Amsterdam/Sri Lanka Adventure Day 9

Day 9 Sri Lanka

The Wedding

Today is wedding day! We had to make sure to get up and get ready for Salani when she arrived at the hotel to start preparing for the day. Her dress, the bridesmaid dresses, and the flower girl dress were hanging in our closet ( no I did not peek!) The wedding was not until 4pm but if you ever have been involved in a wedding you will know that the bride and her attendants have to start getting ready in the morning. The hotel provided a suite for them since the reception will be held here tonight. 

I was also in charge of having the hotel deliver a bouquet of flowers and a note to the bride from her sister. As I was getting off of the elevator to complete the task, Salani was standing right there so I skipped the middleman and handed them over! Oh well..

Don and I just chilled by the pool enjoying the fact we had no other responsibilities besides showing up in the lobby at 3:15pm to catch a ride to the church. Did I mention that the weather here has been hot? And humid? I would say hovering in the 90’s with just as much humidity. Balmy!

Many weddings, Buddhist and Christian alike, are planned with an astrologer's guidance. It is in your favor to get married on an auspicious day that the astrologer suggests. May 10 was one of these days so there were at least 4 weddings just at this hotel today. Therefore, it was kind of a madhouse at the front door of the hotel with a send off from one wedding, people arriving for another wedding, and we’re trying to find the van that will take us to our wedding. To add to it all, some important diplomat was arriving so security was even tighter. The normal security involves bomb sniffing dogs to screen every car that enters and all guests must go through a metal detector before entering any entrance. This is all because this hotel was bombed on Easter Sunday in 2019 by an extremist group targeting hotels and churches. 

We were lucky to arrive at the church right before the bride. The church is called St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk Church. It is a Presbyterian Church of Scotland built in 1841 and a very beautiful church for a wedding. David and the girls are parishioners here and know the pastor very well which made the service even more special. 

After the ceremony we hopped back into the van to go back to the hotel. It was then that I noticed that the company logo on the van was Sri Lankan Chic Holidays which was very familiar to me. When the entire Ostwald family came out to Sri Lanka in 2017, one of Thilini and Salani’s friends was our tour guide for the week and he is the talent behind Chic Holidays. We met up with Maleen and his wife at the reception and it was very nice to see him again. 

The ballroom venue for the reception was decorated beautifully and everyone was entertained by a quartet as they entered. Dave introduced us to many friends and relatives who came from all over to attend this happy event. In addition to Sri Lanka, there were friends and relatives from  Australia, New Zealand and Dubai. 

The speeches, father/daughter dance, first dance, and cake cutting were all done before dinner which I thought was a great idea. The buffet dinner was delicious with a lot of great choices. The party really started when the band started. There was never a lapse in music and dancing because a DJ took over when the band went on break. The reception was supposed to end at midnight but the dancers refused to let the DJ go so he stayed until about 1:30am.  The hotel helped convince us to leave when they shut off the air conditioning!

The party continued in the newlywed’s suite with a little cigar smoking on the balcony and guests hanging out in the living room. Once the cigars were out, around 3:30am,I wrangled up Don and Dave. It had been a long time since we have stayed out let alone stayed awake this far into the new day!

A great celebration for a great couple!

A wedding morning hug for dad and daughter

A Sri Lankan wedding tradition: The bride eats a bite of each treat and eats milk rice before she leaves home on her wedding day. She will then be a guest the next time she visits. Thilini brought over the leftovers so we could taste them. 

The bride’s carriage awaits

A Buddhist tradition: The groom presents a gold necklace to his bride - with the help of his cousin.

This table is honoring Salani’s mother and Aminda’s mother who both have passed.

The newlyweds reappear after signing the marriage license while the guests waited in their seats. Then they exit the church with everyone following.

Family pictures outside the church

Dressed up and ready for the party!

Candle lighting ceremony

Father of the Bride speech

Thank you speech by the bride and groom

Father/Daughter Dance

First Dance

Our friend Maleen and his wife

Salani and grandma (her mother Sani’s mom)

Dave’s running club group

Salani’s relatives drove up from southern Sri Lanka

Thilini finally convinces her dad to dance!

The party continues