Pura Vida 2017 (8/8) – The Big Day

Amber and IndraNeel’s wedding, the reason that brought us on this awesome tropical vacation, took place on a sunny afternoon at the Springs Resort. As mentioned before, this place was a hotel with hot spring pools like our Arenal Paraiso… just a bit more fabulous. We were inform that the Kardashians were recently here for a few weeks, making drama.

However fancy the pool, the backdrop was the same volcano.

One of the many pools at the Springs.

Waiting for the wedding to start, while wearing a tie roughly 10 degrees from the equator, was quite warm. To cool down, we got some fresh fruit juices from one of the bars.

His and her drinks with the five-star presentation.

Like everything else in the region, the wedding took place with Arenal in the background. We’ve been to weddings in front of the NYC skyline and the HK skyline, and I used to think that it was impossible to top those. However, this one was definitely up there with its visual awesomeness.

IndraNeel the groom and Shaumo the officiant friend.

Looking nice and trying hard not to sweat too much.

Here comes the bride!

The wedding was a union between a Chinese family and an Indian family. Both cultures have long, rich histories and both love the colors red and gold. The bride wore a modern interpretation of a traditional Chinese dress, with flowery patterns and gold trim on red fabric. Above that she wore a full set of Indian gold jewelry, which aside from the specific design patterns was basically the intersection between the two cultures. The groom had on a full set of sherwani, including a very richly colored scarf.

The groom’s people (1/3 of whom were men) wore saris and a sherwani. It was 85 degrees with direct sunlight, and it must have been crazy hot in those outfits. The bridesmaids wore qipao-inspired dresses, which presumably were more comfortable in that weather. But they also stood in front of a bucket of fire.

Shaumo officiated the wedding. For some reason I had expected it to be funny. It wasn’t, really, but it was among the most interesting serious ceremonies. Like the outfits, this part of the wedding was inclusive of both cultures. He read poetry about love from the Chinese culture (one that I actually recognized!), and then poetry about love from the Indian culture. Then he made the couple perform a shortened version of satphere, the Hindu tradition of walking around a bucket of fire. It was a bit uncomfortable to watch Amber and IndraNeel taking slow steps around the flames intense enough for barbeque, while reciting the seven virtues. Awesome to have learned about and witnessed a different tradition, though.

Picturesque ceremony

Mr. & Mrs.!

Snapping a family picture before the professional photographer had a chance to

The rest of the evening was just as fantastic. We had a cocktail hour next to the hot spring pools, then dinner reception by a cliff with fantastic views. I was busy trying the different drinks on the menu and apparently couldn’t be bothered with taking too many pictures. The bartenders on duty were the friendliest I had ever seen. They were full of energy, passionate with suggestions, and proactive in offering refills. Oh and the cocktails were so delicious!

The hotel’s signature drink, named Pura Vida, and Arenal