Beautiful Blessings in Beruwela
31st August 2010
As I sat down for breakfast by a beautiful, wide river fringed with palm trees, I felt the warm sun, saw the brilliant blue sky and knew this was going to be a lovely day for a wedding. When Aaron and I were in London last May I was surprised to find out from my friend Emily that of all the places in the world, my friends Kat and Gareth had chosen to get married in Beruwela, Sri Lanka during the time that Aaron and I were WWOOFing in the country. I was excited that the coincidence meant I could rekindle my friendship, thousands of miles from home, with the happy couple and Emily and Emma and I was delighted that Kat and Gareth invited us to be part of their big day. I had many great adventures living with Kat, Emma and Eleanor during my second year of university in Bath, but as much as I would love to share some of these, they are unfortunately out of the scope of this blog. I had regrettably not seen them or many other of my friends from uni since I moved to Austin 2 1/2 years ago.
Whilst Aaron and I were eating breakfast the two dogs at the hotel started barking and we saw that a water monitor had dragged something up to the side of the river, close to the landing we were sat on. The huge, scaly creature had a very long tail and would have looked quite intimidating, except that he was consumed in munching something. The hotel owner's calmness was reassuring, apparently she sees them quite often. After breakfast I dressed in the punjabi top I brought in Amritsar, India, and had adapted to a dress, since most of the guests at this wedding were wearing western clothing. Aaron and I took the short walk to the Eden resort for the ceremony at 11am.
Kat and Gareth chose to have an outdoor wedding in paradise with an intimate group of family and friends. They ended up delaying their
wedding by a day because it was pouring with rain on the day they originally scheduled, but the next day was perfect weather for photos on the beach. We assembled with the other guests on some seats on the hotel lawn, past the swimming pool. It was very hot by now and we sheltered in the shade of a few palm trees while we waited for Gareth and Kat. First Gareth appeared in a smart grey suit, flanked by two Sri Lankan men in traditional dress each holding a staff with a large circle of gold and red at the top. They escorted him to the left side of the wedding Poruwa (stage) where he was to wait for Kat. Shortly after this Kat appeared wearing a beautiful, long, flowing white dress. She walked on the arm of her father and they were similarly flanked by the two Sri Lankan men.
Traditional Sri Lankan elements were included in the ceremony such as passing seven beetle leaves to each other, then holding the pile of beetle leaves with their parents and grandma. I found out later that this symbolises the bond, unity and love that will last for seven generations. Three girls sang to celebrate their marriage. Kat and Gareth then signed the registry book, witnessed by Gareth's father. It was only a shame that our seats were a little far back so we couldn't hear them speak. The couple celebrated with cocktails and Sri Lankan sweets/pastries. We all then shuffled around to pose for the group photos and took as many pictures as possible to capture the special day. The newly-weds fed each other with rice cake, a symbolic pledge to take care of each other for life. However I think Kat found the wedding cake and champagne that followed tastier.
It was now official Kat and Gareth were married, their parents were bursting with pride and all of us were so happy for them. We were led a short way to where an elephant was waiting. Kat had mentioned the elephant before, but I was amazed she was serious! The newly-weds were given fruit to feed the elephant. Kat looked a bit cautious about putting her hand in an elephants mouth, but I don't blame her! A few tourists lazing around the pool were intrigued and walked over to watch and take photos with us. Kat and Gareth climbed several steps to mount the elephant in all their wedding attire, except bare
foot. It looked a long way up! They rode the elephant out to the beach were we took more photos. Once off the elephant the happy couple began to stroll down the sand and then to our astonishment they ran into the sea, soaking themselves from the waist down! Once back on the hotel lawn Kat threw her bouquet, twice, since it missed the gaggle of expectant girls the first time. On the second throw Emily excitedly caught it, so I will be keeping an eye on her facbook profile for any relationship updates.
We all went to the Golden Grill for a wonderful lunch by the river. Most people enjoyed Sri Lankan food and Gareth bravely asked for his curry as spicy as locals eat. Aaron and I enjoyed some pasta for a change as we had consumed rather a lot of curry lately. The speeches were very minimalist. Gareth gave the quickest speech ever, but still managed to reduce all of us to tears. He began by saying that he was going to keep the speech short because mini-golf was starting at 4.30, then he chocked up with emotion and broke off. His grandmother had passed away recently and we were all very touched by his feelings.
In the afternoon most of us convened in the hotel pool and enjoyed a friendly attempt at volley ball, though I don't think any of us will be going pro any-time soon! As the daylight began to fade we went out onto the beach to watch a glorious sunset, and I thought what a beautiful setting to begin married life in. The waves in the sea were very strong and
came crashing down from about 5ft high. This made it impossible to swim, but several of us had lots of fun splashing around and jumping in them.
That evening we walked down the beach to a nearby cafe, where we enjoyed beers, cocktails and cheese toasties. When we returned to the hotel a small band was playing so the newly-weds had their first dance. We all enjoyed a whirl on the dance-floor. Aaron and I had been missing dancing since we used to go two-stepping often in Austin and it was now 3 1/2 months since our last boogie at our reception in the UK. Then seeing as it was a day of second attempts, when Kat and Gareth heard a song they liked better they cavorted across the dance-floor again. As Aaron and I returned to our hotel I felt a warm glow, knowing how well Kat and Gareth are matched together and how happy they will be spending the rest of their lives together.
As I sat down for breakfast by a beautiful, wide river fringed with palm trees, I felt the warm sun, saw the brilliant blue sky and knew this was going to be a lovely day for a wedding. When Aaron and I were in London last May I was surprised to find out from my friend Emily that of all the places in the world, my friends Kat and Gareth had chosen to get married in Beruwela, Sri Lanka during the time that Aaron and I were WWOOFing in the country. I was excited that the coincidence meant I could rekindle my friendship, thousands of miles from home, with the happy couple and Emily and Emma and I was delighted that Kat and Gareth invited us to be part of their big day. I had many great adventures living with Kat, Emma and Eleanor during my second year of university in Bath, but as much as I would love to share some of these, they are unfortunately out of the scope of this blog. I had regrettably not seen them or many other of my friends from uni since I moved to Austin 2 1/2 years ago.
Whilst Aaron and I were eating breakfast the two dogs at the hotel started barking and we saw that a water monitor had dragged something up to the side of the river, close to the landing we were sat on. The huge, scaly creature had a very long tail and would have looked quite intimidating, except that he was consumed in munching something. The hotel owner's calmness was reassuring, apparently she sees them quite often. After breakfast I dressed in the punjabi top I brought in Amritsar, India, and had adapted to a dress, since most of the guests at this wedding were wearing western clothing. Aaron and I took the short walk to the Eden resort for the ceremony at 11am.
Kat and Gareth chose to have an outdoor wedding in paradise with an intimate group of family and friends. They ended up delaying their
wedding by a day because it was pouring with rain on the day they originally scheduled, but the next day was perfect weather for photos on the beach. We assembled with the other guests on some seats on the hotel lawn, past the swimming pool. It was very hot by now and we sheltered in the shade of a few palm trees while we waited for Gareth and Kat. First Gareth appeared in a smart grey suit, flanked by two Sri Lankan men in traditional dress each holding a staff with a large circle of gold and red at the top. They escorted him to the left side of the wedding Poruwa (stage) where he was to wait for Kat. Shortly after this Kat appeared wearing a beautiful, long, flowing white dress. She walked on the arm of her father and they were similarly flanked by the two Sri Lankan men.Traditional Sri Lankan elements were included in the ceremony such as passing seven beetle leaves to each other, then holding the pile of beetle leaves with their parents and grandma. I found out later that this symbolises the bond, unity and love that will last for seven generations. Three girls sang to celebrate their marriage. Kat and Gareth then signed the registry book, witnessed by Gareth's father. It was only a shame that our seats were a little far back so we couldn't hear them speak. The couple celebrated with cocktails and Sri Lankan sweets/pastries. We all then shuffled around to pose for the group photos and took as many pictures as possible to capture the special day. The newly-weds fed each other with rice cake, a symbolic pledge to take care of each other for life. However I think Kat found the wedding cake and champagne that followed tastier.
It was now official Kat and Gareth were married, their parents were bursting with pride and all of us were so happy for them. We were led a short way to where an elephant was waiting. Kat had mentioned the elephant before, but I was amazed she was serious! The newly-weds were given fruit to feed the elephant. Kat looked a bit cautious about putting her hand in an elephants mouth, but I don't blame her! A few tourists lazing around the pool were intrigued and walked over to watch and take photos with us. Kat and Gareth climbed several steps to mount the elephant in all their wedding attire, except bare
foot. It looked a long way up! They rode the elephant out to the beach were we took more photos. Once off the elephant the happy couple began to stroll down the sand and then to our astonishment they ran into the sea, soaking themselves from the waist down! Once back on the hotel lawn Kat threw her bouquet, twice, since it missed the gaggle of expectant girls the first time. On the second throw Emily excitedly caught it, so I will be keeping an eye on her facbook profile for any relationship updates.We all went to the Golden Grill for a wonderful lunch by the river. Most people enjoyed Sri Lankan food and Gareth bravely asked for his curry as spicy as locals eat. Aaron and I enjoyed some pasta for a change as we had consumed rather a lot of curry lately. The speeches were very minimalist. Gareth gave the quickest speech ever, but still managed to reduce all of us to tears. He began by saying that he was going to keep the speech short because mini-golf was starting at 4.30, then he chocked up with emotion and broke off. His grandmother had passed away recently and we were all very touched by his feelings.
In the afternoon most of us convened in the hotel pool and enjoyed a friendly attempt at volley ball, though I don't think any of us will be going pro any-time soon! As the daylight began to fade we went out onto the beach to watch a glorious sunset, and I thought what a beautiful setting to begin married life in. The waves in the sea were very strong and
came crashing down from about 5ft high. This made it impossible to swim, but several of us had lots of fun splashing around and jumping in them.That evening we walked down the beach to a nearby cafe, where we enjoyed beers, cocktails and cheese toasties. When we returned to the hotel a small band was playing so the newly-weds had their first dance. We all enjoyed a whirl on the dance-floor. Aaron and I had been missing dancing since we used to go two-stepping often in Austin and it was now 3 1/2 months since our last boogie at our reception in the UK. Then seeing as it was a day of second attempts, when Kat and Gareth heard a song they liked better they cavorted across the dance-floor again. As Aaron and I returned to our hotel I felt a warm glow, knowing how well Kat and Gareth are matched together and how happy they will be spending the rest of their lives together.
Comments
Kat and Gareth didn't have a special link to Sri Lanka. I think they just wanted to explore a beautiful new country - and they made a great choice! Kat's family are originally from India (Gujarat area I think).