Indian Wedding At The Sikh Temple.

We were lucky enough to be invited by an old school friend of Greig's to his wedding at the Sikh temple in our town. The newly built Sikh temple is the largest in the UK, we can actually see the domed tops which glow multi colours from our bedroom window. It is a stunning building and I've been dying to get a closer look so I was really looking forward to the wedding that was on Monday.

We had being to the pre wedding party on Saturday which was like the wedding reception but before the actual wedding. There was a 3 course meal that was so yummy and a lot of alcohol, a bottle of Vodka, Bacardi and Jack Daniels on every table! The music was provided by Desi Vibes and everyone danced the whole night long, it was fun and welcoming and we had a fantastic time. 

The wedding however would be a little different as no meat or alcohol is allowed in the temple. As we arrived we wandered around the outside of the temple where all the guests congregated awaiting the arrival of the groom. Luckily it was a lovely day and I managed to get some beautiful pictures outside the building. Greig was given a pink tie, bandana and rose that symbolised that he was a part of the grooms party, I had a floor length dress that covered my legs and a scarf to cover my hair for when we were in the prayer room. 

The groom arrived in a white Rolls Royce and all his guests walked with the car up to the main entrance where the meeting of the families took place. Once inside we sat down in the dining hall and had a casual breakfast/snack of samosas, pakoras, tea and juice. Afterwards we took our shoes off, covered our heads and entered the prayer room where the wedding ceremony took place. All guests are to sit on the floor throughout and the whole ritual lasted about an hour. 

Afterwards we had appetisers and drinks in the foyer before going back into the dining hall for a 3 course meal and live music consisting of a sitar and drums. Several large dishes of vegetarian food was placed on every table to serve yourself and it was constantly being refilled once nearly empty. The food was delicious we had vegetable curry, rice, dahl, salad, curried paneer and flat breads followed by eggless wedding cake. 

Overall the day was lovely and it was great to experience traditions of another culture, they sure do know how to look after their guests! Here are just a few pictures I took from the day.