Nice day for a Sikh wedding...
I've been trying desperately to find time to write about the weird and wonderful wedding we went to on Saturday. I can't possibly remember everything anymore but here's a few tidbits:
We got to the temple (in Mississauga!) at 8:45am on Saturday (the invite said 9am and we wanted to be a bit early) only to find not a single person from the wedding party there. We took off our shoes and stowed them in the shoe room (floor to ceiling shelves just the right size for shoes) and put our head coverings on (all heads must be covered always inside the temple) and were guided to a basement room to have "breakfast" before the ceremony.
Waiting for the ceremony to begin (doesn't C look like a biker?) You can see that I did indeed wear the borrowed Indian costume and I fit right in with nary a second glance from anyone.
The room was set up like a cafeteria but without tables, instead there were rows of industrial type carpet runners to sit on. We got a plate of food (not a single bit of which was anything either of us had ever seen before) and steaming cups of chai and pulled up a bit of carpet. EVERYTHING was packed with sugar! The chai was almost too sweet even for me (hey, I said almost), there were balls that looked like timbits but were saturated in syrup and rolled in sweetened coconut, bits of deep fried pastry rolled in powdered sugar, little orange balls of sugary goodness with deep fried noodles and super spicy deep fried vegetables. While we were enjoying our sugar buzz we browsed the artwork lining the walls - every piece of which graphically depicted a murder or execution (we later realized they were Sikh martyrs but what a pleasant addition to a meal a painting of a person being sawed in half - alive - is). We were also visited by a very nice turbaned man who felt it his duty to tell us the rules of the temple: no meat, no smoking and free food 24/7.
We killed as much time as was humanly possible (until a man with a bucket of what appeared to be gruel started making the rounds) then returned to the west hall (where the wedding was to be) and found, still, no one from the wedding party. We did however bump into 2 other Ottawa couples, one of whom C knew, the other we'd heard many stories about, and spent some time chatting with them... until we were - ahem - encouraged to go back downstairs to have yet more tea and breakfast. This time we were guided to another basement room (that resembled a small hanger) where, in addition to the tons of sugar and chai we'd been served before, there was super spicy samosas. To cut this shorter we hung around there for awhile longer, then went back up to the wedding room and grabbed ourselves a patch of carpet at the back of the room. People slowly began filling in, the devout kneeling before the altar then finding a seat on the carpet, women on one side, men on the other, the heathens huddled in the back in a conmingled mass.
Rainbow of saris
The groom entered about 11am (looking scared half to death) and things finally began. The bride followed shortly thereafter looking absolutely exquisite in burgundy and gold, bejewelled and henna-ed.
The nervous groom
We didn't understand much (it was entirely in Punjabi except for the words "parking lot" and "landscaping" at the end) but there was singing and prayer, the bride and groom walked around the altar a lot and the parents presented them with some sort of tinsel leis to wear. At then end there was something sort of akin to taking communion, tasted like really mushy, slightly warm shredded wheat. The ceremony took about an hour.
Happy (and gorgeous) couple.
After the ceremony I changed out of my cool borrowed costume and we headed to the reception. Snack was served while we waited for the bride and groom to arrive, and there was an open bar. Much very nice French red wine. Once the happy couple arrived (with the groom changed into a dapper suit) and was introduced there was pictures, cake cutting and finally FOOD! Butter chicken, naan, so many other yummies I can't remember the names of all enjoyed with Indian pop music blaring (it was quite excellent music by the way). Anyway there was much laughing, much eating, and way too much excellent wine, and it was a truly wonderful time!
We got to the temple (in Mississauga!) at 8:45am on Saturday (the invite said 9am and we wanted to be a bit early) only to find not a single person from the wedding party there. We took off our shoes and stowed them in the shoe room (floor to ceiling shelves just the right size for shoes) and put our head coverings on (all heads must be covered always inside the temple) and were guided to a basement room to have "breakfast" before the ceremony.
Waiting for the ceremony to begin (doesn't C look like a biker?) You can see that I did indeed wear the borrowed Indian costume and I fit right in with nary a second glance from anyone.
The room was set up like a cafeteria but without tables, instead there were rows of industrial type carpet runners to sit on. We got a plate of food (not a single bit of which was anything either of us had ever seen before) and steaming cups of chai and pulled up a bit of carpet. EVERYTHING was packed with sugar! The chai was almost too sweet even for me (hey, I said almost), there were balls that looked like timbits but were saturated in syrup and rolled in sweetened coconut, bits of deep fried pastry rolled in powdered sugar, little orange balls of sugary goodness with deep fried noodles and super spicy deep fried vegetables. While we were enjoying our sugar buzz we browsed the artwork lining the walls - every piece of which graphically depicted a murder or execution (we later realized they were Sikh martyrs but what a pleasant addition to a meal a painting of a person being sawed in half - alive - is). We were also visited by a very nice turbaned man who felt it his duty to tell us the rules of the temple: no meat, no smoking and free food 24/7.
We killed as much time as was humanly possible (until a man with a bucket of what appeared to be gruel started making the rounds) then returned to the west hall (where the wedding was to be) and found, still, no one from the wedding party. We did however bump into 2 other Ottawa couples, one of whom C knew, the other we'd heard many stories about, and spent some time chatting with them... until we were - ahem - encouraged to go back downstairs to have yet more tea and breakfast. This time we were guided to another basement room (that resembled a small hanger) where, in addition to the tons of sugar and chai we'd been served before, there was super spicy samosas. To cut this shorter we hung around there for awhile longer, then went back up to the wedding room and grabbed ourselves a patch of carpet at the back of the room. People slowly began filling in, the devout kneeling before the altar then finding a seat on the carpet, women on one side, men on the other, the heathens huddled in the back in a conmingled mass.
Rainbow of saris
The groom entered about 11am (looking scared half to death) and things finally began. The bride followed shortly thereafter looking absolutely exquisite in burgundy and gold, bejewelled and henna-ed.
The nervous groom
We didn't understand much (it was entirely in Punjabi except for the words "parking lot" and "landscaping" at the end) but there was singing and prayer, the bride and groom walked around the altar a lot and the parents presented them with some sort of tinsel leis to wear. At then end there was something sort of akin to taking communion, tasted like really mushy, slightly warm shredded wheat. The ceremony took about an hour.
Happy (and gorgeous) couple.
After the ceremony I changed out of my cool borrowed costume and we headed to the reception. Snack was served while we waited for the bride and groom to arrive, and there was an open bar. Much very nice French red wine. Once the happy couple arrived (with the groom changed into a dapper suit) and was introduced there was pictures, cake cutting and finally FOOD! Butter chicken, naan, so many other yummies I can't remember the names of all enjoyed with Indian pop music blaring (it was quite excellent music by the way). Anyway there was much laughing, much eating, and way too much excellent wine, and it was a truly wonderful time!
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