Royal India

The rehearsal of my older brother’s wedding occurred on Thursday, August 7 at the chapel at Bastyr University, the site of the wedding.  To get there from our townhouse on Lake City Way we drove northeast up and around Lake Washington and turned south through Bothell and eventually into Kenmore, WA.  It took us more time than expected due to rush hour traffic.  We arrived five minutes after the 5:30 appointment time.

Bastyr University is a college of alternative medicine located in a state park.  The campus used to be a monastery and seminary for Catholic monks.  On the way through the park we saw a sign giving directions to a concert.  The chapel is very large with a high ceiling.  Large copper-plated doors open to the interior.  Its pews face each other rather than forward and are elevated so that everyone can see the aisle clearly.  Stained glass windows depicting Biblical scenes line the sides.  It has a large altar with the image behind of a sun in copper relief rather than a crucifix.  Perhaps this reflects the chapel’s current secular affiliation with the college.

The officiant for the wedding ceremony was in charge of the rehearsal.  He was very tall, probably taller than anyone else there so it seemed natural to follow his direction.  He was a non-denominational Christian minister.  We started by getting in a circle and going around introducing ourselves and stating our affiliation with the bride or groom.  My uncle stated that he was the official family “toaster” as in one who gives toasts.  Later someone jokingly asked him what kind of toast he made and he answered, “Rye bread with raisins.”  We then went through an abridged version of the ceremony starting with the part after we would have entered and taken our positions.  The officiant would shorten his speeches with “blah-blah” that made some parts sound humorous.  We had to figure some things out such as how we would position our hands.  We also had to work around the fact that all three of the bridesmaids and one of the groomsmen weren’t there.  The best man taught us how to go up and down the steps by stepping on each step with both feet since the bridesmaids we would be escorting would be wearing heels.  I mostly just stood during the practice ceremony enjoying one of the best views of it.  The best man, maid of honor, parents, readers, veil, cord, and coins sponsors, and the bride and groom had much more to do.  We then practiced the recessional where we walked out of the chapel and then went through the processional back in with the music.  The idea was that it would be easier for us to walk in if we knew exactly where to go.  We quickly went through the processional and recessional again and by then the one hour for which we had reserved the chapel was up.

We then drove to the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner that was just down the road from Bastyr University in Kirkland, WA.  It’s in a strip mall and directly adjacent to a bar with pool tables with which it seemed to share the restrooms.  They seated us at a long table and my mom insisted that our immediate family split up and mingle among the others.  I ended up sitting next to my aunt on my dad’s side and the bride’s cousin who was also the maid of honor.  I sat across from the bride’s mother.    The restaurant has Indian-themed decorations, but music playing over the speakers was American Rock and Adult Contemporary.  They played “The Final Countdown” by Europe as we finished dinner.

The served a preset dinner family-style.  First came plates of pakoras or vegetables such as potatoes and onions fried tempura-style.  They came with two chutneys for “dipping area”: one a green and white color and the other reddish.  The pakoras had a spicy taste and were delicious even without the chutneys.  They brought large plates of basmati rice flavored with oil and separate bowls of three different curries: chicken, beef, and vegetable.   They were slightly spicy and came in small bowls that didn’t seem like a lot.  I didn’t try the vegetable curly since it had cream.  Nor did I try the spinach and cheese dish.  My aunt on my dad’s side, by whom I sat, also doesn’t eat dairy making it easy to figure out what not to eat.  They served large platters of thick Naan bread that went well with the curry and platters of juicy, flavorful Tandoori chicken.  It was a lot of food and all very good.

I spent most of the dinner conversing with the bride’s cousins who was also the maid of honor.  She’s actually from Southern California and she went to Cal Poly Pomona.  After college she found work at Boeing in the Seattle area.  She met my brother who also worked at Boeing and, not long after, introduced him to the bride.

This was my first time at a wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and also my first time in a wedding party.  It was a fair amount of work but the food was good and we had some left over for other meals.  My parents generously picked up the check.