My Cousin's Wedding

Pictures from my cousin's very traditional Indian Muslim wedding - this is the first ceremony in the week long festivities leading up to the big day.

Here the bride sits as her close friends and family bring the trays of lotion and sweets that the older women will use to bless the bride. Virginia Gal is the one in yellow and pink, with my head cut off (standing).

Here the older women are feeding the bride and applying lotion to her arms (in the past the lotion was to make the bride's skin silky smooth for her upcoming day). They will than take some money and circle it around her head with a blessing for a good future (and give her the money).

After that small ceremony, this ladies-only function starts singing, both new and folk songs. Somewhere in there a lady is playing the dholki (a drum instrument from the Indian region that is smaller and you can play with your hands).



This is a picture of the trays that all the sisters and friends brought out for the ceremony. This is the pre-ceremony stage.


This is the post-ceremony stage of the trays, with the candles lit.

Hopefully more pictures to come, as the wedding week progresses and when I get a free second to update this blog (which as the immediate cousin to the bride, means I get very few free seconds).