We were thrilled to be chosen as one of three South Coast Wedding Venues to play a part in, what can only be described as, a wedding extravaganza. This week long, Indian wedding festival, brought friends and family from ten different countries together on the NSW South Coast to celebrate the marriage of Sahib and Sanna.
To kick things off they held a cocktail party at Jaspers in Berry. This was a night aimed at bringing everyone together to focus on celebration, music, singing and dancing. Essentially a “big old party” to set the tone for the week.
Next came a Haldi ceremony which took place at Bush Bank in Kiama. The Haldi ceremony is a significant pre-wedding event and ritual in almost every Indian regional wedding. The Haldi ceremony involves covering the bride and groom in turmeric paste. In Indian customs turmeric’s bright yellow colour is seen as highly promising. The Haldi ceremony blesses the couple’s new life together with prosperity. (It is for this reason that the bride and groom wear yellow attire on their wedding day). For Sahib and Sanna this ritual started seriously but graduated to high jinks with the whole bridal party using yellow paste on each other! The evening moved on to Mehendi (henna). Henna is associated with positive spirits and good luck. Indian tradition calls for a Mehndi ceremony to be held the night before the wedding as a way of wishing the bride good health and prosperity.
And that brings us to Eleven Eighty! We were delighted to be asked to host the Anand Karaj; the traditional Sikh wedding ceremony, emphasizing equality and spiritual union. It was a sight to behold. The guests and the bridal party dressed in traditional Indian clothes. Think lots of colour, flowers and jewels. Sahib and Sanna wanted their traditional wedding to take place outside rather than in a temple and using Shagun Events to style, they went to the next level in dressing our gardens for this special event
The traditional ceremony went for a number of hours. After a relaxed canape lunch provided by JJ’s of Kiama, all the guests and the bridal parties retired to their accommodation for a rest before getting their “glam on” for the evening’s celebration. Electric Korma provided the Bollywood classics and Andy V Music packed out the dance floor. Cake by Adriana Manfredi
Thank you Sahib and Sanna. It was just a fantastic experience to host your beautiful wedding and for us to learn more about your culture.