The ceremony will take place under a canopy-like structure called a mandap. A Hindu priest will officiate and numerous relatives perform specific roles under his guidance. The bride and groom will be seated in front of the priest for most of the ceremony. The priest will recite verses in Sanskrit, but will also provide English explanations of the rituals. The ceremony will involve Gujarati customs, as Amee's family is originally from the state of Gujarat in India. More detailed information will be available in our wedding program.
For the actual wedding day, dress will be formal. You will see many people wearing Indian outfits like salwar kameez or saris, and don't be surprised if people change between the ceremony and the reception. And if you prefer, you can choose to wear semi-formal attire to the wedding. Suits and dresses are more than welcome!
Yes! Indian clothing is encouraged for everyone. Avoid wearing all black or white as these not considered appropriate for celebration. For both events we recommend: Garba Women: Garga Choli Men: Kurtas Pyjama set Wedding ceremony: Women: Wedding Lehenga Men: Sherwani top (can wear khakis or slacks with nice shoes underneath)
Absolutely not! Garba is a night of energetic and playful dancing that commonly takes place before weddings. Garba is a typical Gujarati folk dance that everyone can participate in. You don't even know how to dance - we'll teach you the basics. The steps are easy to learn, and it's fun to watch even if you're not the dancing type! Garba is done solo and involves rhythmic steps in a circular form. There are simple versions that involve repeating a short sequence of steps, or more complex versions that require a little coordination. Different groups of people are doing different things simultaneously, so it is easy to jump in wherever you're comfortable. Each song is quite long (about 30 minutes) but you don't have to do it continuously - people leave and join all the time. The music starts off slow, but speeds up as time goes on so things get fun and crazy at the end.
At the Garba, we recommend wearing clothes that you'll feel comfortable moving around in. For the ladies, a full-length dress or skirt would work well, as long as it's not so tight that it restricts movement. Slacks and shirts for guys are fine. Garba is generally done barefoot, so skip the stockings and hose and bring shoes you don't mind taking off and leaving in a corner somewhere. If you want to wear traditional outfits, then women wear Ghagra Choli, a colourful three-piece dress, which consists of a blouse, skirt and dupatta. Check out some Ghagra Cholis you can buy at Karma Place in this link: https://www.karmaplace.com/collections/ghagra-choli Men usually wear a Kurta Pyjamas set. You can find links to purchase those here: https://www.karmaplace.com/collections/mens-kurta-pyjama
If you are local to Atlanta, we recommend Ladlee, an Indian clothing store in Global Mall. You can find the link here: https://www.ladlee.com/ For anyone interested in ordering online, we recommend a few places. Here are the links: https://www.karmaplace.com/ https://www.cbazaar.com/ https://www.lashkaraa.com/ https://www.sareesbazaar.com/ https://www.kalkifashion.com/
Here is a breakdown of food for the weekend: Friday Garba There will be vegetarian Indian street foods and non Indian options such as pani puri and a Mexican station. Saturday wedding ceremony Traditional vegetarian Gujurati food will be served for lunch. Don't worry it will be less spicy than you expect! Saturday Reception There will be both non-vegetarian and vegetarian Indian food options along with desserts.