Emerging from a wedding daze

Julie and I show off our henna (photo stolen from Julie)

Well, it’s been a non-stop week! Early last week, I was busily getting work done in anticipation of taking some time off and the July 4th holiday. Half of the week had been set aside for festivities related to my good friend R’s wedding (I’ve decided to censor unique names here and there, just for my friends’ privacy). Wednesday afternoon was the mehndi, or henna. R got elaborate designs on her hands and feet, and most of the rest of us ladies got a simple design on the back of our right hand.

Here’s a shot of a bunch of us (who all went to high school together) and the bride (in red) (photo also stolen from Julie):

Thursday night was the sangeet at a waterfront hotel on the East side. There was drinking and eating, and then some singing and a LOT of dancing. There were three choreographed dances (one with little kids, one with a handful of R’s girlfriends, and one with about five adult couples), and then the guests were turned loose on the dance floor.

M and I took advantage of the open bar (photo stolen from M)..

Oh, and on the right is a shot of me with one of the groom’s cousins from London (thanks M, for snapping it). He had, of course, the great British accent, along with a really deep voice. Plus he was very good looking, and seemed to have a good sense of style the one time I saw him in Western-style clothes. We chatted a couple times at various events, but sadly, that was the extent of our romance.

Thursday afternoon was a relatives/wedding-party July 4th BBQ up in Everett (I guess since I staffed the gift table, I was an outlying member of the wedding party). It was a beautiful backyard, and beautiful weather, though the sporadic winds kept sending paper plates and napkins flying across the lawn. I cruised out of the BBQ in the early evening to give a tried friend a ride home (she’d flown in from New York in the wee hours of that morning) and then stopped by my parents’ for a quick dinner. Then it was off to Julie’s for a mellow evening in — snacks and “The Hunting Party” (which I never really got into).

Finally…Saturday was the day of the wedding, which was held downtown. We got there a little early, and since we weren’t going to be getting any food or drink until 6:30 (it was 4:10 when we arrived), we stopped at a Starbucks to get some snacks to tide us over. We headed across the street to the hotel right at 4:30, assuming we’d be in time to see the groom arrive on the traditional white steed, in all its finery, but we unfortunately just missed him. We did see the horse being led off, though. I bet all the tourists and shoppers were quite confused!

The wedding itself was very elegant. It was a bit overwhelming in sheer size — 400 guests!! — and the ceremony went a bit long at nearly an hour and a half. But the alcohol was a-flowin’ (several open bars), and I had a great time reconnecting with high school friends and some out-of-towners I hadn’t seen in some time. At the end of the night, there was, of course, yet more dancing!

I was supposed to go on a long (11 mile) hike with Chrissy the next morning, but it was about 12:30 a.m. by the time we finally saw the newly marrieds off, so I told Chrissy, who was also at the wedding, that I was going to pass. Good thing, too — I didn’t pull myself out of bed until 11 the next morning! But I think some four-odd hours of dancing the week prior will make up for having bailed..