AFTER THE CEREMONY: ALL TOGETHER!

At most Sri Lankan weddings, regardless of the couple's ethnicity or religious background, there is a "settee" or couch where the bridal couple sits together and poses for photographs following the ceremony. Here, traditional group photos are taken of the couple, the wedding party, and the couple with their families and any other important guests. Thus, the "settee" has a central position in Sri Lankan wedding receptions, and is decorated with elaborate floral displays called "settee backs". These comprise a good portion of a couple's wedding floral budget!

This was not the case in the past, when couples just sat at the settee following the ceremony and were served wedding cake and drinks, which they would then feed to each other. In recent years, however, floral "settee backs" have become increasingly bigger and grander, a development that seems to overwhelm the simple significance of the setting, itself: a place where the newlyweds share the first symbolic rites of feeding each other and standing together with their families.

I do have to say, however, that I loved both our settee, an antique provided by the florist, and our settee-back, which was created using large Asiatic lillies and coconut palm branches to evoke Sri Lanka's lush and beautiful tropical landscape. These stood in tall, glass vases where lillies were also submerged in the water. It was breathtaking! I wished I could just sit there for hours and hours.

Here we are at the settee, posing with our wedding party:


Here is a separate photo of the settee, by itself. I wanted this image to remember this beautiful creation:


Now, whenever I see pictures of Asiatic lillies, it reminds me of our wedding!

FOLLOWING THE CEREMONY: LIGHTING THE OIL LAMP

Immediately following the Poruwa Ceremony, the bride and groom hold hands and step down off the Poruwa together, and then go and light the traditional oil lamp or "Pahana". The lighting of this oil lamp is a part of almost all ceremonies in Sri Lanka, whether at weddings or at other events with audiences (such as business luncheons, professional get-togethers, etc.). We lit an oil lamp following our engagement and marriage registration ceremony, as well as at our Homecoming.

The "lamp" for our wedding was different, however. The reception florists were Asoka's cousins on his mother's side, and they did an absolutely stunning job at our wedding. Like pretty much everyone in Asoka's mother's family, they have an amazing artistic sense and creative flair, and it was his cousin Shirani Akki who suggested that, instead of the traditional brass rooster or "kukula" lamp, she could design a structure that resembled a little tree, hung over with little glass candleholders with tealights that we could light the same way we would the wicks in an oil lamp. I thought this was a grand idea! I saw the actual creation on our wedding day, and it just blew me away! It looked like a little tree, with coconut frond branches at the top and clusters of leaves and flowers all over. Here we are, lighting it:

The little page boys had a ball running around and through the "pahana", chasing each other as the drummers played and we lit the candles. It was so memorable!

I loved the "lamp" so much that I begged Dammika to please take photos of it, so that I could always remember it. He obliged, and here is a picture of it, by itself:

I particular adore the little cluster of lillies on the top!

The flowers at our reception were one of the most gorgeous and memorable highlights of our wedding. I will always remember them!

HOTEL PHOTOS

On our album, our wedding photographer Dammika De Alwis alternated photos of the ceremony with group shots taken in both the hotel lobby and grounds. I thought that was a great way of arranging the images, so that seemed like a good idea to do on this blog, as well. Here goes ...

This wonderful group shot was taken by one end of the pool. I love how happy we all look!


This is one of my favorite group shots, taken in the covered lobby of the hotel. I love the placement of all members of the bridal party:


This was an accidental shot, taken right at the moment when everyone relaxed and laughed! It's one of my favorite images of my family members:

Background, L-R: Loku Maama (mother's elder brother), Ravi Maama (my aunt Shiromi's husband), me, my mother, Erin Punchi (mother's younger sister) and Shiro Punchi (mother's youngest sister, and mother of my bridesmaid Chivanthi as well as grandmother of flowergirl Dushaakya!); Forgeround: my grandmother

This photo captures the warm golden light of the hotel lobby really well; I love how the mirror reflects everything in the background:


These are some more of my favorite hotel photos, and every time I look at them I feel thankful that we booked the Taj Samudra for our wedding. Not only were the lobby and grounds really beautiful, but it was also very convenient for our guests, who did not have to drive out of their way to come to our wedding.

When we set out to book a hotel, we found that almost all the ones in Colombo proper had been booked for over a year! This is because Auspicious days are the most popular for weddings among Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka, akin to Saturday evenings in June here in the U.S.! However, we were able to book the smaller "On Golden Pond" hall at the Taj because our wedding, with less than 200 guests, is very small by Sri Lankan standards, and thus, the smaller reception halls are not snapped up as quickly as the bigger ones. Another thing is that smaller halls are usually very utilitarian and not anywhere near as pretty as the bigger halls. On Golden Pond has the almost unheard-of combination of charm (with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out into the gorgeous gardens), beauty and coziness. I felt very lucky that it was available on our day!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MR. & MRS. OBAMA!

Here's a lovely photo from their wedding 16 years ago:



I wish them a long and happy life together, and I hope Asoka and I can be as happy as the two of them. What an inspiration!

THE GIVING OF GIFTS

Another important part of the Poruwa Ceremony is giving gifts to parents and other, elder family members. The bride's mother is given the first gift, a length of fabric with the traditional bundle of betel leaves atop the gift box:



Since Asoka's mother passed away, his aunt (his mother's elder sister) stood in for her, and here we're giving her the gift that is given to the groom's mother. I love the rich detail of her sari, in this photo.

WATER

The photos of our uncles pouring water on our tied fingers are among my favorite images of the Poruwa Ceremony. I particularly love this shot, taken from beneath! I think it's a novel angle and a warm, evocative image.



I also love this close-up shot of the water streaming from the jug onto our tied fingers. The details of the burnished jug and the jewel-like liquid are really wonderful!

TYING THE KNOT ... LITERALLY!

The most important part of the Poruwa Ceremony is when the couple's little fingers are tied together with a thread by their maternal uncles, who then proceed to pour water from a little jug on their knot-tied fingers. This is an ancient ritual, variations of which are found in many different cultures.



I love this photo, taken from my father's camera, of the two uncles tying our fingers together! Asoka's uncle is in the foreground, with his back to the camera, while my uncle can be seen turned sideways. Both our uncles were our mothers' elder brothers. I was soooo thrilled that my uncle could come to Sri Lanka from Canada to perform this ritual, for me. I wanted no-one else but him to do so!