I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A room filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife.
Yes, life has changed for me but all for good !! I am married , and the feeling is great . It all started when i and Kalyan first met on the internet. While i was on a holiday in the US and he was somewhere in Oz, destiny played its cards right and brought us together, irrespective of a million mile distance between us. Our first meeting was at the airport in Delhi when i with two other frnz of mine ( ruchi & shipra) went to pick him up. The first time we exchanged looks we knew "This was it " just didn't feel like it was our first meeting ever( thanks to Skype). Though the whole way back he kept criticizing my driving, but i guess it's a universal problem with men!!!
The families rejoiced when we broke the news and a quick ceremony within two days was organized. So ,on the day of 7th March .2011, we got engaged .......
.........and our official journey began as "life partners" !!
The final dates for the wedding were kept in June ,which gave me a good three months time to prepare well and in a way that i like ..... files and folders got ready and the work was delegated.... the first two months were fun and frolic hopping between shopping, dress fittings with the tailor ,saloon appointments and much more..... but the last month hit me bad when i was still not sure on the wedding dress . So ,just before i was about to transform into the soo anticipated Bridezilla !! God helped me through and i found my wedding dress.....
Finally it was the moth of June, the "Wedding month" and we were all geared to experience the festival called marriage......... during all the preparation i would have thought taking up wedding planning as a profession , if not less, then a thousand times :) ......
Kalyan came over to our place again for the sangeet and we guys had a rocking time ..........
Our complete family, baby arshia missing as she was busy posing alone for the camera !
Here she is,totally amused by her artificial long hair - Miss Arshia !! in her traditional look
It was a great fun tapping to the Punjabi beats !! Kalyan ,me ,my frnz and family had a great time and with our feet finally hurting the sangeet came to and end :)
The wedding was after ten days and we all left for the beautiful city Bangalore . Those few days before the wedding in Bangalore were simply the most cherished days for me when Kalyan & I went on a few sneak dinners, all the shopping for him and just chilling. Being with each other felt great,seemed like having a guilt free pass and coming home a little late than normal was totally acceptable by dad for a change.....
Then began the celebrations in order :-
MEHANDI & HALDI - Applying Henna on the hands and feet is the age old tradition of the weddings and i was excited as it was my first mehandi ever.
After a four hour patient session , i was finally decorated with henna , it was all good till i was posing in front of the camera , but just couldn't sleep for a sec because of the discomfort.
me, mom & my beautiful sister
Finally my friends reached (right on time) from Delhi !! was getting so worried about how will they have the henna on if the henna guy leaves before they arrive ......
and here we were !! all hands in
Daddy and i getting emotional :( .... must say wedding is a mix of so many feelings , one side its the man u love and are so looking forward to start your life with whereas on the other side its the man you have always loved and will now have to part with.......love you dadda !!!
The haldi celebration was early next morning and because the mehandi gave me a tough time sleeping i had such a cranky morning ......... the only thing coming to my mind was , why do Indian marriages have so many rituals and celebrations ... literally had to drag myself out of bed ,but after a cup of coffee felt better... and was ready for the coming day which was officially going to be the last day with my Folks as Miss Neha Sharma ......... the haldi started followed by the choora ceremony and finally the Reception ...
The messing was fun , and the skin for sure went ultra soft after the shower ......... these rituals are not "Just like that" , they were all practiced for a reason in the olden days when the brides were not getting beauty packages in the best of saloons ......
So before we got ready for the evening gathering there was another ritual in which my uncle (mom's brother) had to put the choora(the bangles) and the nath.......... by this time i was totally exhausted and was wondering how on earth will i be able to put even the faintest smile in front of the guests ..... huh !!
It was already 7 pm and the guests had started arriving when i was still struggling with the 5 kg dupatta.
By that time i had totally forgotten that i was tired and was extremely excited to see Kalyan as we were kept away(literally hidden) from each other for the entire previous day ( again, part of some ritual)......... we were keeping in touch on phone ...... but yes !! i wont deny i was really missing him :) ( blush blush)
Finally we were ready and met ... he complimented me and hugged me and all my worries seem to just blow off ....... Now i had finally begin to like it all !!
The venue
Mom ,dad ,sis and Bil....Arshia really not in a mood to pose !! I was still happy today as i was to go back and stay with mom dad until tomorrow " The D Day "
My family who were present !! All my cousins were missing as mostly all were out of country and the lill ones stuck in their exams .... huh !!
The girls looked elegant and very pretty in their traditional attires .Love you all for making it to the wedding in spite of your busy office schedules ........... u guys mean a lot to me !!
I was so happy that my grandma could make it for the wedding.... in spite of her having some minor health problems she was not just present there but all the rituals took place under her guidance ....... she made a lot of efforts to make sure that me and Kalyan get blessed by all the Gods and i truly thank her for that.
Huh !! tired we came back to the change room , making up for the two days of being apart !!
Well, we were to sleep early for the early morning wedding ceremony , finally the " D Day " had arrived. So me and Kalyan parted ways yet again until the next day of our marriage !!
Slept with mom that night and kept wondering how would life be after tomorrow, whom will i be able hold a claim on,as i do on my family and friends !! but then the very thought of kalyan would make me say to myself " i am getting married to a great guy, why do i worry " everything will be just FINE !!
Morning was different , my suitcases were being packed and taken away to the car to be dropped at the venue... things were changing for me and i was accepting it !! the feeling cannot be expressed ,can only be experienced ......
There were much more flowers than the previous day ......... all looked so pretty , fresh and the chill in the air made it even better.
The mandap where the ceremony was to be performed was so beautifully decked up , i was totally mesmerized by the sight of it .........
Mom dad totally living up the spirit of the South in their attire !!very classy i must say
This marriage was very different for me and my family as Kalyan and i are from totally different cultural backgrounnds.... but i guess all my family and frnz including me were very enthusiastic as they were to witness something totally different and i was to experience it . I simply loved my Sari.....
this they say was the real part of the wedding when two souls feel the connection with each other ... we had to place something on each other's heads , they say the cooler it feels the stronger is the bond .... yes !! it did feel cold
The fun begins , the marriage was so entertaining throughout !!
They colored the rice in five different colors and me and kalyan were to put on each other as a part of the ritual.... this was the best in the name of "rituals"
More games , more fun....... i was glad to be married South style !!
Finally the sindhoor !! with every ritual me and Kalyan were getting our bond stronger (spiritually), but i did feel the shivers , could be the chill , not sure :)
It was really sweet of dad and my uncles to be in the south attire on my demand , but i guess it was worth it , they all looked so graceful and carried themselves with a casual comfort !! 
From School to Mandap !! long way to go still
sis & bil were so much of support to mom and dad throughout !! so proud to have you as my sis :)
Getting Blessings from the Priests !!
Finally married !!
Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Kalyan Chakravarthy for the first time ever !!
The wedding came to an end and it was hard to part with my loved ones (until we all met again in the evening :)), we headed to kalyan's House ,where i was welcomed with a lot of smiles and love !!
