. Lemme tell you, Indian people know how to GET DOWN. The groom's dad was throwing money at people, aunties with 5 children were dropping it low, it was crazy. I loved it. I got a henna tattoo on my foot by this super cute lady. They were so talented! I was very impressed! 

        

The Ceremony

Let me tell you... the day of the wedding was a fun day, but it was a LONG day. We got up bright and early to have hair and makeup done. I ended up looking a little intense, but everyone told me I looked good. Then we took a ton of pictures! The Hindu ceremony was in the morning and Jessica was dressed in the traditional wedding lehenga which was stunning!! I was low-key super jealous because I would love to wear something that elaborate. 

The Hindu ceremony was a very unique cultural experience. I've never seen anything quite like it. It was very symbolic. They performed a lot of rituals that represented the bride and groom's commitment to love, cherish and support each other. After the Hindu ceremony, lunch was provided and of course, more Indian food which was so yummy!

The bride and groom then got redressed in their suit and white dress for the Christian ceremony and took first look pictures. It was then time for the vow ceremony. I was able to experience what would most likely be the first and last time I would ever walk down the aisle. In my religion, wedding ceremonies are a lot simpler and have a smaller, more intimate audience where there is not an aisle to walk down. I honestly loved having that opportunity to be a bridesmaid like I've seen in all the movies. By that point of the day, my feet were absolutely dying! And I had to stand up there in the front for a solid 30 minutes. As soon as they said "I do" and we left the venue, I ran to the closest chair and ripped off my heels. 

 

 

The Reception

After the conclusion of the Christian ceremony, the cocktail hour began in the lobby. I don't personally drink, for religious reasons, so I had never been to a wedding that served alcohol but I drank as many mocktails as humanly possible. Everyone was incredibly respectful though, especially the best man who I think had a little crush on me. He attended to my every need and made sure that even though I didn't drink I would still be able to participate in "taking shots" by getting me all the Sprite I needed. Despite only drinking Sprite, I was not feeling great after as many rounds as we had. I could not imagine how the rest of the wedding party was feeling after drinking Tequila. That's when it really started getting wild!

I will take credit for choreographing the couple's first dance. We spent a grueling 2 hours rehearsing and practicing various dance moves the day before, only to find out the day of, that Jessica's dress was too long and floofy to perform any of them! They still did what they could though and I stood on the sidelines like a proud dance mom cheering ecstatically every dip and twirl they did. Jessica kept bragging to everyone that I was a "professional dancer" which is far from the truth. I danced on the ballroom team in college for a couple years but that hardly qualifies me. However, I feel that I can officially add "choreographer" to my resume.

After all of the speeches, toasts, and cutting the cake, the night ended in an extreme dance party, complete with it's own drummer. They played Indian bops, American bops, and no dance party can be considered a banger is you don't play "Gasolina." By the end of the night I was sweating like a pig and wasn't sure if I had permanent hearing loss but it was a night to remember. I'm so grateful that Jessica and Sorabh let me be a party of their special day. I wish them many years of love and happiness.