Weddingbee

I finally got a chance to upload the pictures from the wedding that Mr. Bee and I attended in Chicago 2 weeks ago. This was my first time attending an Indian/Muslim wedding so I was really excited.

This is the out of town bag that was waiting for us at our hotel check-in counter. It had 2 bottles of water, 2 granola bars, a Chicago post card, a pack of Chicago Cubs playing cards, 2 pins in their wedding theme, and a bunch of maps, guides and brochures.

On Friday night, we attended the Mehndi ceremony. The room was decorated very colorfully in yellow - I believe yellow is significant and is supposed to be a lucky color.

Here comes the groom!

The bride enters under a sheer piece of fabric held up by her friends and family.

The bride and her female friends and family members.

Their hands and feet are adorned with beautiful henna patterns from a mehndi ceremony at the bride’s house the night before.

The groom’s mother places a lei of roses on the bride.

Family members and friends walk by to wish the bride well. They place tumeric on the bride’s face and feed her sugar crystals. Money is given by guests which will later be given to the poor.

Our favors - little pouches filled with sugar crystals, almonds, and dates.

One of the bridesmaid’s hands. (Although there are really no “bridesmaids” like in American weddings).

Me and matching friends. The groom’s father bought us all punjabis from Bangladesh.

We’re all color coordinated!

Me with the lovely bride.

Saturday afternoon was spent sightseeing. I had never been to Chicago - it’s so much cleaner than I expected! A very very nice city indeed. This is the view from the top of the Hancock Tower.

Saturday night - The wedding. This quilt was placed at the entryway of the venue. Various family members created a square each telling a piece of the couple’s story.

A frame beside the quilt indicated who had crafted each square. This square was one of my favorites. It says, “I love you very much but when I get mad I get angry but I don’t mean it or when I hit you. I am very sorry. I hope you forgive me. Remember I really love you!” Haha!

This was another one of my favorites - the groom’s family created a patch with a picture of the bride and the groom’s family.

Some of the lovely ladies of our group…

The groom enters with this brother and sister by his side.

This is where the ceremony took place.

The color scheme was a vibrant and beautiful fuschia, orange, and green.

Here comes the bride!

In traditional Indian weddings, the bride and groom have never seen each other until this very moment. But they are not allowed to look at each directly so the groom peers at his new wife’s reflection in a mirror.

Presenting the new bride and groom!

Polaroid guest pictures.

We received CD’s of the bride and groom’s favorite songs (including traditional Indian songs) as favors.

The pattern you see in the table card is concentric airplanes made to look like a flower. I didn’t notice this until I saw the placecard even though this pattern was put on all their stationary.

The bride’s sister giving a heartfelt toast.

There were around 275 guests. They threw 2 celebrations back to back. Now that’s hard work!

The food was served family style and was sooooo delicious. Especially the okra - so spicy, and so good.

Me with the bride and groom.

Awww…. the lovely couple.

Being the good friends we are we made fun of his shoes… a little.

The bride and her regal mother.

The bride’s hands.

Mr. Bee and I had an awesome time despite there being no alcohol the entire weekend. A beautiful wedding indeed.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

• Hope Golf Clubs
• Josie!