What an amazing 3 days of colours, culture, cheilidh and curries! Thursday night was Mehendi Ki Raat where the guests come together at the bride’s parents house to celebrate the application of Henna to the bride’s hands and feet. Many of the other women sat with her on the ground in the same room and got decorated for the special occasion. The evening was filled with food, dancing and laughter. And this was just the start …
Saturday was the big wedding day at the Ambassador Hotel further up the valley. People came from across the globe to attend it – Australia, Europe, the States, Nepal, Singapore, south of India (like another country) and South Africa (hehe!). Donald John looked as ready as smart as ever in his MacAllister tartan and jacket. All his friends joined in and it made for an extra special display of colour in the Himalayas.
Kripa’s dress weighed an impressive 7kg which limited our photos to the grass behind the Hotel. Although we only had 35 min to do the shoot, they did very well and managed to connect with one another creating natural photos.
The next morning was a service where they were blessed by Kripa’s local church, followed by meal for over 500 people from the village prepared by a traditional Hindu teacher and his men from a village far away. It was quite a site to see how they prepare the 7 different Dal’s in huge caldrons. I made the mistake to walk into their holy area to take some shots with my shoes on, but was quickly shouted back by them all. Oops. This was followed by more Cultural dancing from different areas in India and Nepal.
