Wedding preparations - take two

Whoever said that a wedding was an affair between two people was completely wrong! It's all about the glitz and clamour especially if it involves a family like mine! It's my mom and dad's only son's wedding, he is the last in the chain of the 'willing' on my dad's side and the last-but-one on my mom's side (the other's are atleast 5-10yrs away) So it's a big deal as I'm learning. My sisters have cornered the market on silk saris, each of them getting a couple of spendy saris with ornate brocade work and embroidery all in one! and that's just a start, i am yet to find out about the jewellery and other things they have lined up! I got into a thorough argument with my mom over a couple of pearly bracelets that cost over $1000 and in my opinion don't look it! This last week has been a whirlwind of mind dizzying shopping. Mine are the least lustrous and my mom is working to convince me to do something a bit more 'spectacular' for the ceremony. I can hardly compete with the saris they have all chosen and have taken to 'less is more' in my choice. Not that they cost any less! I am sure there will be plenty said about it! My nieces have the grandest of outfits that i've ever seen...long glitzy skirts of the latest kind and three sets of them for all the occassions surrounding the event!

Here's the wedding itinerary-
Fri, Dec 8 - Official kick-off to the wedding. This is usually a close-family affair and should involve a 100-150 people. The festivities are to start by installing a front post at the gate crafted from coconut leaves and flowers. The cooks and florists have come in the previous evening and the house has this festive atmosphere with as many managers as workers :) There is an installation in the front lawn to house the dining and will stay on till the conclusion party.
It's very bright and colorful and everybody in the neighborhood now have no doubt about the event. The first of the guests are here at home, some of the others have come stopped by with promises to show up early for the event tomorrow.
The evening will host the henna or mehndi party with a line-up of people that want to get 'indian' or 'arabic' patterns drawn on their hands. It will be later in the day so we won't be held back from helping with the events since you have to keep your hands still for the few hours or overnite to help set the henna!
Sat, Dec 9 - Saturday, the day of Saturn is usually considered inauspicious for any events and it will be mostly spent in preparation for Sunday and Monday. This will involve ferrying and carting things to the wedding venue
Sun, Dec 10 - Formal engagement and Reception. The last time the families met and exchanged rings, saris, and jewellery was for an 'understanding'. This morning will be the formal engagement ceremony which is more of the same (atleast according to me). That will be the morning event. At this time, the kitchen at home will be closed so we will have to make our way to the 'choultery'(wedding venue) for breakfast, lunch, and dinners. After the engagement, we return home (since the choultry is close by but the bride's family will stay put there) and dress to kill, literally ourselves with the overload of saris and jewellery, and return for the evening reception.
Mon, Dec 11 - This is the actual wedding day and it will start very early for the bride and groom, sometime about 4 or 5 am. I have never witnessed any of this and we'll see if i can stay awake for any of this. The morning will be the ceremonial event another bedecked, bejeweled event with lots of people and feasting! The last count had a guest list of 1500 from the groom's party and 500 from the bride's. These days with the hassles of distance and time commitments, most guests will make it for one of the two days so it will be lots of new faces!
Evening, Dec 11 is the 'conclusion party' or the party hosted by the groom's family since it's been the bride's family's affair so far. It will be at the groom's place to welcome the new girl to the family. It day's prior it would be the next day but time commitments have forced this on the same day. So it will be another wholesome, lavish feast for the evening with another 100-200 people involved.

More on the details as I find out...staring tomorrow!

Wedding preparations

Finally!!! The search for my brother's bride is over. I'll tell you it has been a long search almost heading towards a confirmed brideseeker title for my brother but all the stars have lined up or more importantly, the family is in consensus! Yup, Indian arranged weddings are a family affair. My dad wanted an influential and well-to-do family, my mom wanted a cultured family and an educated daughter-in-law, my sisters wanted a girl up on style and looks, my brother didn't say much other than go to all the arranged meetings, and me, the oldest wanted it all to have a light hearted feel than the heavy cloying setups. Anyways, I hear mom is happy because the girl is young and a working engineer. The girl's parent's share the same last name as my mother's maiden name which she is kicked about because it means similar food habits! So the preparations are on...my brother has decided to get the whole house painted all-new for the wedding (mostly on my mother's insistence). Then there will be a special entry way design installed at the gate with coconut leaves and flowers that will mark it as a 'wedding house' and lights to outdo any christmas show!
The cooks have been lined up, the invitations are still in the printing press and my sister, Roopa is fretting about all the trips she will have to make to invite people. It is taken very personally if you don't invite people in person and just mailed them the card. And o'course, you can't leave anybody out, near and distant relatives, the friends and acquaintances, the politicos and gurus (sometimes they dictate the wedding date!) Anyway, excitement seems to be running high. Plans are on for the wedding shopping...clothes and jewellery. The groom's family buys the sari for the reception and the bride's family the one for the ceremony. So the family has to plan a time to take the bride-to-be on her evening wear shopping. Nerve-wracking, undoubtedly! The engagement party just got over a month ago and mom say's that I would have enjoyed it had I been there...yeah, right!

That's it so far...stay tuned for upcoming news on the event...