Indian Weddings

[odoreater]

For the Indian wedding that I'm going to, the couple is of the Jain religion. I just learned that this means no meat or alcohol at the wedding (would it be bad form to bring my hip flask?). Damn, they better make up for it with some interesting traditions.

 

[romafan]

Originally Posted by odoreater

For the Indian wedding that I'm going to, the couple is of the Jain religion. I just learned that this means no meat or alcohol at the wedding (would it be bad form to bring my hip flask?). Damn, they better make up for it with some interesting traditions.

Don't Jainists sweep the ground in front of them as they walk so as not to inadvertently crush/kill any living things (i.e. microscopic lifeforms)?

 

[feynmix]

Originally Posted by odoreater

For the Indian wedding that I'm going to, the couple is of the Jain religion. I just learned that this means no meat or alcohol at the wedding (would it be bad form to bring my hip flask?). Damn, they better make up for it with some interesting traditions.

Haha...the traditions will be interesting, don't worry

. I don't know if you like Indian food, but you will be lucky if there is garlic and onions in the food. Traditional jains don't eat garlic and/or onions...

Now, whether the family actually follows jain traditions here in the US is a whole different story altogether.

I don't think it would be bad form to bring a flask.

Originally Posted by romafan

Don't Jainists sweep the ground in front of them as they walk so as not to inadvertently crush/kill any living things (i.e. microscopic lifeforms)?

Some wear a mask and walk barefoot. They are pretty hardcore and you will only find them in India.

 

[thewallychamp]

I went the wrong way with this.

I went to an Indian wedding in Nebraska.

Indians > Indians

 

[VacheronMD]

Originally Posted by romafan

No mention of George and his dyed Timberlands - has The Office surpassed Seinfeld?

Amazing, good memory! That was one of the most creative seinfelds, and was it before Memento, or an homage?

 

[herenow]

Originally Posted by odoreater

For the Indian wedding that I'm going to, the couple is of the Jain religion. I just learned that this means no meat or alcohol at the wedding (would it be bad form to bring my hip flask?). Damn, they better make up for it with some interesting traditions.

I was invited to an Indian wedding with my other coworkers. One of whom was from Australia. He was quiet for a second after being invited and said "is there going to be liquour?" The groom said, "no, Indians and whiskey are not a good mix."

But after a pause, he added, "don't worry, there is a bar on the other side of the hall."

On the day of the event, we got there and were the only non-Indians. It was quite the event and all new to us. After about two hours we noticed that they had set up the food and people were going up to eat. Not knowing if it was appropriate to start eating, we just sat there looking at the food. Eventually, the groom comes over and says to go and eat. We said, "shouldn't we wait?" His response was, "no, just go eat, this is going to go on for a while."

It was a great time. Always good to experience new customs.

 

[feynmix]

Nowadays, most people that attend Indian weddings only come for the food. The folks getting married are an afterthought...

 

[singhstyle]

The food is amazing, but like all other cultures, we can pick out good food from the bad. The worst is when its a lavish wedding with **** food.

 

[Zenny]

Yes, my cousin's. It was quite amazing.

 

[unexpected]

Originally Posted by odoreater

For the Indian wedding that I'm going to, the couple is of the Jain religion. I just learned that this means no meat or alcohol at the wedding (would it be bad form to bring my hip flask?). Damn, they better make up for it with some interesting traditions.

it depends how strict they are. ask the groom. I'm Indian, so my perspective is different. I drink (like a normal person), and most jains are crazy strict. If I were to drink at a strict Jain wedding, I'd be committing social suicide- especially if i brought a hip flask.

Rumors of "oh god, unexpected is such an alcoholic he couldn't even have fun at the wedding without drinking. how is he ever going to find a wife?", which would then progress to "did you hear that they're trying to stage an intervention for unexpected? he was drinking at the jain wedding!"

In general, if the family is cool with alcohol, they'll provide alcohol. If they're not cool with alcohol, well then there's a reason that they don't have alcohol there, and you would be stepping on people's toes if you drank.

Indian weddings are not about the bride and groom- they're more a celebration of "omg, as immigrants we made it, now let's show off how much money we have" - it's a social thing. When (if?) I ever get married, i fully expect 700 people to be there, 50 of which I'll actually know. Strict Jain= alcohol would be a huge no-no. Jains are nuts. Insane. The strict Jains in India sweep in front of themselves, and even bury their own ****.

Then again, maybe you could pull it off as "the crazy white guy who drank". If the bride/groom stops talking to you aftewards, you know why!!!

 

[FidelCashflow]

White people at Indian weddings are fun, they always make the same 3 observations in this order: 1) When they're the only people at the hall on time "Where is everyone???" 2) When the wedding gets going "Wow! It's so colourful!" 3) After the 5th hour of speeches "When does this thing end???"

 

[micbain]

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

White people at Indian weddings are fun, they always make the same 3 observations in this order: 1) When they're the only people at the hall on time "Where is everyone???" 2) When the wedding gets going "Wow! It's so colourful!" 3) After the 5th hour of speeches "When does this thing end???"

Add a good 2hrs to the start of the reception, that's when you should show up. 4) All you have is crown royal?

 

[FidelCashflow]

Originally Posted by micbain

Add a good 2hrs to the start of the reception, that's when you should show up.
So true. I dabble in wedding videography here and there. Normally for white weddings, we make it a point to show up an hour early to setup. At Indian weddings, we setup at the scheduled start time. I once asked the guy I worked with "What if this is the on in a million Indian wedding where things actually start on time? Aren't we screwed?" He thought about it for a second and said "You know... in 20 years it's never come up."

But if you want to see late... you have to see African weddings (not African-American... but African immigrants.) They raise the bar to a whole new level. We got hired to do an Sudanese wedding and we got there at the scheduled start-time for the reception to setup our video equipment. Not only was no one there... they hadn't started decorating the hall or even setting up the tables and chairs!!! Dinner was served at 12:30AM... and there were still guests arriving until about 1AM(!) Their traditions are also far more mystifying. At one point everyone was singing a song for the bride and groom... a guest walked up to the front of the room with a massive handbag and hurled it at the head table so it landed with a big thud right in front of the head table, then quietly turned around and walked back to our seat. No one else seemed seemed surprised.

 

[LeonM]

Originally Posted by odoreater

For the Indian wedding that I'm going to, the couple is of the Jain religion. I just learned that this means no meat or alcohol at the wedding (would it be bad form to bring my hip flask?). Damn, they better make up for it with some interesting traditions.
Ditto last one i went to. No booze, food (and lots of it) was veggie. Didn't miss the garlic or onions, in fact. Leon

 

[esq]

Fun, colorful weddings. I am going to yet another this summer and am thinking of not wearing a suit, but rather nice trousers, sport coat, tie.