Beastmomma

Wow-wee--- getting married was so much fun!! Even though I thought that I was going to lose my mind at several points because of the stress, everything came together very well.   I have been trying to figure out how to document everything on the blog and as a result I have not written here for quite some time.  The task feels quite daunting because I want to find the perfect words to describe how much love and joy I felt throughout the day.  Mixed in between the goodness were several points where I felt longing to spend more time with people who have traveled to spend the day with us.  I have decided to start in the middle.  At some point, I will add more details about other events associated with the wedding. 

I got really nervous right before both weddings and later figured out that I had stage freight.  As wonderful as it is to have a room full of people you love support you, there is something daunting about having so many pairs of eyes on you. As a person who takes about a half hour to get ready, I was really surprised at having to sit still for about two hours to get my hair and make up done.   During the Sikh wedding, we walked around the holy book four times.  The bride's brothers stand up during this process to offer support for their sister.  In addition to my brother, cousin, and a few family friends, I had asked Verne and Ben to stand up.  I was so nervous, but I loved having a few moments with all of them.  During the final round, I remember thinking that my face was going to burst from smiling so much. 

My new aunts helped to get me dressed for the South Indian Hindu wedding.  One of the traditions for the region is for the bride to put jasmine flowers in my hair.  Whenever I went to Madras as a child, I would beg to purchase the bundles of jasmine flowers that were being sold on the street.  I felt like I was in heaven when my new aunts threaded the flowers into my hair!! It looked as though I had a braid of flowers and I believe that I smelled pretty darn good.   Even though my sari kept falling off (thanks to a cousin's wife who could not resist adjusting me right before I went into the ceremony) and I was worried that my in-laws would hate me forever because of my inability to wear clothes properly, I thought that I looked pretty good.  We walked around fire and incorporated the Western tradition of exchanging rings. 

During both ceremonies, I kept thinking "I am very lucky."  I also felt so happy to truly have the blessing and support of so many.    I also loved introducing people to my husband. Of course, I still cannot say that word without giggling.