Saturday, December 12, 2009

A wedding to remember

My best friend got married yesterday. 1 down, 6 to go :)

It was the best of times. We had been planning for the wedding since last June. It has been a whirlwind of activities for the SWINS since then, right from planning for the engagement, to the bachelorette party, the pre-nup ceremonies and the D-day. Every dress was carefully selected, every look carefully rehearsed. Suggestions for improvement kept pouring like a deluge. There were gifts to be selected and memories to be captured.

We met for the sangeet at Khyati's place. Though we were all late(that is the usual SWINS stuff), we rocked to the peppy numbers. It was fun to watch the to-be-weds dance, all conscious of the watchful eyes of the elders ;)

The next day was the mehendi party. Four of us, lugging huge handbags, strode bravely with both hands splattered with the henna. For the first time I realized what 'both my hands are tied up' really means. We stayed at Khyati's place till late in the night, helping with the last minute preparations. Wedding jitters, well, I saw what they were like.

Finally the big day arrived. I got up around 8 (which is pretty early by my current standards) and had a leisurely breakfast. I started dressing up around 9. By 10 I was ready, well, almost :) I reached the venue around 11. There was a flurry of activities going on in the dressing room. Girls bond best over dressing up. We share our make-up kits and tips and help each other drape sarees perfectly. There is a great sense of altruism that a wedding inspires. Gorgeous Khyati and debonair Ashish got married. There was food and fun and lots of banter around. The reception in the evening was a grand affair. All friends, with their parents, were present. It was an evening to remember!

And now that it is all over, life for the six of us is slowly edging towards the mundane routine. But for Khyati, it is still the start of a lifetime of happiness.