Indian Wedding (Part I of our India trip)

Many of you know that we had the opportunity to attend the wedding of our dear friends Prashant and Priyanka in India.  They both graduated from Yale the year before Michael and we were thrilled to hear of their engagement and wedding.

Well, our trip was eventful to say the least.  Some of you may have caught wind of our travel difficulties via Instagram or Facebook.  So on Wednesday, February 12, Dominic and I began our journey and flew to Philadelphia to meet up with Michael (who was wrapping up his last week consulting there).  We weren't scheduled to fly to Philadelphia until the 13th but due to a predicted storm, we flew a day early at the last minute (it was a little hectic but we managed). 

We were happy to spend the night with Michael in Philadelphia and were thrilled to grab a lobster roll at one of Michael's favorite restaurants in the late morning before heading to the airport.

Luke's Lobster

When we got to the airport (3 hrs. early) the lines were crazy due to hundreds of cancelled and delayed flights, but we finally got up to the front of the line.  Dominic and I checked in and checked all of our baggage, only to find that Michael’s ticket didn’t exist when he tried to check in! When Michael had flown to Philly on Monday he was never marked as taking the flight (some computer glitch) so the rest of his itinerary was canceled, which included all of the flights to and from India.  After over two hours of talking to multiple airline employees we managed to get things worked out and his ticket reinstated – however we missed our flight, and had to be re-routed to France (despite the fact that our luggage was already headed to Germany). 

We boarded the airplane to France around 8:00pm (our original flight to Germany was at 4:30pm) and after sitting on the runway for over two hours, were told the plane couldn’t fly and we had to get off and board another plane, where we sat on the runway for another hour or so – we had arrived at the Philly airport at 1:00pm for a 4:30pm flight and finally took off at about 11:00pm. 

This is my happy face knowing that because of the day's events and now being delayed some more and having to change planes, we would miss our connecting flight from Paris to Mumbai...Which meant we would miss our domestic flight in Mumbai to the state where the wedding was to be held.

Once we arrived in Paris we found out that there were no flights to India for 3-4 days and that we would have to backtrack up to London the next day to take a flight to India from there.  Meanwhile our luggage was somewhere in Germany and we were stranded in Paris in sandals and light jackets (it currently being their winter).  Fortunately, US Airways finally did something right and put us up in a hotel for the night and paid for our meals so we didn't have to fuss with changing money.

We did get to enjoy a complimentary Valentine's Day seafood dinner in Paris, complete with all the french pastries one could hope for.

We had been to Paris about 2 years ago, so we didn't feel pressed to get out and see any sights in our summer apparel.  We just laid low in the hotel and tried to recover from all the hectic travel, not to mention, to use the wi-fi to try and rework some of our India in-country travel.  It's one thing to miss your flight and be stranded in an airport for HOURS and know that you are going to have to rearrange your whole trip because of the chain reaction of delayed flights.  It's another thing to miss your flight, be stranded in an airport for hours, not have your luggage, AND be traveling with a 2-year old.  This meant no change of clothes for Dominic, barely enough diapers and wipes, etc. etc.

We finally arrived in Mumbai, India on Sunday (about 24 hours later then we were supposed to) and were miraculously reunited with our luggage a few hours after our arrival (which seemed like an eternity considering how exhausted we were from all the hoopla and that it was 3:30am in India.)  Needless to say, we were very relieved to check into our nearby hotel!

We took it pretty easy on Sunday and after sleeping in and eating a refreshing breakfast took a bus to see the Gateway of India.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but the public bus was pretty packed.

The Gateway of India was beautiful and we were quickly reminded that Dominic is like a celebrity in foreign countries where his blonde hair and fair complexion make him an anomaly.  

We spent the afternoon with Dominic being admired, and with countless people asking to take photos of/with him.

Because we were delayed arriving in India, we missed our domestic flight and ended up having to take a "sleeper bus" to Goa (where the wedding would be in a few days' time).  The bus ride was about 16 hours and fortunately the bus “beds” had rails we could hold on to for the bumpy, windy ride.

We had the top "bunk" which Dominic thought was pretty cool.

We were tired enough from the travel and time change that despite the crazy ride, I think we all got more sleep than we expected - still not a lot - but more than we expected.

We took the sleeper bus until the last stop and then hopped on another bus for an additional 1.5 hours to reach our beachy destination of Palolem, where we would get to R and R for a few days before the wedding.  This bus was so packed that I nearly had a woman sitting on my lap for a good stretch of the ride (and at 31 weeks pregnant, there was not much room on my lap so it was pretty cozy!).  The ride wouldn't have felt so long except we were now traveling in the heat of the day in an overcrowded public bus. I've never smelt such bad body odor from our fellow travelers.  Oi.

We were thrilled to find a hotel and head to the beach to swim and cool down soon after arriving.

Our hotel in Palolem

We quickly learned that the food in Palolem was delicious.

About to enjoy our first lunch in Palolem (from a restaurant that turned out to be one of our favorites of the entire trip)

The beach was beautiful and the water temperature was perfect.

Enjoying our first sunset.

Me and my babes

The next day we took an early boat ride at sunrise to look for dolphins.

Our boat

The boat ride at sunrise

Dominic was excited to see the dolphins swimming

We docked on a beautiful shore briefly and the boys climbed and played on the rocks.

Michael

Dominic climbing up and then jumping down (one of his favorite hobbies currently)

We returned from the boat ride satisfied with our dolphin sightings and spent most of the day reading and swimming and enjoying the beach, and drinking plenty of lassi drinks (delicious fresh fruit and yogurt drinks).

...Not to mention, receiving spa treatments.

Dominic was tickled to find so many random cows roaming the streets in India.

The next day we did pretty much the same thing.  Read, nap, swim, play on the beach, recover and drink Lassi's.  

Enjoying another sunset in India.

The sunsets were beautiful in Palolem.

After a few days relaxing in Palolem, Thursday we traveled up North about an hour to where the wedding festivities would begin and checked into our lovely hotel.

We were happy to be reunited with other Yalies at this point.  And extremely thrilled to have a surprise visit from the Bride-to-be (we weren't expecting to see her until that evening).  We hopped in the car with her and headed over to the hotel where the wedding would be held and had lunch with the bride and groom-to-be and gave ourselves a tour of the Resort while they busied themselves with last minutes wedding details.

Michael, Dominic and Yale friends at the entrance to the hotel

The Royal Orchid Beach Resort

From the resort we walked down to the beach where Dominic was happy to play in the sand and waves once again.

That night we all dressed up and headed to the opening event - a cocktail party (a dance and dinner) on the beach.

The beach was beautifully decorated and we all ate and drank happily and celebrated coming together!  I really enjoyed getting to meet the bride and groom's friends and family.

Needless to say, all the crazy dancing wore Dominic out so we made him a bed out of lawn chairs while we danced the night away.

The next day (day 2 of 3 of wedding festivities) began with the Mehendi ceremony.  The women arrived to have beautiful glass bangles (tight bracelets) fitted and finessed onto our wrists, followed by henna applied on our hands.  Here are a few pics of my henna art:

Once the "paste-like" dye is applied, absolute stillness is required for several hours while it dries (the longer the paste is left on the skin, the darker the resulting dye).

Each person had unique beautiful designs

The Bride-to-be also has henna applied, but her artist takes hours to apply the henna covering her fingertips to her elbows and from her toes to her shins.  Priyanka must have had incredible patience to wait for the henna to dry.  The detail and creativity of the art work were awe-inspiring.

One of Priyanka's many beautiful gowns (and I loved her hair woven with flowers!)

                          The palm wasn't yet completed

Once the henna is dry the paste is rubbed/peeled off resulting in a temporary stain that can last 3-7 days.

The dye starts off as kind of an orange color once the paste is removed, but darkens in the 24 hours following.

Prepping Michael's wrinkled suit in the hotel room.  I have never missed my ironing board so much and an iron that can steam. :)

That evening was the Sangeet celebration.  The Sangeet party is an Indian tradition during which the family and friends shower the bride and groom with dance, music and laughs.

The beautiful Priyanka

In addition to amazing dancing by family and friends, there were 3 Nigerian dancers that put on an amazing show!

He slowly built this tower whilst balancing on it

The strength and athleticism of these men were amazing!

Not to mention their flexibility!

There was a lot of wonderful dancing this evening.  Here is a link to where you can find the video of the little number the Yalies gifted the bride and groom.  Pretty Great.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151897573840194&set=vb.614480193&type=2&theater

We danced and ate the night away until we were all too exhausted to continue.

Saturday morning Michael went for an early morning run along the beach and captured this beautiful photo of a gorgeous sunrise.

Saturday was the third and final day of the wedding festivities.  The day began with some intimate family ceremonies, so after breakfast all the Yale folks headed into Old Goa for a little sight seeing.

Grabbing breakfast with Andy (Yale classmate) at the hotel before sightseeing

an old church

Dominic found this Beauty while we were touring the Old City.  He hugged her on his own accord (no prompting from anyone).  So Sweet.

I loved getting to spend time with Michael's classmates throughout the course of the wedding.

Another old church

the same old church...isn't it beautiful?!

Sharing a coconut

Some of the group went to tour another part of the old city, while the rest of us went to a spice plantation.

We were welcomed onto the spice plantation with flowers and a bindi (red dot in between the eyebrows).  Dominic thought it was pretty great.

It was really cool to walk around and see spices in their natural growing environment.  They also provided a lunch that had been prepared with all of the fresh spices.  Mmmm.

As we were leaving the spice plantation we got to stop and interact with this elephant.

Elephants are so cool

After a day of (hot) touring we returned to the hotel to get cleaned up before the final evening of wedding festivities.  Dominic decided that he preferred bucket baths in place of showers.

All cleaned up and back at the Royal Orchid Resort for the wedding ceremony

We were able to catch the handsome Prashant before the ceremony started for this dapper photo

Absolutely love this photo of these two besties

Our moment with the dashing groom

A beautiful evening for the wedding ceremony

The evening began with a long procession (led by a band) to the beach where the ceremony would be held.

Finally the bride arrived! and the final ceremony commenced.

After some intimate ceremonial customs, it was official! They were now Mr. and Mrs!

Love these two and am so happy for them to start their lives together

Posing under the beautiful floral canopy that was used to escort Priyanka to the ceremony.

The Yale crew congratulating the happy couple after the ceremony

Following the ceremony we all feasted on a wonderful dinner, watched them cut the cake and shared stories as many friends and family members gave beautiful toasts.

The final event of the evening was lighting chinese lanterns on the beach and watching as they sailed out over the ocean.

The wedding was such a beautiful event.  Michael and I are so grateful we were able to be there to show our love and support.  

The next day most of Michael's classmates left Goa.  However, due to some of our travel complications on the front end, we were still experiencing a domino effect and hadn't been able to book a flight out of Goa yet.  On the bright side, this allowed us to stay an extra day in Goa, spending a little extra time with Prashant and Priyanka....And of course, getting in a little pool/beach time before we left the warm tropical climate of Goa and headed north to see the Taj Mahal.

Look at those big muscles!

Our final sunset in Goa.

We stopped by the beach briefly on Monday morning just to say goodbye before we left.

Dominic is somewhere in the background playing happily in the sand

We were slated to fly to New Delhi later that afternoon, but as we packed to go to the airport, we discovered that there was a cab strike and we likely wouldn't be able to find a taxi to take us to the airport (without having to pay a fortune!).  So with Dominic in the stroller and dragging all of our luggage we raced out to try to find a public bus to hopefully get to the airport on time. As we were racing down the sidewalk a car pulled over and a man asked us (in perfect English) if he could help and when we explained the situation (he was aware of the strike), he offered to drive us to the airport!  We were very grateful for the tender mercy that got us there safely and on time.

I wish I could say that the travel logistics were perfectly smooth the remainder of our time in India (about 5 days), but they grew from bad to worse again.  We did get to see the Taj Mahal which was absolutely stunning.  But I think I will resume our story in a Part II blog.   Stay tuned for some of our gorgeous pics of the Taj Mahal! ...and to hear how we [barely] all made it back to the U.S. together.