Attended an Indian wedding as a foreigner. Here’s my experience.

So this happened last year but I was too lazy to type this out back then.<br><br>Some backstory: I met my friend Nishant( fake name) in 2017 when he was an exchange student in my country( South Korea). We bonded over our love of Kpop and Indian food and have been friends ever since. <br><br>Flash forward to 2019, Nishant asks me if I’d like to attend his sister’s wedding in India. I had already planned a trip to India sometime in 2020 so this was the perfect excuse to move it up. After a month of planning, buying my first suit and getting my visa, I was on my way to India.<br><br>I first spent a few days in Delhi sightseeing and just acclimating myself to the chaotic Indian environment. I met a few of Nishant’s family there but they were all heading to a different city for the wedding.<br><br>After 3 days in Delhi, I took a 5 hour flight to the city of Guwahati where I was picked up by Nishant himself. He took me to the hotel where all his family was staying. I felt a little awkward at first but they all made me feel at home. They were very curious about South Korea so I was happy to answer any questions they had. <br><br>The next morning, we set off for the town where the wedding was taking place. It was an hour long drive into the countryside away from all the chaos of the city. The venue was absolutely amazing, it was in the middle of a huge field surrounded by trees. There were already some people there and they were all staring at me. I assumed it was because I was the only foreigner around but Nishant told me it was because I was wearing a suit in 30°C weather. <br><br>After a few hours, I met the bride and groom to be. I had met the groom before in Delhi. The bride was very nervous but she seemed to relax after a while. I answered even more questions about South Korea and Kpop in general. <br><br>The rest of the day was spent just relaxing and taking pictures with random relatives. I saw the wedding decorations being set up and it looked amazing. The wedding was going to be a mix of traditional Indian and modern style. <br><br>The day of the wedding came. There was a lot of confusion in the morning about what I should be wearing. In the end, most of the men were wearing traditional Indian clothes so Nishant’s dad lent me his traditional clothes to wear. <br><br>After getting ready, we headed to the venue. The first ceremony was in a hall and it was very confusing. I had no idea what was going on but it was still interesting to watch. During a speech, they mentioned how I had travelled from a distant land and everyone stared at me again so I waved awkwardly.<br><br>After the hall ceremony, we headed to the actual wedding location. It was a traditional Indian wedding location with tents and marquees around it. There was even an elephant. I thought it was a bit weird but it was also very cool. <br><br>I spent the rest of the day taking pictures with random people again. I was mistaken for a photographer at some point. I<br> didn’t have to wait too long for the actual ceremony to start. It was the perfect time because by the time it got dark, the ceremony had started and the lights looked amazing. <br><br>The ceremony itself was very interesting. I grasped the basics of it but it went on for a few hours. There was a buffet dinner throughout the whole ceremony and I think I ate my weight in Indian food. <br><br>After the ceremony, we headed back to the hotel where I passed out from exhaustion. <br><br>The next day, we set off back to Guwahati and had a big reception there. I met even more relatives and answered even more questions. <br><br>The day after, Nishant took me back to the airport and I left India. I was sad that my trip had ended but also happy that I got to experience an Indian wedding. <br><br>Edit: I forget to mention that the big elephant ears head thing I’m wearing is called a Momo. It’s a traditional costume from the state of Assam and the elephant ears are supposed to bring good luck.