Indian Families Celebrate a Multi-day Event in Wedding Videos Dallas TX
Mona and Anand – An Extravaganza of Islamic and Hindu Traditions at the Hotel Intercontinental
Mona and Anand had more than a wonderful wedding day. They had a two-day wedding extravaganza highlighting their cultural and religious backgrounds. By combining her Islamic traditions with his Hindu traditions, the couple hosted an event highlighting customs and rituals popular all over the Middle and Near East.
The festivities started on a Friday night with Janavasam. A stately carriage with two handsome horses, a driver and a footman waited outside a door of the hotel. The bride and groom, dressed in gorgeous costumes from their native India entered the carriage. Then accompanied by their friends and family, also in bright silks and brocades, the couple rode all the way around the hotel parking lot. Their friends beat on drums, played flutes and called out greetings to the couple.
The carriage stopped at a different door than where they started and the couple left the carriage leading everyone to the pool area for the Sangeet celebration. The couple was seated on a platform draped with beautiful silks and covered with pillows. The mothers of the couple performed the Haldi ceremony, painting the faces of the bride and groom with turmeric to bring auspicious blessing to the couple. Lavish entertainment included a delicious buffet with a myriad of native dishes, entertainers performing Indian music and artists painted guests’ hands with henna.
The next morning, Mona was carefully adorned for her husband, including a mehendi application of henna. She was wrapped in an extravagant red and gold sari. Jewels were attached to her brow. Then exquisite gold jewelry was layered over her clothing. For a final touch, an orchid was placed in her hair.
Anand, too, was dressed elaborately for the Baarat procession to his bride. He wore a white satin Nehru suit shot with threads of gold and intricately embroidered in gold. He rode in a convertible from one door of the hotel to the next, but it took him an hour and a half to get there. The family and the attendants of the bride kept demanding money and favors from him for him to get to his bride.
Anand was greeted with the Aarti and joined his bride in a beautiful pavilion for the Jaimala, where garlands were exchanged. Yogurt and honey were offered in Madhupak to honor the groom. Mona was given to Anand with the Kanyadaan ceremony and the union was solemnized by the Havan and Rajaham, lighting and sacrifice to the flame. During the Gath Bandhan the bride and groom were wrapped in shawls which were then tied together to symbolized their union. Wrapped in the shawls they took Saptapardi, the seven steps together. To mark Mona as his, Anand put a small dot of vermillion, called Sindoor, on Mona’s forehead.
At 5 PM, the guests, many of them in beautiful cultural outfits like the bride and groom enjoyed an extravagant buffet with an incredible quantity and variety of food. Then the bride and groom, Mono in her glamorous sari, this time with a pale blue shawl trimmed in gold and even more beautiful jewelry, and Anand in a Western suit and tie, were announced. They were thrilled to continue their celebration and danced to the center of the room.
To entertain the guests and educate them about some of traditions surrounding engagement and marriage for Mono’s family, her relatives demonstrated some of the traditions and explained them to the audience. Then Anand picked up a microphone and explained how thrilled he was to be married to Mono and how excited he was about their honeymoon in Bali.
Modern music filled the air and everyone began to dance. They lifted the bride and groom up onto their shoulders in celebration. The fun continued long into the night.
Behind the Scenes with LeniCam Video Productions
We’ve been producing wedding videos for over a decade. In that time we’ve recorded the weddings of a wide variety of cultures and traditions from around the world. Because Mona and Arnand’s wedding was a unique pairing of two different traditions, we used our experience to predict what would come next.
We thoroughly enjoyed the cavalcade of beautiful clothing, delicious food, professional entertainers and elaborate rituals we observed. Turning what we filmed into a wedding video that adequately represented the unbelievable two day spectacle was a rewarding challenge. We were gratified by their excitement over the finished product.
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LeeniCam Video Production – Wedding Videos Dallas TX