Congrats to Sudskruti!

Congrats to newlyweds Sanskruti and Sudi!

Married!

Last week I attended the wedding of my very good friend from high school, Sanskruti Patel. This was my first Indian wedding, and not that there was ever any doubt, it was an absolute blast! I've been to some excellent friend's weddings, but this one was truly special in terms of delighting the senses. In particular, there was so much color and sparkle, and food, and music. I still haven't replaced my camera lenses, so it was nice to experience all of this without the stress of having to capture it adequately in pictures, which I would have failed miserably at anyways. (All of the pictures I'm including here are from paid wedding photogs :)

Saris of all colors and shades...

Most of the women were dressed in saris, which is traditional female attire for women in India. The term quite literally means, "strip of cloth," and after some accordion folding, draping, and a few cleverly pinned and tucked bobby pins, you end up with a comfortable, flattering dress-like silhouette. I got to play dressup too since Skruti got me a sari on her last trip to India! Though the general sari shape is pretty fixed, no two saris at this wedding were the same in color and detail, and I caught myself staring way too often at the jeweling, beading, and sparkly accessories each woman was wearing. Maybe because it's just different than what I'm used to, but I found the fashion much more intricate and flattering than typical western dress. Even the men's kurtas (I think this is the name?) had more bedazzling eye candy than your typical suit.

Showing off our mehndi.

And then there was the food. Oh, was there food. There were appetizers, main courses, dessert bars, and snacks. Skruti even arranged for ice cream to be served halfway through the wedding ceremony, which, we can all agree is brilliant. If I ever get married, this is an idea I plan to incorporate. Let's be honest - sometimes those ceremonies can get a bit long, and a sugar pick-me-up never hurts.

My favorite aspect to the wedding was just how happy and laid back it was, despite being a 3-day agenda full of events! I'm positive the planning wasn't carefree, but nothing was rushed or stressful, and both Skruti, Sudi, and all of the (hundreds of) family and friends in attendance were having fun

Day-o-wedding ultimate frisbee game (hours before the ceremony).

Then again, this was a Skruti event...what else would you expect?