An almost Indian wedding....

You who have been following me on twitter and facebook know that I was invited to an Indian/French wedding. Last night was the reception or more formal part of the celebration, the night before it was more informal with the women singing some traditional songs. More on Punjabi wedding traditions here.

Entrance to indoor venue Thursday evening

This wedding, with the girl being French, and a not overly traditional family on the side of the groom, was a more quiet one, as I was told by the people I met. To me though, it was all very interesting, taking a look inside an Indian family, how they dress, behave, what they eat & drink (Indian food, bacardi-coke, Kingfisher beer, Zinzi wine).

Indoor celebration, with traditional Hindi song-singing by the women

The venues where the celebrations were held were really beautiful, especially last night. Out in the open, tables & chairs put on the grass, nice lighting, lots of food and drinks (the alcohol flows only till 22.30/23.00 due to strict laws, but the Indian people like in the rest of the world, keep on serving drinks from under the counter). They could have accomodated hundreds of people there easily.

Entrance to outdoor venue

Friday evening venue, out in the open

Celebrations end also rather early because of this. By midnight most people had left so the party of friends I was introduced to decided to go out. The evening before we actually ended up at some friend's place where the drinking continued. This night the club of choice was Out of the Box. A not too big, just opened and very popular restaurant/bar/nightclub. It was here that the friends and brothers & sisters of the happy couple sat and even I had to say a few words in honor of them. So there I was, a (what seemed to me) semi-invited guest, not knowing any of them, standing amidst their friends wishing them all the best. So that part of the Indian culture as I know it is true, all are very hospitable!

The party I was with, standing on the right my host

Late night/early morning leaving Out of the Box nightclub

So, next step will be a real Punjabi wedding. Can't wait!