Saturday, December 16, 2006
hey guys!
i am writing like now because i woke up like at 2 this morning, more like this afternoon. YESTERDAY WAS THE WEDDING! it was like SUPER fun! haha esp with nidhi didi's friends all there. PLUS LOADS AND LOADS of rituals i got to see which was like really REALLY fun and exciting and new and interesting to watch!
first off the whole day started with us all waking up in the wedding house, and then got ready and freshened up! then we had "haven" or prayers in the house. tt was for the whole goodbye thing for the bride giving the bride well wishes and good luck for the new turn in her life and stuff like that! then after all that is done, the brother of the bride's mother puts on wedding bangles for the bride. well, first off the bangles are put in milk and offered to the gods and then they are taken out and passed around and all the people present in the prayers and these people give blessings to these bangles as good luck for the bride. then the brother of the bride's mother puts on these bangles. since her mother has only 1 sister, that is my mother, the sister's husband aka my dad puts on the bangles.
after the bangles ceremonies, came the haldi ceremony, where everyone one by one takes turn to put on haldi on the bride. this is a ceremony to beautify the bride. [however she was as pretty as can be with facials already done]!!!! HEHE. so after that we went to the temple to get holy water for the bride to take bath in. this is done to purify the bride before her big day. then all the family members had brunch!
then WENT TO THE BEAUTY PARLOUR! i looveD this part of the dAY cause it was super fun! not the makeup part but the part where we did it together as friends, together with the bride! haha then i got my hair and makeup done like twice! hahaha. oh and like outting on the dress was the most troublesome! it was a lehnga! aka a type of indian dress! will upload pics sooN! and then came the part of goign to the wedding.
as bridesmaids, we had to follow the bride in her car and then take her into her room before the groom came! so we did and then we had the opportunity to put on the first "kalichiriyas" aka bridal ornaments put on by sisters and friends on the wedding bangles of the bride. they looked really nice and overall she just looked totallly mindblowing! hahah
then i went out to watch the "barat" [aka the groom together with his family and friends] enter the wedding tent. the whole custom of indian weddings includes the groom entering and then the bride comes out from her room, and then after the celebrations, the groom taking the bride with him back to his house!
so like the "barat" came with a band around them, and the groom's friends dancing in front of him. on my side stood the family and friends of the bride, waiting for them to enter the tent so that they can welcome them. then after the groom and his family enters, the male members of both families welcome each other. like the father of the bride welcomes the father of the groom and the brother of the bride welcomes the brother of the groom, etc and so on and so fourth. in this case it was only the male members but some families also include the females.
so then the groom enters and slowly walks all the way to the stage. then the bride comes out accompanied by the bridesmaids and goes onto the stage. susequently they put on garlands of flowers on each other and take loads of photos before they proceed around the fireplace.
the fireplace is usually a square and at each edge sites a pair. at one edge, the bride and the groom. the second edge the groom's parents, the third edge the bride's parents and the fourth is the 'pundit" aka the one who does all the prayers.
HOWEVER, when the groom goes to the prayer area, the "saliyai" or bridesmaids hide the slippers of the groom, and at the same time, the best men try and get the slippers too so that they can protect them from the bridesmaids. this was SUPER fun, i must admit cause it was the first time i EVER did this even though i have seen it being done before. first time being involved in the action. and it was TOUGH! but we had a plan, and a backup one. it was like being in the secret service and the best part was that the bridemaids could say, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
so after that the bride and groom do their "saat Phere" or the seven rounds around the fire. 4 are done with the groom following the bride and the last 3 are done with the bride following the groom.
after the prayers, the groom needs to go back to the stage area, but the bridemaids had the slippers. HOWEVER, the worst part was that the best men went and ruined the good old tradition by getting an extra pair of shoes for the groom. however, the bridesmaids were smart enough as we had held onto the bride, and she could not go until we got our money. it is tradition for the groom to give the bridesmaids money to get his shoes back. so we fought and fought and didnt let go of the bride till we got justice! haha
finally the bridemaids won the fight by using our trits and strengths, not physically but mentally. we got the whoel family fighting from our side for the money and in the end, the bridesmaids got 1000 rs each, which is about S$40. the groom had to give like 11000 rs to get us to give him his bride back! haha
so even after that we gave him back his shoes and the 2 maids of honour, me and Krithika, put on 1 shoe each and then even had to clean it with our scarfs! haha. loads of pics were taken and it was SUPER FUN!
after that as the bride and groom took pics with like a million family members, me and the rest of the bridemaids danced, cause the parents of the bride had got a DJ. it was WHOAH fun just like the day before.
then we ate and i was wowed by the vast types of snacks, appetizers, dinner choices, desserts, and even tasters. it was like eat-a-palooza. it was like eat all u can! anyways it was FUN FUN FUN! after this whole thing came the formal dinner with the bride and the groom and the old relatives. tt was the same thing that happened during the engagement.
anyways that time i just mingled and had a few laughs with firends and such. sat around the fireplace which was NICE as compared to the cold COLD weather.
so like right now i gtg cause my cousin jsut came back. its a ritual that they come back the next day after the wedding to their parents place to pay final respect kinda thing anf anyways 2morrow she is off to australia for her honeymoon. so like BYE!
lovee
Coming Clean at
<8:20 pm>
Charvi just shouted Hilary Duff Rocks!
