As I mentioned in a couple earlier posts, Sarah’s brother got married on Saturday. Aaron and Shima had a small wedding/reception at their house. It was nice and relaxing compared to some of the wedding theatrics that I’ve seen in my lifetime.

The day began with a Hindu wedding that honored Shima’s family traditions. It was a really beautiful, interesting ritual. Below are a couple pictures. The first was taken after the Chhedaabandan, or Tying of the Knot, and the second is of their feet as they completed the Mangal Fera, in which the couple circles a fire to symbolize a series of distinct purposes in life.





Overall, this was really, really interesting. I enjoyed it a lot. Sarah, who you can see on the left edge of the first photo, was obviously not in the crowd with me. That meant that I had Oliver for the entire hour. He was surprisingly good, as he sat quietly, then drank a bottle and had some snacks.

After this ceremony, the adults had some snacks of our own and then we headed back outside for a Lutheran ceremony. It started out nice, but Oliver would have none of it. He was being really loud, so I had to take him around to the other side of the house. Unfortunately, I missed 75 percent so can’t give a full report.

Next, our side of the family and a few of Shima’s relatives had ham sandwiches and salad for dinner. Then, Shima’s family cleared the table and her side ate a traditional vegetarian Indian dinner. I must have lingered around the kitchen too long because Shima’s dad invited me to join them. I really enjoyed eating this, and they were great in explaining how to eat Indian food correctly, describing what we were eating and just being the most friendly, accommodating people you’d ever meet.

An hour or two later and Oliver was ready to go. That said, we headed home for the night. Anyway, it was just a great day. We had a lot of fun and are excited to fully welcome Shima and her family into our lives.