It's an Indian Wedding Weekend EXTRAVAGANZA!

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone! I spent my long weekend being immersed in all things Indian wedding festivities. It seriously was one of the most fun weekends/weddings... well, ever.

So much fun, in fact, that I couldn't just cram all the festivities into one mere blog post. You better believe that I've devoted a mini-blog series to the one and only Neha and Eashwar's wedding festivities. Honestly, Indian weddings are the way to GO. It's literally three days of gluttonous happiness... endless GORGEOUS INDIAN OUTFITS (!!), endless FOOD, endless open BAR, endless dancing, endless FUN!

As much crazy fun as this wedding weekend was, I also want to point out that Neha and Eashwar's wedding is among one of the most memorable weddings I've been to thus far. They are seriously two of the kindest, most respectable people that anyone will ever meet and I can't emphasize enough the TREMENDOUS amount of respect I have for the two of them. Sooo... as light as I tend to make of a lot of the wedding weekend festivities, I just want to make sure it's clear just how meaningful the ceremonies/rituals were for me to experience as part of their (humongous) audience. At the risk of sounding completely cheesy, it was nothing short of a privilege to be part of this wedding experience.

Deep, I know. So, to bring it back to the normal lack of depth that IS the Maliyacular... without further ado, I'd like to introduce to you...

Neha and Eashwar's Wedding Extravaganza Mini-Series

Day One: Open Bar Happiness
Details the festivities of the first night's Sangeet, a celebratory night of dance performances put on by Neha and Eashwar's family and friends in honor of the lovely couple

Day Two: Henna, A Bus and a Resort Complex
Details the festivities of the second night's Mehendi- a night typically reserved for just females (Neha and Eashwar opened this to both males and females) that focuses on decorating the hands and feet with various henna tattoos. Traditionally, the bride has to "find" her groom's name in the intricate detailing of her Mehendi (henna tattoo)... it's not as easy as it sounds! This stuff gets INTRICATE.

Day Three: Neha and Eashwar's Big Day
Details the big day itself! This day included a Bharat (where the groom rides in on a horse, to the energetic dancing of his family and friends), a Sikh ceremony, a Hindu ceremony and... of course, a reception to end all receptions (let's be honest here).

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!

Henna, A Bus and A Resort Complex

So days two and three of the wedding extravaganza of a weekend just continued in the same style as the first night of celebratory festivities.

Because I'm unable to sleep in, no matter how late I go to sleep the night before, I decided to take full advantage of my early morning wake up and head off to Cincinnati for the day to visit with the 'rents. It was all so very delightful (I refuse to post pictures of my family on my blog, which is why you will not be seeing many, if any, pictures posted) and quite frankly, Cincinnati just makes me so happy.

After a fleeting few hours at home, I ventured back to Louisville... you KNOW I wasn't going to be missing a single second of the Saturday night festivities, which included a grand ol' Mehendi party. Now, typically, the Mehendi parties I've been to in other Indian weddings are for the females only, but, since there were SO MANY people who had come in from out of town, Neha and Eashwar had decided to open the Mehendi party to all their guests.

Well, the Mehendi party was actually at a family friend's house, about a twenty-minute drive from the Marriott downtown where we were all staying. Because Neha and Eashwar were super thoughtful about the convenience of their guests, they'd arranged transportation to and from the family friend's house where the Mehendi party was taking place... now, how in heaven's name is one supposed to transport like 600 of one's closest family and friends?

What else? With multiple shuttle trips, of course.

I'm not gonna lie... I really was wondering what this person's neighbors were thinking as they were seeing busload after busload of Indian aunties and uncles convening in front of their house.

Oh, well. I guess when you live in something resembling a resort, things like shuttling people to and fro is just an everyday part of life. That's right... THIS is where the Mehendi party was taking place.

I know, right? That's all I have to say. I was on my best behavior all weekend long, so I made sure to keep my jaw from approaching the floor at every turn of the way.

But... well, I mean REALLY? Really.

In any event, as with the rest of the weekend, the Mehendi party was one sweet success. I didn't actually get the henna done on my hands (I've done it once or twice before), but several of the other girls that I was with did and absolutely LOVED the experience. Needless to say, the Mehendi lady had her hands MORE than full, given the sheer VOLUME of people that wanted to get their hands done up with henna.

This night turned out to be SO much fun... as people were getting their henna done, there was just so much mingling being done and... as per usual, that open bar line was out. of. control. It was all so merry and festive... so, in spite of the 90+ degree heat and sunshine, I can safely say we all had ourselves a delightful time, with our excitement only escalating further still with the events of the next day (the ACTUAL wedding day).