Happily Ever After

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Parita

Hello hello! Phew…this past weekend was a fun whirlwind. I had been looking forward to my friend Purvi’s wedding for a very long time, and it came and went just like that. I wish I could say that I took pictures of everything, but I can’t. You see, I was one of Purvi’s bridesmaids, so I didn’t even think about taking pictures a lot of the time. I was just trying to enjoy every moment. Hence, I gave my camera to Vishnu, but based on the number of pictures he took, I think my fiancé was trying to do the same thing. Smile

Let me share what I can…

On Friday evening, I headed to Purvi’s mehndhi party. I got there a little early so I could spend some time with the bride and the other bridesmaids.

On Friday morning, I attended the traditional religious events that happen before most wedding ceremonies. The yellow stuff you’ll see in the pictures below is a mixture made of turmeric, sandalwood, and a few other things. Both the bride and the groom have the paste applied to their body to purify it before the wedding ceremony.

The garba (dance event) was on Friday night. The décor was absolutely gorgeous, but the bride and groom stole the show!

Giving my speech

And then on Saturday morning, we all got up early to get ready for the big day! In one word, everything was…perfect. The camera was in the car at this time, so I’ll share some of Vishnu’s iPhone pics when I get them. Sorry!

And finally, the weekend ended on a high note with a grand reception. There were funny speeches, dances, a love story video, and an embarrassing pictures slideshow. Too much fun!

Congratulations to Purvi and Bandish! I know your years together as husband and wife are going to be amazing!

*****

In other news, I found a job in South Florida!!! Well, it’s more like the job found me, but that story is for another day. If you remember, job stress was weighing me down quite a bit. However, on Saturday morning, I got my official job offer! Excited doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling. Yay!

Also, since being home, I’ve been cooking up a storm. Yesterday, I made my parents a warm salad with roasted vegetables and a slightly unique version of Mmmm Sauce. And tonight I made veggie and black bean quesadillas for dinner – filled with black beans, corn, zucchini, onion, and green bell pepper.

I also have quite a few wedding updates to share, but I’ll save al that for another post.

Have a great Wednesday!

Jam-Packed

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Parita

My weekend at home was jam-packed. Not only did we take care of quite a few wedding errands, but I also attended a beautiful wedding.

THE ERRANDS

One of the things I’ve been wanting to get done before the wedding is Lasik. I’ve worn glasses since the third grade and contacts since the sixth. The time had come to permanently fix my optical issues, or so I thought. It just so happens that I’m far from an ideal candidate. The doctor said to wait another year to see if things change. Oh well…better safe than sorry!

My mom and I also met with the stylist who will be doing our hair and getting us ready for most of the events. We sat with her for over an hour talking about what we wanted. Here’s what we came up with for me…

For the garba (dance event the night before the wedding)

For the reception

For the wedding, I know I want to do a simple up do…I just haven’t picked out a picture yet.

We also stopped by to select the fabric and design for my sister’s garba outfit. While there, a beautiful outfit caught my eye…

…and I ended up wearing it to the reception the next day!

THE WEDDING

The wedding was outdoors, and thankfully, the weather was near perfect.

It was my friend Jetan’s twin brother’s wedding!

The reception was equally as gorgeous, with really unique centerpieces and a colorful pink and purple backdrop.

It’s funny how every wedding I go to makes me 100 times more excited for my own, which is only two months away!! Eek!!!

This past weekend really flew by (not that I don’t say that about every weekend). The next time I head home, I’ll be with Vishnu, and we’ll be arriving just in time for Purvi’s wedding! I. Can’t. Wait. Honestly, I’m more excited for her wedding than my own right now. It’s going to be an absolute blast!

What’s something you’re really looking forward to?!

Beachfront for the Weekend

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Parita

Hi, y’all! I hope your Monday was good. I’m going to be honest and say that mine was a b****. Really, it was! I pretty much spent all day either catching up on emails or attending meetings. And to top it off, I was so freakin’ tired! This week is going to be rough! It’s a good thing I like my job!

Well, I promised a recap of the weekend, so here it is…

Note: After uploading my pictures last night, I realized that I didn’t have many good shots for the blog. I guess it’s because so many people brought cameras that I felt awkward taking bajillions of pictures. One of Vishnu’s cousins brought her fancy shmancy camera, so once I get a hold of those pictures, I will definitely share some of the good shots. That’s a promise!

I got to La Jolla on Thursday morning. After Vishnu picked me up, we headed back to the hotel so I could freshen up. It was almost lunchtime and we were all starving, so Vishnu, his parents, brother, and I headed to lunch. We ate at a decent Thai place, and then walked around for a bit. We were staying at a hotel that was pretty much situated in the best part of La Jolla – the beach was a block away and there were tons of shops and restaurants all around us.

That night we headed to his cousin’s condo for some family time. I got to hang out with most of his mom’s side of the family. They were so incredibly nice! I felt like they really made an effort to get to know me, and their excitement about our wedding was so genuine. My nervousness about meeting them completely fell by the wayside as soon as the conversations started going. Smile So, I didn’t take any pictures that night because I knew that I wouldn’t be posting any of them. I didn’t want to put a picture of someone on the internet without their consent, and I didn’t want to tell them about my blog…not yet anyways! I just met them…call me weird, but that’s how I feel!

Day two was equally as fun. Vishnu’s brother and I woke up and went for a morning run along the beach. A quick hour long run turned into a 2 hour adventure as we navigated our way back to the hotel. It was really nice spending time with him…he’s really the little brother I never had! Take a look at some of our views…

Those are either sea lions or seals…I’m not too sure. Either way it was incredible to see them relaxing on the rock. What a life!

Check out this little guy! There were probably 10-15 of them running around and having the time of their lives.

Friday night we headed to the Mehndhi (Henna) party. Everyone socialized, ate, and drank. There was a station set up where women (and men if they wanted) could get mehndhi done. Again, lots of fun!

The next day was wedding day! We got up fairly early and started getting ready ASAP.

Remember how I was so nervous about the sari issue. Well, because we were so pressed for time, Vishnu’s mom helped me out. And to be completely honest, her method was very different from my own mom’s. It didn’t look the way I wanted it to, but it worked. In the end, it really didn’t matter if my pleats were perfect because, well, it wasn’t my wedding! Haha.

The wedding was held outside, and it was truly gorgeous – a perfectly manicured golf course in the background and the beach off in the distance. I don’t think my descriptions of everything would do any justice, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…

Yep…his cousin arrived on a horse. (For those of you who are completely baffled by this, I’ll explain more later.)

The beautiful bride and groom!

Oh and look at my mehndhi the next day – a deep red!

The reception was held an hour or so after the wedding. The ballroom was beautifully decorated with bright colors as you can tell by our table’s centerpiece…

There was lots of dancing and eating at this reception. The bride and groom wanted everyone to have fun and in order to loosen the crowd up a bit, they opened up the night with their very own dance number. They performed a choreographed dance to a few different songs. It was so cute! And they definitely set the bar high for me and Vishnu. Smile

All in all it was a great weekend! I’m so glad I was able to take part in this event and meet a lot of Vishnu’s family. Now I really can’t wait until my own special day!

Did you have a good weekend?