Actually, just a couple of months ago - but the DC reception in September feels like ages ago. When we arrived back from our trip there was a CD in the mail from Martin with more pictures from the DC reception. They're now added to the
DC reception , and since there were some good ones I thought I'd call it out here for those of you who read the blog.
Raju and his high school gang
Me and Angie
Hanging on every word of the PowerPointer Sisters' "MahaRaju" movieLabels: Wedding
The picture above is not mine -- our friend Pathy has already posted pictures on Picasa of our wedding in Bangalore and I thought I would share.
Click here for pictures.Update: A bit of a recap of the wedding from Raju's cousin, Indu.Raju & Courtney Wedding:
The Bangalore Finale You've seen the movie, now read the book.
As the pictures show, it was traditional, colourful, solemn in parts, joyous in most, and a splendid time was had by all.
But what the pictures don't yet show are the befores and the afters
So here's a verbal picture of that too... The pre-nuptial excitement set in with a grand lunch-and-mehendi party hosted by Latha and Shankar at Chimes Inn. Ashok and Bhanu, the 'inn-keepers' had everything meticulously in place to give us a sparkling welcome. Apart from the Uttar Karnataka fare, there was Latha's own delicious parsley soup and lasagne, and Shankar's puliogare bhat that were competing for our compliments.
Then the mehendi lady began her work on the bride's hands. The visitors were given a quick background of the significance of mehendi: the darker the patterns, the luckier Courtney would get…with her mother in law! And that as long as the designs remained, she would not be expected to do any housework. (Furtive applications of lime juice over the mehendi patterns assured very dark designs...)
Soon Bollywood music was switched on.
And then began the dancing—also known as the seduction of Shankar by the dancing ladies. As Shah Shankarjehan lay about on the takias, red rose in hand, Aishwarya, Madhuri, Hema Malini, and Rekha (names changed to protect their identities) performed several item numbers in the grand Indian film tradition. Then it was mayhem as everyone was lured to take the floor, and dance their way towards Courtney and bless her. Raju did a particularly deft number.
How much we missed Anu and her adorables, Nina and Rhys, the dancing sensations of America...
And then the Wedding!
Even as we were rushing about searching for our mascara and mallipu, a flood of guests arrived very early... (unusually clear Bangalore streets devoid of traffic was the reason!) And then Raju and Courtney made a royal entrance.
"Asal bommai attum irruka! Aha…Raja madiri irrukan!" were frequent exclamations. We welcomed the gathering and then Mrs Sharma the Arya Samaj high priestress conducted the hour-long ceremony. Debra (mother of the bride) and Tammy (her sister) were dressed by Leela in grand silks and looked like they'd worn sarees all their lives. Courtney articulated Sanskrit slokas with ease. Raju flashed his devastating grin. And it was a lovely, intimate moment when the entire gathering moved up right around the stage to shower the lovely couple with flowers.
While the official pictures were being taken, some of the guests moved over to the Banquet Hall to see a fun audio visual , earlier played at the Washington reception, showing clear evidence that that this tryst was ordained since the baby days of Raju and Courtney. Then as guests sat down to enjoy lunch, the couple moved around and greeted people at every table.
A truly wonderful day.
And now... we hear there's shortly going to be a Bollywood version of the earlier Hollywood hit, starring Jennifer Lopez, "The Wedding Planner". This time of course it will star Bhanu. A rousing applause here!
Krishnamurthy and Leela met up with so many cousins and pals who'd made the effort to be there. There was much catching up, smiles and laughter.
And then a family tradition that began with the time Krishnamurthy and Leela got married over 40 years ago was religiously repeated, at the wedding of their son.
Several relatives accompanied Raju and Courtney on their honeymoon :-).
A bunch of determined cousins, who decided they needed a treat after the hard work at the wedding, merrily joined the couple on a fabulous trip to Bandipur Game Sanctuary. The American visitors were delighted to find that we have animals in our forests too, apart from the ones that roam in our streets.
Fortunately the cousins have stayed back from the rest of their honeymoon plans, and even as you read this, Raju and Courtney are enjoying themselves in Dubai.
Cheers!
Labels: Honeymooning, Wedding
We received the pictures from the
DC reception and they're posted in my
family pictures within
travels.
I've also finally gotten around to resizing and adding the wonderful photos Martin took of the
rehearsal dinner and that he and Phoenix took at
the wedding . Someday, we'll also get his video on there, but I have a feeling that'll be after the honeymoon.
Ciao! (practicing my Italian... I think that's about the breadth of my knowledge)
Labels: Wedding
I stumbled upon this photo while combing through some of the formals last night. I'm so glad Tin captured this moment... this is us.
I'm not sure what I expected from the wedding. I think combing through articles on the Knot, Brides.com, Martha Stewart weddings, etc. had braced me for a bunch of keyed-up assholes to attend my wedding, even though my family (and Raju's family, now OUR family) are anything but.
So I'm glad it worked out that everyone was so happy and seemed to enjoy themselves both at the rehearsal and at the wedding. And no one took themselves too seriously, including Raju and myself. We had fun, we celebrated, we partied, and everyone pitched in to make sure everything went perfectly... or at least close to perfect.
But I don't suppose the magazines and wedding blogs make this stuff up. Every vendor we dealt with gushed about how great our family was, how much fun everyone had, including themselves.
So, I guess we're just really lucky and really blessed. And we know some fun people.
Labels: Fun Times, Happy, Memories from the Wedding Celebrations, Wedding
There are so many things during the wedding that I don't think I will ever forget. Some have larger stories and will be expanded on. Some won't. And the list might be updated as I remember more of those little moments.
1. Shop towels2. The tears in his eyes when we were standing at the altar
3. The smile on his face
4. The story of 4:20
5. Being pelted with flower heads
6. My thali's clasp coming undone during the ceremony
7. The Hindu priest asking how to pronounce Harrison8. Our First Dance
9. Dance with Dad - all choked up
10. Talking with Shankar in the moonlight while cooling down11. Enjoying Robert Fleury with friends
12. The colors
13. I'm the lakshmi (and I've finally figured out what that means)
14. I wasn't right for a few minutes
15. The priest being kind enough to move the coconut out of my way
16. That feeling, walking up the aisle and everything else sort of fading away
17. Poor Phoenix bustling me, bustling me, bustling me, and bustling me
18. Chris's present
19. Getting the photo frames for favors at IKEA
20. How happy everyone was21. My uncle David talking about making Raju "disappear" during his toast (it was in jest)
22. Martin spilling the beans
23. Tiffany noting that Raju still makes me laugh
24. The smoldering Geeta25. Being surrounded by our friends and family
26. On the way down the aisle, trying not to cry and Dad saying "Just smile"
27. the Sharp Dressed Man
28. Joey's dance to
Sexy Back...
Labels: Memories from the Wedding Celebrations, Reminiscences, Wedding
The pizza has arrived and we're sitting on the couch, box between us, two-liter at our feet.
"Do you have any napkins?"
A blank look comes across my face. Napkins?
"Paper towels maybe?"
"Ummmm, no..." I'm not making a great impression on this first date. I need to get the man something to wipe his hands on after eating greasy Papa John's pizza.
"Oh!" I jump off the couch and run back through the hallway, into the back room, the junk room. Ahh, yes, this will work.
"Here you go." I plunk down a box of shop towels next to the two-liter of Coke. I'm quite proud of my find.
He pauses for a moment and just looks at me. Then he smiles and takes one and we eat.
The wedding is upon us. I arrive home, with a few moments to myself. On the kitchen counter: blue shop towels and a note,
"In case you don't have something used and something blue...".
Tears well up in my eyes. It was by far the best wedding present he could have bought me. And it was my something blue (and used).
And by far, my favorite memory of the the wedding week.
Labels: Memories from the Wedding Celebrations, Reminiscences, Wedding
After all was said and done, I'm glad we blended so much of the Indian ceremony into our California celebration. The altar area was beautifully decorated and so many people got to play a part in the wedding. And, it was funny to have the Hindu priest ask us how to pronounce the name "Harrison" (I guess we're not the only ones baffled by some names). I also got to show off my freshly pedicured feet while stepping on rose petals (seriously, some people pay good money to have their feet rest on rose petals... I think a few did
at the nail spa).
Plus, I've decided I'm going to adopt my husband's penchant for exaggerating the truth in order to spin a better story. Instead of "I circled the sacred fire 3 times," I think I will say, "I performed a death-defying stunt in the middle of the ceremony. I was a daredevil, circling a flaming coconut, each time getting closer and closer, with a 10 foot train on my wedding dress!" I'll have to let him finish the tale with some out-of-this-world meaning for making it around the fire, as I'm not nearly as good as he is yet... but I'm working on it.
Labels: Fun Times, Observances, Surreal, Wedding
Poof! Just like that the party is over, and everyone has gone home. The wedding was wonderful, the festivities were wonderful, the guests were wonderful. Thank you to everyone who traveled such a long way to be with us Saturday.
The image above, I believe, is from the talented cousin Indu. It was one of my favorites when we were combing through the pictures. I'll have more up in a day or three, but until then you can enjoy this one.
Labels: Happy, Life Changing Moments, Wedding
We forgot to pack the flowers, but we did meet quite a few... well, interesting people. Tuesday we packed in a lot while visiting San Francisco. We saw the Golden Gate bridge, drove through Sausalito, down Lombard Street, hit the Haight and visited the Grateful Dead house. Then, down to the wharf and Ghiradelli Square, topped off with a dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.
Then, yesterday we went to see the otters!! I've been wanting to see the Wild About Otters exhibit for a while in Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Last night Tiff finally got here and we hit the Pizzeria again, then came back and had our pict made with the sphere the people down the street made...
So, check out the photos! Again, some haven't been rotated, but here they are, unsorted :-)
All Festivities of the Wedding WeekMonterey Bay AquariumSan FranciscoDeep Sea Fishing in Santa CruzMiscellaneous Photos from the WeekLabels: Day in the Life, Fun Times, Happy, Wedding
Yesterday we were up at the crack of dawn, after 2 hours of drunken sleep. Mom drove the caravan down to Santa Cruz, where we watched the sun come up while listening to the bark of the sea lions.
Once we were on the boat we got set up with some squid on the line and waited to hear the magic words, "Okay, drop your lines."
Everyone caught some fish... Though Tammy's kept getting thrown back (she was catching rare and elusive fish).
Tammy all geared up:
Courtney's first fish:
Raju's catch:
Martin's pretty red fish:
Bob and Mom hooked fish at the same time:
I think we caught around 50 fish in all. Last night was good eats for sure.
You can check out all of the photos here. I haven't yet rotated all of the photos, and they are wacky out of order, but enjoy! (Some photos are mine, some photos are from Martin's camera, and there are even a few movies from Martin at the end.)
Labels: Day in the Life, Fun Times, Wedding
I'm sooooo ready for it. Sitting on the couch for an entire weekend, doing nothing, but eating nachos, wings, pizza, brats, and other yummy non-healthy things. Beer! Lovely, lovely beer. And not planning a wedding.
It's coming... only 12 more days. The next week is going to be a mad rush to get everything done. The weekend after the wedding I am doing nothing. I am going to pretend it's a football weekend, even if it's not yet on. I'm going to eat oooey-gooey cheesy food and sit on the couch... Well, I might take Milo to the beach, but that's about it.
Here's to August 25th!!
Labels: Day in the Life, Stresses, Wedding
Yesterday the day was spent in San Francisco. We went to pick up my dress (yay!!!). Then we headed down to the Ferry Building to take some pictures and grab some grub.
We're closing in on the wedding. Only 27 days until the big day. And there is still so much that needs to be done.
But, we did take a break yesterday evening to enjoy the gifts we've been receiving -- we ate our first meal off of the new dishes from our registry. Buffalo steaks and grilled veggies -- yummy! Thank you Lad & Becky and Ninny & Papaw!
Labels: Day in the Life, Wedding
Yes, it's back on the brain. Some of you have asked what happened to the link to my wedding site. Simply put, I've been writing, and not about the wedding, so you'd have to dig through the archives to find the link (or just find that email I sent you).
But, if you look to the right (and yes, I just checked to see which thumb and forefinger made an "L" and by my masterful deduction skills I determined that it
is really the right column), under Links, there's now a permanent link to the wedding site. So, you can check it often, and see that Raju still has written nothing about himself, and that I'm slowly, slowly updating the Things to Do area.
Labels: Wedding
It's not complete, but
there's quite a bit of information compiled here for my guests. We should have more information added in the next week or so, and will be sending out save the date emails this week.
So, for those of you who read the blog, you have the inside track.
Now it's back to work for me...
Click here for the wedding website.Labels: Wedding
And sometime soon there will be a website with all the details -- or, as many details as we have worked out for the time being. Stay tuned for the countdown to August 18th...
Labels: Wedding
