Hello,
I just got back from my trip to India where I had a Hindu wedding with this (bahut sunder) woman:
Needless to say, I'm a very lucky man, but in case I didn't know, I was told repeatedly of my ability to get more than I deserve out of life. But enough of this, you're here to hear about the wedding.
First, it started with my family arriving in India and being treated like royalty by my new family: 
We were put up at an expensive hotel and had every expense paid for. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Indian culture, the guest is afforded a status near demigodness, new in-laws especially. We did not have a want for anything. For example, Tim was trying to change some money at the hotel. Obviously the hotel does not give a very good rate and when my Chacha (uncle) found out, he boomed commandingly "I am your banker" and gave Tim a much better deal, the details of which I'll leave between them. In general, if you asked for anything it was in front of you (with probably much more than you asked) in seconds. Its really quite amazing to see and experience.
Our first full day in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), my Chacha took us site seeing. The first site to see, the roads: 
Luckily it was Sunday and traffic was minimal, giving us a chance to get used to it before we experience the real thing the next day. Honestly, the streets are one of my favorite things to see in India, especially Kolkatta. Basically there are just a few minor changes to our rules which include: 1. Never stop, 2. Honk so people know you exist because when you take that turn you're going to follow rule #1, 3. Drive on the left side of the road (like the British). Once you get used to those three rules everything tends to make sense. The driving is really intense because of it and despite the fact that you almost never stop, you never get to go more than 30 mph because you basically have to assume someones going to try to hit you every 5 seconds. Otherwise, great fun. I think next year I'm going to give it a try.
Our first real thing to see was the Victoria Memorial. This was basically a tribute to queen Victoria. When the British ruled India Calcutta was the capital and we basically got to see a lot of older government buildings they had made. Here is my parents and I with my Chacha, his wife, and his sister: 
The next few places they took us to we were not allowed to take pictures or wear shoes in. They were very adamant about that. Taking off your shoes is the manner in which you show respect. The first site we saw was a landlord's home full of statues and paintings. Its just like Xanadu in Citizen Kane. The place also had a private zoo.
We also saw a famous local artist's house, the outside of their giant Cricket stadium, Mother Teresa's orphanage (some of the healthiest kids we saw were here, they do a very good job), and a Krishna temple. All very interesting, and I made the observation that the Krishna temple was the exact opposite of the Kali temple. The first being grand, clean, spacious, and pretty and the other even more interesting for its lack of all those things. Also along the way we had some coconut. Its funny because I remember having it as a kid and liking it, but I HATE coconut in chocolate and things like that. Once we had this stuff I realized I really do like coconut, I just don't like dry shavings of it.
Next we took the train to Jamshedpur. Its about a four hour train ride and we had great fun. It was the first time we all had a chance to be together and talk and laugh and we did plenty of both. I was especially proud of Mary Kay who got up and joined our Indian hosts by herself. That initiative cemented their fond feelings for her. 
We arrived in Jamshedpur which is where Priya's parents live. The town was basically started by Tata Steel to put up their steel factories. As such, the amenities tend to be better than most towns its size because a steel factory needs good roads and electricity. Plus Tata as a company tends to be very supportive of its community.
Before the wedding there are days of pre wedding ceremonies. We crunched them down into about 2 days. Now how Indians show reverence is quite a bit different from how American's show it. Basically in America you shut up and don't talk. In India you take off your shoes and every once in a while cover your head. The big difference between the two: India is much more fun. All these ceremonies are basically one big excuse to come together to laugh and talk. And laugh we all did. 
These early ceremonies were great. Dad at some point brought out his balloons and started making balloon animals. This broke a lot of ice and pretty soon everyone there was acting out their inner child trying to blow up a balloon themselves. Daniel took out his caricature tools and started drawing everyone. Everybody was loving it. Honestly, I've never seen two families connect and come together so quickly and thoroughly as Priya's and mine did.
The ceremonies, once explained, tend to make a lot of sense. There is one where they teach the bride, symbolically, how to cook. Another one explaining how to farm. The best one is where they give the bride and groom a bath. I went first in this ritual. Basically they have four oil/spices things and each member of the family wipes them onto your body in four steps: your feet, your legs, your shoulders, and your head. Now its largely symbolic so you can just dab the 4 points. But... you can also be really nasty if you want and put the brush just about anywhere as long as you hit the 4 points. Lucky for me I went first so my family didn't know how devilish they could be, but they still managed to get me good. This stuff stings when it touches skin: 
Mehendi (Henna) is another fun part of the wedding. Pretty much all the women get these temporary tatoos done and the groom gets is as well. Basically they put on this dark green paste on your hands like you would icing on a cake. You leave it on for an hour or two then scrape it off. The Mehendi gets darker for the next days or so, then maintains for a least a week (more like 2). Mary Kay, Amanda, and I all got it done:
Another major, major event was a cocktail party we had the night before the wedding. About 100-150 people showed up all dressed for a 007 film. For a touch of irony, I HATE getting dressed up in general and as a child gave my family hell whenever I had to. So it only makes sense that at my wedding I made everyone get dressed up the most: 
The party went fantastically. There was a DJ and a dance floor. At first no one was using it, people were just talking and having a drink. Then after about 30 minutes, Grandpa had enough. He grabs his cane, walks up to the dance floor, throws down the can and shows us his moves. Seriously, you there was NO way to not dance after that. The whole family went up and we basically danced all night. It was Hindi music which, while new to use Americans, is highly danceable music. The night went through and at one point Priya's brother, Paritosh, gets the DJ to put on this love song and sneakily tells everyone else to get off the dance floor. It was just Priya and me dancing alone with everyone staring at us:
The wedding doesn't start until night time, so after a few ceremonies in the morning, we were all given time to prepare. We had sari's for all the women and suits for all the men. I'd be wearing what's called a Shervani, and Priya would be wearing a Ghagra that weighed about 40 pounds. She needed help everywhere she walked. Everything is setup to make us look like a prince and princess. I leaved it up to you to decide if they succeeded: 
The way the wedding starts is there is a procession for the groom (opposite of America where the bride comes last) called the Barat. Basically I sit on a horse and my family stands in front of me and dances and we head to the wedding. What was great was since we were so few, lots of Priya's family came to help and dance with us. They basically felt like I was part of their side of the family already and made no distinction between which functions to enjoy. There were also a set of Punjab dancers to help lead the way. This part was easily one of my favorites. After sitting on the horse and see all these people dance, I had a strange desire to join them. When I got down, Grandpa was there to greet me and he started dancing. I can't help but join him. Then people quickly run to me and tell me I shouldn't dance, since everyone is dancing for me. I sheepishly stopped.
I'm lead to this Gazebo with chairs and made to sit, with my family sitting next to me. Then they bring my bride. This is the first time we've seen each other in our clothes. I just have this huge smile on my face. Priya's doing the same, except they keep telling her to look shy, so you see her switch between the two constantly. We do this little ceremony where we put a garland on each other. But, keeping with the "Weddings are fun" Indian way, when you try to put it on, the other family tries to lift the person to keep you from doing it. But luckily the Bride and Groom were a little too quick and eager. Once that was done, we sit in front and everyone at the wedding comes and greets us. I had a lot of fun here. I would do a quick Namaste with my hands together, then shake their hands American style saying Shookria or thanks when they gave Priya a little gift.
This is the part when everyone eats. There were 250 different dishes at the wedding. Even more amazing is they were all vegetarian. Vegetarians in the US have a lot to learn about variety. I didn't get to eat much as it was my wedding, but from what I heard everyone else say, the food was excellent.
Next comes the main wedding event, where Priya and I take vows and walk around a holy fire. First, look at the tent they made for this:
For this part there were lots of little rituals that I don't understand. Basically I just had to keep my hand out, and they would put things in my right hand, say a little prayer or something, then I would dump the contents into an appropriate pile. The priest was great fun. He didn't understand English, but he was clever and knew how to explain things to me. Through out these rituals a little fire is built, which is the holy fire Priya and I walk around:
We also took our vows. This was a lot of fun. The vows are first read in Sanskrit, then the priest translates in Hindi, then Priya or her father translates it in English. Everyone noticed how Priya was very good at outlining my vows in English, but didn't seem to care to much when it came to hers. And with each vows came joking from the crowd. Priya's sister at one point drags here husband into the tent saying, "Here, I know you've forgotten yours, listen!" Overall great fun, though some of the vows are obviously out of date, the gist of the vows were solid.
After we walk around the fire, Priya sits on my left instead of my right, and that's supposed to be significant. I then take some Sindoor and put it on her forehead. Its a red powder and they put it right on the part of the hair. This signifies that she's married. In fact, here is a quick list of things woman have to do to show they are married: {Wear bangles, wear earrings, wear a bindi (the red dot on the forehead), put Sindoor in the part of the hair, wear a sari (the first few days at least), and wear a necklace called the Mangalsutra}. Here is a quick list of what guys have to wear: {}.
After this ceremony, there was a fun little thing where my shoes got stolen. Basically when I go to the fire I have to take off my shoes. My side of the family is supposed to protect those shoes and the girls side is supposed to try to steal them. Given how clueless my family was, the protection phase of the game was very short lived. When it was time to leave I can't go without the shoes, so they bargain with me for them. Since I want to leave, I ultimately have to pay. I had about 60 dollars on me and these two girls got to split the money: 
At this point Priya and I try to eat some food. This is fun because the bride and groom don't get to do this normally, but Priya and I never do anything normally. Since everyone else was done with the food, we had a swarm of waiters around us. I didn't want anything so I'm constantly saying no to their proposals, until one of them brings a chocolate cake. I obviously look like I want it, so before I can say yes, I have 20 different sweets on my plate. Great fun. After this there were a few more ceremonies involving my parents and Priya's parents (pictured here):
Finally the end of the wedding. This part is called the Vidai. Basically what normally happens is the bride's side starts crying as they are losing their daughter. There is a famous song that typically plays at this point that even outside of a wedding would make the parents of a daughter cry. At our wedding, the Vidai was all laughter. Priya kept cracking jokes. When the daughter gets in the car, the family typically gives her some money as a last minute, "hope you're going to be alright" gesture. When Priya gets in the car she's like, "Okay I'm leaving, give me money" and everyone cracks up (and no one gives her money). We left the wedding first, but they were sneaky and told our driver to take the long route. We get back to the hotel last, and my family is blocking my door way not letting us get in. This is another Indian tradition, where the family asks me for money before they let us in (and in general just give us a hard time). I refused to pay given I lost all my money with the shoes they were supposed to guard. Eventually they broke down and let us in (its about 3am at this point). Still we got a few calls afterwards from Priya's sister, teasing us for our first night alone.
Overall the event was great, great fun. The pictures I used were the one's Tim took. There will be more pictures from the official photographer at some point, but I just wanted to give everyone a quick summary of the wedding. You can see more of Tim's photos here: