Engaged! ... Again!
Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 6:21PM Yes, again! ... Rather, officially!
What a weekend ... What an amazing, dizzying, electric, terrific and terrifying weekend ... I took 4 days off, but I gotta tell you, between the 8-hour one-way, soul-crushing (not to mention spine-crushing) travel from work, engagement planning, and driving/ running around over the weekend to make sure things were just-so ... boy, I need a vacation!
So let's see, where to begin ...
Friday Afternoon
Most of Friday afternoon was spent in a traffic jam with the world's worst backseat driver, The Lady's sis-in-law ... Nah, I kid, she's really sweet. But I wouldn't be in any hurry to hitch a ride with her, if you know what I mean. We spent a few hours going to a CostCo 3 miles away to do some bulk shopping for Sunday's brunch.
Aparna & Parag (The Lady's cousin, and her husband) had invited the whole group - numbering over 20 at this point, I think - over to their place for an icebreaker, which went on till about 10 or 11pm. An early night for an early morning.
Saturday Morning
Most of our guests had arrived on Saturday ... including surprise last minute trips from The Lady's cousins in San Diego. I have to admit, I wa a little nervous about meeting a few of The Lady's cousins ... I'd been told they were very protective of The Lady, and I might have to face some tough staredowns, games of chicken, or even arm-wrestle them into submission. In fact, they are the nicest bunch of people I've ever met ... a really fun bunch of folks that kinda reminded me of all the hangout groups and cliques in BITS or UIUC.
Saturday morning was the little puja, and the reading of the contracts between my parents and The Lady's parents. Something along the lines that I agree to marry The Lady, and vice-versa. The Lady's cousin - a professor of Sanskrit in Toronto - read out several verses from (as yet unknown) text. Gifts were exchanged, ... bling was exchanged, and the whole thing was over in a couple of hours, and was followed by some most excellent South Indian grub.
Saturday Evening
The main party on Saturday evening. Lots of food, drink, and good company. The Lady's, and my, father gave a toast (which Arjun recorded on the camcorder ... gimme a few days to edit and upload it). We didn't have an opportunity to reto ... umm, reply, as we had to cut the cake and officially declare the party started. Unfortunately, the music system conked out before we could dance much, but we probably got an hour of naach before we had to pack up at 10pm. The "youngsters" then moved over to Aparna & Parag's place and ended up talking, and playing a fun game called "Mafia" till about 2am.
I swear, when I saw The Lady dressed up in that elegant light peach sari ... I really thought I'd died and gone to heaven. She was just ... perfect.
Sunday Morning/ Afternoon
Sunday morning saw a brunch at The Lady's apartment that went on till about 1pm. We changed back into the party wear from the previous evening to go to a studio photographer. I feel guilty about haranguing The Lady's family into this, as they were all obviously very tired ... hell, even I was! But last was probably the only occasion for a long time where both families were together, and I really didn't want to miss the opportunity to capture the moment.
Sunday Evening
Sunday was The Lady's mother's birthday, and we celebrated by going out to Bombay Club in Harvard Square.
...
And that was it, really. Wound down on Monday, and flew back to New York. My parents and Kartik stayed back in Boston to do a bit of sightseeing, and are set to return today (Thursday). Dad & Kartik leave next Monday, but Mom will stay on till 3rd week of July. It's a pity I'd spend most of that time in Kansas.
A lot of people took photos over the weekend ... I have all the photos except Kartik's. I've picked out the better photos and put them up for all to see.
I'm sure some of you might find this to be a rather dry account of the proceedings. Luckily, I have a backup :-)
PS: A plug for one of the Lady's cousins in SFO ... search YouTube for "nithin guitar"
Reader Comments (6)
Why?? were either of you, your folks or siblings planning to skip the wedding??