Jan. 2 - The big day

Sugith calls to wish us a happy new year & see what we’re up to.

After running some errands in the morning, we spend the whole afternoon getting ready for the wedding. The hair & make-up woman arrives around noon with a fleet of helpers. They also get us dressed. It takes over 30 minutes for one guy to wrap and pin the sari fabric into place on me (it seems like it would be simple, but don’t try this one at home!) The photographer takes a few group shots of the entire bridal party and then it’s time to get started.

Michael & Shani have a traditional Buddhist wedding ceremony. The altar where the ceremony takes place is a wooden platform called the poruwa. Shani’s cousin Heron is an architect, and he designed the poruwa for this ceremony.

The poruwa.