In early March I hopped on a plane for the hour long flight to Kochi. I have now been to India two times. Both times to the southern city of Kochi, in Kerala, and both times for a wedding. My friends Sheila and Luv really outdid themselves and the 3 day event was filled with nonstop eating, drinking, dancing and picturesque sunsets over the bay. Their wedding truly lived up to every image I ever had for a grand Indian wedding.

With its beautiful tropical weather, old world colonial footprint, bustling port and picturesque bay, amazing sunsets, and laid back locals, Kochi offered the perfect backdrop for the wedding.

Here is a glimpse of what was a perfect weekend.

The crafty marketing for the “Bar” almost lured me away from the pre-wedding luncheon in the historic district of Kochi.

Having resisted the bar, I arrived at Menorah to eat wonderful Southern Indian food. The area is filled with remnants of a once thriving Jewish community (now numbering 3 since everyone left for Israel)

Across the street Chinese fishing nets line the beach as local fishermen use rocks as counter weights to pull up their catch

The beach

Content

Preparations for the wedding

Waiting to greet the bride

The floor of one of the shrines…just one stop in a long and complicated wedding process

The backdrop

My friend Sham and I in our South Asian tropical weather wedding bests

The groom and his family arrived in a boat dancing and drumming their way to shore (no they are not in the tanker)

The music and dancing countinuted as they made their way to the brides “side”

The groom’s side begins the dance off

Press play to see and HEAR the Dance Off

The bride’s side joins in

Just as the wedding started my pictures ended. The 2 hour long ceremony with a crowd of people surrounding the happy couple made it impossible to get a good view let alone a good picture. However, true to form the wedding was wonderful and the merrymaking lasted until the next morning.

With no wedding planned for Kochi in the future, hopefully my next blog entry on India will be for somewhere new!

Wedding in Kochi, India is a post from: Todd's Wanderings