mantra in unison, “Don’t piss anyone off.”
Lately, there seems to be a trend going on in themed weddings. The Monopoly wedding, the Enchanted Forest wedding; I’ve even seen a Star Wars wedding (and all I can say to that is, wow, the bride must really have wanted to close the deal with that guy!).
The official theme for Scott and Seema’s wedding is, and I quote, “Let’s try not to piss anyone off too badly.” I suspect other couples, particularly those where the fiancés are from different cultures or observe different religious traditions, have been in their position.
Scott comes from a nonpracticing Protestant family. You know, they celebrate Christmas, but not so much that they trek out to midnight mass in Connecticut in the middle of a snowstorm in December. Their Easter has to do more with a candy-bearing lagomorph than an everlasting deity. The only wings associated with Sundays are chicken and made to be eaten while watching football. We all know the type. Personally, I am the type.
Naturally, Scott’s mother insisted on a full-blown Christian wedding, complete with a minister, a white dress, and a sermon.
Seema is a third-generation American of Indian descent who was raised Hindu, and in her family’s case that just means that she has a few Ganesha and tealights in her kitchen for a small shrine, and that she celebrates holidays such as Diwali (Indian New Year). But I don’t remember her ever going to temple. Plus she gets to eat meat. (Her dad is Punjabi, and they eat meat.) She grew up in Arizona, puts up a Christmas tree every year, and has attended more than her share of Easters, Passovers, and Hanukkahs.
Since both of Seema’s parents were born and raised in the States, and since they don’t go to temple either, naturally Seema is having a full-blown Indian wedding that’s going to include a henna ceremony, a one-hour ceremony in Sanskrit, several bridal dresses that were made in India, a mandap (the wedding canopy), and a white horse.
This has been fine with me, as I actually get to wear a cool maid-of-honor dress, as opposed to some of the hideous bridesmaid’s frocks I’ve been forced to wear in the past. I mean, what is it with brides and colors like Spam Pink or Sea World Aqua, not to mention the fixation on satin or tulle? Who was the first bride who passive-aggressively hated her maid of honor so much that she decided to wrap her in an explosion of taffeta?
My outfit is a beautiful blue silk, hand-beaded choli (which is a midriff-baring top), and matching lehenga (a free-flowing skirt) that she had made for me in Mumbai. Nic gets to wear a gold silk choli and lehenga with gold embroidery and beading and looks like motherhood personified with her eight-month-pregnant belly ever-so-slightly peeking out of the ensemble.
Their wedding has gone from a small affair for close friends and family to a three-day celebration featuring two different ceremonies—an Indian one during the daytime on Saturday, followed by a Christian one Saturday evening, a rehearsal dinner/henna ceremony the Friday before, and a brunch on Sunday at which they will serve everything from eggs Benedict, bacon, and sausage to Pongal, vada, dosa, aloo sabzi, and nan.
For the most part, people are getting along pretty well, and the wedding is going to be exquisite. I’ve never seen two people so happy while planning their wedding and I’m sure it will go off without a hitch.
But their theme still means that we have to be extrasensitive about Seema’s bridal shower.
“Unfortunately, Seema’s Aunt Hema is coming, so we have to be G-rated,” Nic explains to Jeff.
“And yet thread-the-needle seems like a good idea,” Jeff reminds her.
“The shower’s in less than six hours, and I’m clutching at straws,” Nic admits defensively. “Other than the cake pull, Mel has nixed all of my other ideas.”
“I never agreed to the cake pull,” I remind Nic. “Not after what happened last time.”
Nic waves
Lately, there seems to be a trend going on in themed weddings. The Monopoly wedding, the Enchanted Forest wedding; I’ve even seen a Star Wars wedding (and all I can say to that is, wow, the bride must really have wanted to close the deal with that guy!).
The official theme for Scott and Seema’s wedding is, and I quote, “Let’s try not to piss anyone off too badly.” I suspect other couples, particularly those where the fiancés are from different cultures or observe different religious traditions, have been in their position.
Scott comes from a nonpracticing Protestant family. You know, they celebrate Christmas, but not so much that they trek out to midnight mass in Connecticut in the middle of a snowstorm in December. Their Easter has to do more with a candy-bearing lagomorph than an everlasting deity. The only wings associated with Sundays are chicken and made to be eaten while watching football. We all know the type. Personally, I am the type.
Naturally, Scott’s mother insisted on a full-blown Christian wedding, complete with a minister, a white dress, and a sermon.
Seema is a third-generation American of Indian descent who was raised Hindu, and in her family’s case that just means that she has a few Ganesha and tealights in her kitchen for a small shrine, and that she celebrates holidays such as Diwali (Indian New Year). But I don’t remember her ever going to temple. Plus she gets to eat meat. (Her dad is Punjabi, and they eat meat.) She grew up in Arizona, puts up a Christmas tree every year, and has attended more than her share of Easters, Passovers, and Hanukkahs.
Since both of Seema’s parents were born and raised in the States, and since they don’t go to temple either, naturally Seema is having a full-blown Indian wedding that’s going to include a henna ceremony, a one-hour ceremony in Sanskrit, several bridal dresses that were made in India, a mandap (the wedding canopy), and a white horse.
This has been fine with me, as I actually get to wear a cool maid-of-honor dress, as opposed to some of the hideous bridesmaid’s frocks I’ve been forced to wear in the past. I mean, what is it with brides and colors like Spam Pink or Sea World Aqua, not to mention the fixation on satin or tulle? Who was the first bride who passive-aggressively hated her maid of honor so much that she decided to wrap her in an explosion of taffeta?
My outfit is a beautiful blue silk, hand-beaded choli (which is a midriff-baring top), and matching lehenga (a free-flowing skirt) that she had made for me in Mumbai. Nic gets to wear a gold silk choli and lehenga with gold embroidery and beading and looks like motherhood personified with her eight-month-pregnant belly ever-so-slightly peeking out of the ensemble.
Their wedding has gone from a small affair for close friends and family to a three-day celebration featuring two different ceremonies—an Indian one during the daytime on Saturday, followed by a Christian one Saturday evening, a rehearsal dinner/henna ceremony the Friday before, and a brunch on Sunday at which they will serve everything from eggs Benedict, bacon, and sausage to Pongal, vada, dosa, aloo sabzi, and nan.
For the most part, people are getting along pretty well, and the wedding is going to be exquisite. I’ve never seen two people so happy while planning their wedding and I’m sure it will go off without a hitch.
But their theme still means that we have to be extrasensitive about Seema’s bridal shower.
“Unfortunately, Seema’s Aunt Hema is coming, so we have to be G-rated,” Nic explains to Jeff.
“And yet thread-the-needle seems like a good idea,” Jeff reminds her.
“The shower’s in less than six hours, and I’m clutching at straws,” Nic admits defensively. “Other than the cake pull, Mel has nixed all of my other ideas.”
“I never agreed to the cake pull,” I remind Nic. “Not after what happened last time.”
Nic waves
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