It’s been exactly one month since our wedding!  CRAZY!  When I mentioned this to Vishnu over the weekend, he looked at me and shook his head in amazement.  We just can’t believe its been 30 days since our big day! 

We spent this weekend with Vishnu’s brother Niel.  It was a jam packed few days – “The Dark Knight Rises” (amazing movie), a soccer game (Chelsea vs. AC Milan), South Beach Miami, two fro yo stops, and lots of delicious food.  So much fun!

*****

The third wedding event was the garba.  Garba is a traditional dance that originated in Gujarat (the Indian state that my family is from).  The dance is performed in a huge circle around pictures/statutes of different Indian gods. 

After the vidhi, Roshni and I left to get my hair done.  As I said months ago, I had a very specific vision for what I wanted, and I think it came true…for the most part.  The stylist used hair extensions, and until we got to the hotel, I was totally ok with them.  But once the curls started to relax, the whole thing looked awkward…

I kept telling my friends that I wanted to cut the extensions off.  So with a lot of hesitation, Sweeti and Roshni did what I wanted and cut them off.  Looking back, the whole situation was hilarious…and a little scary!

The only other hiccup that occurred was that the event started later then scheduled.  The elevators were running super slow (and one was totally out of commission), and some of our guests had to wait upwards of 20 minutes to get down to the ballroom.  It was kind of irritating, but I got over it pretty quickly. 

All in all, we had such a blast at the garba.  Everything was perfect – the décor, the food, the music, etc.  People were dancing until the very end!

We also held a mini program halfway through.  Vishnu’s cousin gave a beautiful speech, our friend Jetan gave a hilarious and slightly embarrassing speech about the early days of mine and Vishnu’s relationship, family members performed a couple of choreographed dances, and my sister and I did a surprise Bollywood dance.  Vishnu had no clue that I was going to perform!

 

Monica and Purvi were the MCs for this program, and they were super funny.  They put together a rap to introduce themselves, told funny stories about me and Vishnu, and showed everyone a “Parita survival bag” that included a Jillian Michaels DVD, a fly swatter (because I hate bugs), and a few other things are very me!  So much fun!

The garba ended around 11:30 pm.  Vishnu and I headed to our individual rooms for the last time in our lives!  I took a quick shower and headed straight to bed.  My alarm was set for 5:45 am…

Up next…the WEDDING!