Hindu wedding in Minto, NSW

8th November, 2010

This weekend saw us at the Hindu wedding of the very smiley Shanal and Richa at the Mukti Gupteshwar Mandir in Minto. The Mandir is a large airy building with excellent facilities and sits on expansive green grounds with manicured gardens and a picturesque fountain. The wedding commenced with Shanal mounting a beautifully adorned white horse and making a circuit of the long loop driveway to the dancing merriment of hundreds of his closest friends and family.

A great haggle ensued for right of entry to the wedding Mandap during which time Shanal’s shoes disappeared before reappearing after the wedding for the grand sum of $60 each to a delighted gaggle of very hard bargaining women. The Hindu wedding ceremony lasted one hour and a half before 3 bollywood style dances by family instigated a spontaneous open dance floor and some upbeat moves by the bride and groom to the delight of all 500 guests. A vegetarian buffet for 500 came next before the bride and groom were congratulated by guests and made an emotional exit via a human tunnel - aka Doli, Indian style.