I’m baaaaack :)!
As I mentioned earlier, I took a blogging break over the past 10 days while attending a special friend’s wedding.  Between celebrating from morning to night, being surrounded by loved ones, and getting repeatedly blown away by Udaipur’s beauty, last week was undoubtedly one heck of a week!  The only problem with attending such a fun wedding is the inevitable post-wedding blues #firstworldproblems 😉
Attending weddings always remind me why I love being Indian (amongst other reasons). Â If Greeks think their weddings are big & fat, they ought to attend an Indian one! Â Apparently less more is more for us because one wedding means 5-6 functions spread over a few days. Â Along with the partying, I’m a sucker for the traditions behind our weddings. Â Two of my favorites are:
1) The Pheras a.k.a. the actual wedding ceremony whereby the groom & bride walk around the fire or holy book 4 times.  Each phera (a.k.a. round) symbolises a specific vow of love, duty, respect,  fidelity, and a fruitful union between the couple.  Although this ceremony is typically carried out in Hindi, sheets with a translation are often handed out beforehand (thank goodness)!
2) The emphasis on marriage being a union of 2 families rather than just the bride & groom
Cue in the awwwww’s 😉
Despite playing catch-up all weekend, my list doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter. Â That probably means I should round up this post and get back to work ASAP. Â In the meanwhile, here are a few of my favorite pictures from the wedding, courtesy of my iPhone & Instagram:
Cheers to Mr. & Mrs. Malhotra!!Â
Fill me in: How was your week/weekend? What fun things did you get up to?
Where was the wedding?
Udaipur!
awww, how lovely. lovely everything. particularly love the bride’s subtle makeup and saree. such a pretty bride. also, you look amazing.
Thanks Ritika- she really did make a gawgeous bride :)!
It looks like an absolutely gorgeous wedding! I’m glad you had such a great time.
Buuuut…I’m so happy to see you back 😀
Haha thanks Sam <3
Wedding blues are no fun…trust me I know! But at least you had a wonderful time. Looks like all the events were beautiful. I love weddings in India – so much fun!
Haha I’m guessing the post-wedding blues after your OWN wedding is this times a hundred- oh boy!
You look absolutely gorgeous Khushboo!
I’ve only been to one Indian wedding (my cousin’s), which was 2 years back in Jaipur. Indian weddings are huge! I saw family members I didn’t even know I had… Hahaha!
Thanks so much Shreya! Just when I think I’ve met all my relatives, a new one seems to pop up- brown girl problems, eh ;)!
The wedding looks so beautiful! Love all the colors, and I love the emphasis too on the joining of families. Such a happy occasion!
There were times where I just stopped to look at all the colors- really was stunning!
Wow the wedding looks amazing! Looks like you had such a great time, and the couple look so cute 🙂 Welcome back!
Thanks Sonal- I’m sure you can relate about the scale of Indian weddings ;)!
I’ve never been to an Indian wedding, but holy.wow do they sound kind of amazing… and not to mention beautiful! When you get married, be sure to send an invite my way, okay? 😉
My wedding wasn’t anything all too exciting. I did a lot of shopping for my upcoming trip to Hawaii, and threw some baking in there for good measure as well, but for the most part, it was just quiet time with family and friends.
PS – I’m glad you’re back!
Errr consider yourself already on my guestlist ;)! And your weekend sounds great- sometimes the low key ones are my favorite!
wow I just would love to be able to experience a wedding like that. so beautiful!
On the contrary, I would love to attend a church wedding sometime soon :)!
Your culture is SO beautiful!! I want to come to a wedding with you soooo badly!! These photos are amazing. Glad you had such a fun time!
Hahah if you ever make it down to India, I’ll definitely see that we go to one- even if it means crashing a wedding 😀
I love love love Indian weddings even though I’ve never been to one (only seen pictures). You guys have the most gorgeous weddings!
Thanks Katy…as crazy as it sounds, Indian weddings really are like what you see in the movies 🙂
Swoon! What a gorgeous celebration–I love that Indian weddings are spread over an entire week; they represent one of the most important events in life, so that’s how it should be! Everything looks absolutely beautiful–the colors, the flowers, the gorgeous dresses! I also think it’s really neat that there’s an emphasis placed on the merging of two families into one. That’s something that I feel is often overlooked in American weddings.
I’m so happy you had such a wonderful week, Khushboo! I’m glad you’re back! xoxo <3
Thanks Sara :)! While the focus on family (even when you’re not married) can get a bit claustrophobic at times, I wouldn’t want it any other way! Hope you enjoy your wedding this weekend!
So glad you had fun… but glad to have you back. 🙂
You looked gorgeous and what stunning location for a wedding! Indian weddings are always the prettiest. 🙂
Thanks, Laura :D! It was my first time in that part of India but I’m almost certain it’s where I want to get married ;)!
Welcome back Khushboo :)!
I always get that post-blues feeling after a really amazing event/spending some quality time with people I enjoy being around with for several days.
Indian weddings are the best! I had the chance to go to two and an engagement over the years, and enjoyed the festvities, family, food, etc. It was also great being a young kid and going to these functions since all the kids that ended up tagging along with their parents would manage to conglomerate together and we would find ways to make even the “boring” parts fun ;P!
Haha totally! I always leave weddings with more friends :)!
The photo of the bride and groom looks very similar to my brother and his wife’s photo. They had a small Justice of the Peace wedding in America and then a big wedding in her home city of Jarkarta, Indonesia.
Congrats to your bro & his wife! A wedding in Jakarta must have been amazing- I would love to go one day :)!
BEAUTIFUL pictures!!
Ok, i absolutely very seriously love different cultures and learning about them – especially wedding traditions! I have a few very close Indian friends and always love to hear about the weddings and backgrounds and meanings of things!
Thank you so much :)! I’m sure your Indian friends could talk your ear off about our traditions- they are almost never-ending!
Amazing!!!! Love Inidain weddings too!! Just divine!
:)!
Oh my goodness what STUNNING colors, outfits, decorations… ahh I love it all! I am so loving hearing about different cultures and weddings, please give more and more details! If you would like to 🙂 Glad to have you back deary!
So glad you enjoyed this post, Tess! I have quite a few weddings on the agenda this year so more details will definitely be coming up soon :)!
Looks so great Khushboo.. wow, a wedding in Udaipur. That must have been some wedding! The Leela anywhere in India is stunning. I hope you can share more pictures from the wedding and Udaipur in general. Nice to have you back again! 🙂
It was my first time staying at the Leela but I can’t say enough good things about the hotel & staff- they truly treat each guest like royalty!
Wow – that wedding looks GORGEOUS! Love all the bright colors 🙂 I was just talking about Indian weddings with some friends at the gym because one of them knew someone who was getting married… They were talking about how elaborate and grand they are – truly stunning!
Thank you so much, Allison! Along with the scale of Indian weddings, they definitely are all about the color too :)!
I love Indian wedding. The colors, the flowers, the multiple days of festivities. Hats how it should be done. I went to a Muslim before and it was really cool from the initial henna party to the final brunch four days later. These pictures are great; it looks really beautiful.
I didn’t realise that Muslim weddings had a henna ceremony too- very cool to know 🙂
What a stunning hotel! And bride, of course 🙂 Glad to hear the wedding was so fabulous–and I’m with you, an emphasis on families coming together is such a great message for a wedding!
It honestly was an incredible hotel- both in terms of beauty & service :)!