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Friends at an Indian wedding

Wedding Weekend in Miami

written by Parita 11 Comments

Vishnu and I drove down to Miami this past weekend for our friends Adam and Khusbu’s wedding.  We had so much fun celebrating the lovebirds! 

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I’ve known Khusbu since college, but we lost touch for a few years.  When we moved to South Florida, the four of us started hanging out and got to know each other better.  In fact, I still remember getting Khusbu’s “We’re engaged” text!  It’s crazy to think their wedding is now in the past.

The wedding was obviously the main reason we were in Miami, but luckily we were able to squeeze in a few other things as well.

On Friday night, we stayed with my colleague Ivette.  As soon as we got to her place, we freshened up and headed to The Rusty Pelican for dinner.  Vishnu mentioned this restaurant several times during our last few months in Miami, but we never had the opportunity to eat there.  It’s not the most vegetarian friendly restaurant, so I found it to be good but not great.  However, Ivette and Vishnu loved their dishes! 

The Rusty Pelican

We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to get ready and head to the hotel.  We made it to the hotel in time for the baarat (groom’s entrance), however everything leading up to that was a huge fail. 

First, I had the hardest time putting on my sari.  Two YouTube videos later, I just did my best and prayed that it wouldn’t fall apart on me.  Then, we called an Uber to take us to the hotel.  It just so happened that the Susan G. Komen race was happening that morning, so every single road in the area was blocked.  What should’ve been a five minute drive, turned out to be a 35 minute drive.  It was so bad that we asked our driver to just drop us off no where close to the hotel.  And then we walked.  Me in my messed up sari and heels and Vishnu in his suit.  With two rolling suitcases.  We were quite the spectacle I’m sure.

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Anyways, after that things got better.  The baraat was lots of fun, the wedding was absolutely beautiful, and the reception was full of energy.  We were even able to squeeze in a walk around our old neighborhood in the afternoon. 

Baraat

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Miami

Before heading back to St. Petersburg, we met up with Vishnu’s cousin Tara and our friend Hanisha for brunch.  It was so good to see them and catch up over delicious food!

On our drive home, we talked a lot about our time in Miami and how much we miss the city.  And since we’re not moving back anytime soon, we realized that the next best thing to do is make the most of our time in St. Pete.  We have eight ish more months here, and we want to see and do as much as possible…we’re on a mission! 

Well, I hope you have a great start to your week!

Written on October 19, 2015 Related:Friends, Miami, Weekend

Friends ready for mehndhi party

Wedding Weekend in Detroit

written by Parita 8 Comments

Wedding weekends are so much fun – beautiful outfits, great food, lots of dancing, and all of your best friends in one place.  They are also exhausting – late nights, early mornings, and lots of dancing/general activity.  While I’m beyond tired after Sweeti’s wedding weekend in Detroit, I’m also SO happy.  I got to see one of my closest friends marry the love of her life! 

Since coherent sentences are not my thing today, I’m going to let my pictures do the talking.  Enjoy!

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CONGRATULATIONS, Sweeti and Sunay!  As I said in my speech, may your love only grow and deepen over the years, so much so that you remember this day and weekend as the time you loved each other the least. 

Written on May 26, 2015 Related:Friends, Indian culture

The Roshmir Wedding Event

written by Parita 7 Comments

What a celebration!  I don’t even know where to begin.

Roshni and Samir’s wedding was magical and everything they wanted and more!  They were honestly glowing the entire time!

I’ve been thinking about this recap for a few days now, and I really don’t know how to put into words how much fun we all had.  Every minute of every event was so full of love and happiness.  Personally, I loved hanging out with Roshni and her family a few days before the main events started, reuniting with all of our friends, spending time with my parents and sister, seeing Roshni and Samir finally get married, etc.

Instead of writing a play by play about everything, I thought I would share some of my favorite moments AND lots of pics!

1. As I mentioned in my previous post, I stayed with Roshni for a few days before the wedding.  The night I got to her house, her parents were hosting a pizza party.  One of their friends makes the BEST pizza (homemade crust and all).  Basically, their kitchen area morphed into a pizza parlor.  It was awesome.  We ate outside on their beautiful deck and enjoyed several pieces each while talking about how excited we were for the days to come.

Later that night, we hung out in the basement and told our favorite Roshni stories!  Before going to bed, we helped Roshni’s mom decorate the house for the next day.

2. Roshni’s pithi ceremony was special because it was the first official wedding event.  The pithi is a religious event where multiple prayers are said, and the bride is covered in a turmeric paste to purify her before the wedding.  I still remember my own pithi ceremony and how real everything felt in those moments.  I had that same feeling watching Roshni go through it all!

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3. I gave Roshni and Samir one of their wedding gifts on Wednesday night because I wanted them to look through it before all the craziness started.  I used the site Mixbook to organize a memory/photo book for them.  Then their family and close friends created unique pages with pictures and messages for Rosh and Samir.  From the expressions on their faces as they flipped through and read the messages , I knew they loved it.  I am so thankful to everyone who contributed!

4. Thursday night was the mehndhi/henna party at Roshni’s parents house.  And by party, I mean party!  There was so much delicious food, including paneer tikka masala and Bombay sandwiches.  And don’t even get me started on the dessert!  There was also an open bar and great music.  I think my favorite part was watching Rosh get her mehndhi done.  Personally, I love mehndhi and how it takes everything to a new level, especially for the bride!

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5. Friday morning things changed a little for me.  I woke up, said hi to my friend Ankita, and realized that I lost my voice overnight…pretty much completely.  I sort of freaked out because not only was I MCing the Sangeet later that night, but I was also playing Roshni in the skit we put together.  AND I was giving a speech on Saturday night.  Ankita and I stopped at a Walgreens on our way to the hotel and picked up a few things to treat whatever it was I had.  Luckily, I was ok that night…I think everyone understood what I was saying.

But things got worse on Saturday and I went from having a very scratchy sounding voice to nonexistent one.  My sister actually delivered my speech for me as I stood next to her.  I was VERY upset that I couldn’t do it myself but having Aekta do it actually worked out just fine.  She did an excellent job being my voice that night!  In fact, lots of people said she sounded just like me!

6. The Sangeet (a music/dance party for both the bride and groom’s side to celebrate the upcoming wedding) on Friday was an absolute blast!  Vishnu and I successfully (or at least I think so!) MCed the program.  We also pulled off two really fun dances.  One of which can be found here!  The whole night was just awesome.  Even though I only got four good hours of sleep, it was well worth it!

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R&S wedding

7. On Saturday, all of the bridesmaids got their hair done and their saris put on together.  Everyone was so excited and looked so beautiful!  Roshni picked out gorgeous blue saris for us to wear.  A little bit later, Roshni joined us as we waited for the ceremony to begin.  I know I’m biased, but she was the most beautiful bride ever!  She looked SO relaxed and happy!

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We even got to witness Roshni and Samir’s first look!  Look at how big his smile is – the sweetest thing ever!

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The bridesmaids also took turns going down to watch the baraat (the groom’s welcome procession).  Samir and his groomsmen (including Vishnu) were having a blast dancing!  They then got on a pedal trolley and made their way around the hotel all while dancing and screaming.  It was awesome.  I also happened to catch their boomsmen (what they called themselves!) song!

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Then came time to walk down the aisle.  I was a little nervous about tripping but it all worked out!  Haha.  I teared up while watching Rosh walk down the aisle with her uncles.  Again, she looked SO happy and just really really ready to get married!  She took everyone’s breath away!

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8. After the wedding, we relaxed a little and then got ready for the reception.  It was such a blast!  We also did one more organized dance as a group.  This was actually the first time Vishnu and I performed a dance together (he’s not really into dancing the way I am!).  And then after dinner and the most amazing wedding cake ever (chocolate cake with caramel cream and chocolate ganache!), we literally danced for three hours nonstop!

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9. This isn’t particular to any one day, but it was so fun watching Roshni get ready for each event.  Her excitement was contagious, and she looked absolutely stunning.  And equally as fun was helping her after each event.  So many bobby pins and safety pins!  The night before the wedding I literally tucked her in and made sure she went to sleep so that she could wake up at 4 am to get ready!

10. And finally, the best part of all is knowing that two of my very best friends are finally married!  Roshni and Samir are incredible human beings that deserve all the happiness in the world.  Can’t wait to see where their love takes them next!

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Written on July 21, 2014 Related:Friends, Hindu celebrations, Indian culture

Family Wedding Fun in Atlanta

written by Parita 14 Comments

Oh my!  What a weekend it was.  SO much laughter, SO many stories, SO much fun.  I honestly don’t even know where to begin.

Personally, I love looking at wedding pictures more than anything, so I’ll get to those in a minute!

But first, let’s start with Wednesday.  After my sister picked me up from the airport, we headed to Taco Bell to grab some dinner.  I hadn’t had TB in over 6 months, and I’m not going to lie, it was good.  Haha.

On Thursday, I worked from home during the day.  Let’s just say that working from home when your entire family is also home is not the easiest thing to do!  However, my mom made it a tad bit better by serving me some random food every 30 minutes or so.

food at home

So, this wedding was extra special because it brought together two different cultures and people from all over the world.  It was the wedding of my cousin’s daughter Niyati and her now husband Allen.  Niyati and Allen had all the traditional Indian wedding events but chose to have a more western reception.  Like I said, so much fun!

Mehndhi/Henna night

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Friday was the vidhi (religious ceremony).

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After the vidhi, we drove to the airport to pick up Vishnu!  YAY!

On Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early to get ready for the wedding.

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And finally, on Saturday night we got all dolled up for the reception!

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And a few people asked about my hair at the reception.  I can’t claim any credit…all credit goes to my mom.  She is seriously a jack of all trades.  All I had to say was, “I want a side bun,” and she made it happen…beautifully!  Here are some pictures of the back.

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Thanks, momma!

Well, this is how my family does weddings in a nutshell!  We are a loud, crazy bunch but we sure know how to have fun!  I can’t wait for the next one!

Written on April 2, 2014 Related:Family, Weekend

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