An Indian Wedding

For all of the fathers out there that complain about the cost of their daughter’s weddings just count your blessings you don’t live in India.

Indian weddings are spectacular. No expense is spared, and it’s common for many families to take out loans to host proper celebrations. A typical wedding seems to be something out of a novel or fairytale – they stretch over several days and will include hundreds of people that travel from all over the country or world for the celebration.

In July of 2011 two of my friends are getting married in Bangalore. He is French and she is the eldest daughter of a very prominent local family. By all indications their wedding is going to be the super bowl of ceremonies.

This past weekend I accompanied them to see the site her father has chosen for the event. Let me begin by saying I had read about the place in guidebooks.

The wedding is taking place at the Bangalore Palace – a replica of England’s Windsor Castle built over several decades in the late 1800s upon 454 acres of manicured grounds.


We arrived in the early evening and the castle was lit up like it was the backdrop of a climatic scene in a Hollywood love story. It’s a moving place and will surely make for an incredible setting for the wedding. It’s also worth mentioning there probably wasn’t another site in the city large enough – they are expecting at least 2,000 people.

Frankly, I can’t wait. This should be the event of the year and there are rumors that the bride and groom will be arriving on elephants. I have got my fingers crossed.