Kerala Wedding Reception

we started the weekend fulfilling a generous invitation to an indian wedding from a good friend of mr. khairul's staff radha. i was pretty excited because it's a wedding of a different culture, and this is only the second indian wedding i've attended.

le meridien hotel was the setting to this glorious reception.


the interior decor of the ballroom itself was fit for a festive indian party - elaborate stone carvings, loud colored curtains and bold lightings - add some flowers here and there and you've got yourself a wedding reception ala bollywood!

and the music adds to the feel of course - love songs rendered just for the guests and the bride and groom.

the ballroom; and the newlyweds

the 'party' kicked in when the newly weds made their appearance and posed for the crowds at the 'pelamin' - a sweet and simple setting of a sofa in front of a maroon backdrop, with a couple off red and white roses bouquet on each side.

then on the guests came up to the bride and groom with well-wishes and to take pictures with them at the 'pelamin'. the bride looked lovely, and of course oozing with the glow of a new bride, but i can't help but feel that she appeared too simple - the simple sari, the lack of head decoration, and surprisingly even the jewellery was kept to a minimum.

sreeja eased my wonderment, telling me that the sari may 'looked' simple but it definitely cost thousands of dirham! and the head decor and the whole hoopla was done during the solemnization - at the reception, usually they kept it simple.

radha and his happy family

radha's wife sreeja and their kids were resplendent in traditional indian garb. i especially like rahul's whole look - from the matching shawl around his neck, the shiny material of his clothing down to his 'aladdin' pointed shoes! definitely gonna get one for khaleef!

bottom pict - the waiter offering chicken bits to radha's son, rahul

the ambiance was set, the guests all have arrived, the music in full swing - but one important thing was lacking - food! bila nak makan ni? you see, during the photo session with the newly weds, i was sure we'd be eating once their done. but no. and it's already 930pm!

then the singing, (in which i thought we'd be asked to get the food so that we can eat whilst enjoying the entertainment) followed by the awfully boring belly dance (yeah, big boobs, buncit and all). but no again. and it's near 10 already!

what happened was, during all that, the waiters were going around from table to table bringing plates of chicken and this vege treat that looks like a pergedil. oh no, they didn't leave the plate at our table - instead, we were given toothpick (decorated, of course) to take the chicken bits and the pergedil from the plates before the waiter takes it to the next table.

weird huh? first time gi wedding yang serve makanan starters macam ni!

after what seemed to be endless hours of really bad belly dancing, it was announced that the buffet table was open. mr. khairul went and took two plates of briyani, popadom and segala macam lauk-pauk. they were excellent and so worth the wait!

thank you radha for including us in this festive indian wedding, and to his dear friend for having us as guests on this happy occasion of his son's marriage. may happiness be with the newlyweds always!