Wedding Day : part 2

For the first part of my wedding go to: http://secretsofmissdaydreamer.blogspot.com/2014/11/wedding-day-part-1.html

It was now time for the other half of the wedding. I was wearing a golden kanjivaram that my mom in law got for me. I was really looking forward to dawn it on my wedding. I have always fancied kanjivarams and especially those that Rekha always wears at award functions. So, when my mom in law asked me what kind of saree I would like for my wedding, my first instinct was "Rekha jaisi golden saree" :p . Thus began the search for the perfect golden kanjivaram. After days and days of going around shops, and exchanging whatsapp clicks of the sarees with me, my mom in law and sis in law finally found the one, it was just "love at first sight" for me, the feeling you get when you find just what you were looking for...ahhh.

Anyways, after the saptapdi, it was now time for some more rituals, the first of them was "soonmukh", when the bride is introduced to her new family and everyone welcomes her with a gift and sweets are exchanged.

 My mom in law showering me with gifts.

This is a unique maharashtrian tradition, where the bride and groom are made to sit on the mother in law's lap and all of them are supposde to look into a mirror. I don't know the significance of this, but it was sure fun!

All the ladies in the family, greet the bride and puts sugar in her mouth as a welcome. I had so much sugar that day, I almost got a high!

This is my grand mom in law, welcoming me to the family with gifts. She has an spirit and even danced with us in the evening.

Although it feels odd to say this, but I honestly had sooper fun at my wedding, I was with both of my families, receiving gifts, chatting with the guests, getting so much love, I was having a blast .... haha.... and looking forward to the fun filled dance evening.

DJ night outfit and pictures coming up soon...stay tuned!!

You can also follow me on Instagram @manalidaydreamer.

Wedding day : part 1

My wedding day had finally arrived. It was a beautiful sunny morning, I woke up at six with butterflies in my stomach. It was hard to believe how everything was falling together. I was very happy and excited. I would usually imagine how nervous I would be on my wedding day and what if anything goes out of the plan, however, I was shocked to notice how composed I was and how everything went on so smoothly without any hiccups.

I took a bath, and waited for the makeup artist to arrive. I could see the baraat downstairs from my window. Everyone was at their best moods, dancing like champions.

I had planned to go for a traditional look for the wedding. Also, Its customary to change the saree amid the ceremony, so I was going to wear a royal purple silk saree that I got for the morning and then change it after the saptapadi to a golden kanjeevaram for the afternoon that my mother in law had brought for me.

For my hair, I wanted tradition white flowers and a braid. I also had to wear a pearl string on my forehead and a nath that every maharashtrian bride wears.

I'd been listening to stories by brides about how tired and frustrated they got on their wedding, so I was very concerned and made sure it doesn't happen to me. I went to the lengths of fighting with my mom over cutting down the wedding rituals to 2 hours which would usually go on for half a day and I am so glad I did.

For the first out of the many rituals, the "guru ji" used a thread to tie both of us together. It was fun and we were both looking at each other and giggling, while my mom was busy giving me these looks, asking me to keep quite and be a shy bride...lol!

Couldn't help but show all my teeth !

After a whole lot of mantras, the next step was the saptapadi or the "feras" .

and the Varmala! which is supposed to be a lot of fun but the guruji was a spoilt sport and so he decided to announce that if anyone tries to pick up the bride or the groom, he will leave the wedding and we had to listen to him like good obedient kids. huh! wheres the fun in that :-/

Another unique maharashtrian ritual is that after the wedding the groom takes the bride outside to show her some weird constellation, I don't actually remember what they called it.. but yea.. apparently looking at extraterrestrial stuff on your wedding brings good luck... no harm ..right?

We just took it as a chance to pose for pictures :P

and this is how I got married and it was time for the second round.. so I went up to my room to change and get the loads of turmeric and rice out of my face and hair.

Wanna know what happened after this.... stay tune and follow me!!

Wedding Day 2 : Engagment

Finally the day had arrived... I was getting engaged. All the planning that I did for months was taking shape. The day started as we moved to the hotel where we were supposed to stay for the next two days. Everybody was super excited and anxious at the same time, especially me. I was going to see him after a long wait of six months. 

By the time I reached the venue, the baraat had already arrived and everyone was sent to their rooms to get ready for the lunch. I finally got a chance to see Mr. "to be" and it was a magical moment. While everyone was busy settling in their rooms, I somehow managed to steal away some alone time with him.

It was lunch time now, filled with a lot of meet and greet and the who's who among both the families. For the lunch, I was wearing a red Anarkali that I had designed myself from a vintage kanjeevaram saree. Unfortunately, we didnt click any pictures that time.

Anyways, after the lunch it was time for me to go to the parlour and get ready for the evening. I had pre booked the makeup artist whom I knew from before. Since, I had been planning for this for forever, I knew exactly what I wanted for my look and the makeup artist did a fab job, I was very happy with his work.

For those of you who don't know, I had a maharashtrian wedding. The groom is a maharashtrian and I am kinda sorta too...lol! Actually my mom's family moved to MP from maharashtra long time back and my dad's family is from karnataka and I have never lived in those states and neither do i know the language... and being the progressive person that I am, I like to feel free from these boundaries. But due to the majority of maharashtrians involved, the wedding was maharashtrian style.

For the main wedding, I planned to go for a traditional look. So, I wanted something sort of trendy and bollywood for the engagement. I wore a neon lehenga saree with flares. It was so light and comfortable, I could move around and enjoy the whole function. I don't like to wear a lot of heavy jewelry so I tried to keep it minimum. For the hair I got a messy bun with some curls. For the makeup I trusted the MUA and left it to him.

Here I would like to clarify, that traditionally maharashtrian weddings involve a whole lot of poojas and are not meant to be parties unlike the north indian weddings. I, on the other hand had big plans to have fun and enjoy at the wedding. Fortunately my husband, mom and mom in law and in fact both families are some of the coolest people you'd come across and they gave me total freedom in terms of what I wanted to wear and do at my wedding. I can never thank them enough for that. The con however is that the pooja's couldn't be skipped.

Both the rings were shopped by my husband from US, I was blown away when he put it in my finger.

After the rituals and the ring ceremony were done with, we went outside to pose for some pictures.

They have turned out amazingly.

So, this is how the day came to an end. I will be sharing stories on all my wedding events ...so stay stuned and follow me... do share your comment, I d love to hear :) :)

My Wedding Day 1 Mehendi

 Hey Girls, I am back!

I apologize for the long absence from the blog but sometimes life happens .... I have been busy with moving to Dallas. I have now started my MBA here at UT Dallas. Also I had my honeymoon at Florida...yay!!! A lot of information for one post ..right??  So I swear i'll be active on the blog now and will be sharing a lot of interesting stuff starting with the long awaited posts of my wedding.

So wedding day 1 was mehendi. I am one of those people who have a very short attention span and cant just sit at one place for more than 10 minutes, so I had a really hard time sitting at one place for hours... other than that I had a lot of fun. I had decided that i will not be putting on a really elaborate design with figures and faces that takes like the whole day... as I feel that the details do not show up as much after the mehendi falls off and plus its so tiring. So I went for a simpler design that looked clean even after drying.

Mehendi was a small function that took place at my home. I just had my relatives and close friends who made the event so much fun and unforgettable.

  

The best part of the mehendi, I felt was the feet. Even though I always feel my feet are ...umm how do i put it "not pretty" the mehendi wali did a great a job at it.

One thing I was really excited about was the pictures :D :D. The photographer did a really wonderful job and I will have to write a whole other post for the wedding photography.

I wore a bright green halter neck anarkali with a floral embroidered top. I thought that the vibrant color and light weight of the dress was perfect for the event. The hair and makeup were pretty basic and were done by me.

One tip that I want to give to the brides to be is to be as relaxed as possible. I don't know if that is as doable for everyone because I have always been a very chilled out person and a lot of people told me at my wedding that they had never met a more relaxed bride.

I chilled out with my friends, posed for the photographs, chatted with the guests and moved around a lot, although that I would not advice it, as it lead to my mehendi falling off within 2 hours of applying it.

Altogether, it was one of the most memorable, happiest and anxious days of my life as I waited for my groom.... who was about to reach the next morning.

Want to know..what happened the next day ?? Stay tuned, I will post all about it next week.

Do share your comments.. I love it when you do that!

The Chronicles of Udaipur - Part 2

So after an action packed day 1 of our trip, it was time to pull up our socks for the day 2. The day started with an early morning trip to the karni mata temple, which is on top this mountain that gives a full view of the entire city. There is a rope way that takes you to the top and brings you back. It was the perfect start to a perfect day. The view from the top was breathtaking. The location proved to be perfect for our little photo shoot.

View of the jagmandir island from the top.

I wore this tunic from Global Desi and a pair of comfy jeans.

These lost and found vintage -y looking aviators completed the look.

This is what my baby sis wore......

Peach pants - Nuon
Blue Jersey Tshirt - Lifestyle
Chappals - Westside
Jewelry - Random online store































After the hill top, our next stop was Gulabh bagh. Its a nice park / animal zoo. Since the weather was so pleasant and cool, we had a really great time here, walking through the gardens and watching all those exotic animals. I was just taking some random shits and ended up getting some really nice clicks, including this one... the ostrich giving me this one bloody eye look :P

The peacock dancing in all its glory...

Followed by the Gulabh bagh, we went for a boat ride in the fateh sagar lake and then to the "Saheliyon ki bari', which is again a beautiful fountain garden.... the main attraction of the garden was this beautiful elephant fountain .... which is covered entirely with fresh water lillies.

After the long day of sight seeing across the whole city, I had just enough energy left for my most awaited part of the trip..... yes u guessed it right ...SHOPPING (big smile).
We shopped for a lot of local handicrafts and other stuff. I also got a special "maharani" face pack, that claims to give you a queen like glow :P .... planning to try it out soon.

Dont forget to drop in your comments..... keep visiting for more fun :) :) !!!

The Chronicles of Udaipur - Part 1

So This weekend we had an awesome family trip to Udaipur ....... Even though this was my second trip to this magnificent city...... the magnitude of royalty, the spectacular colors, the scenic landscape, the rich culture and art, the mouth watering food and the inherent beauty of the city has left me awestruck.

I have always been fascinated by palaces, museums and all things artsy.. so I really enjoy visiting historical places and getting to the know the story of the place, so when we had to decide on a location for our small weekend trip, Udaipur was undoubtedly my first choice.

I made sure that we stay at a heritage hotel, so we booked this place which used to be an 18th century Haveli and is now converted to a hotel. The interior of the hotel was so eclectic with Moroccan style colored glass windows and lamps, had mosaic glass ceilings and rajasthani tapestry and wall paintings... it was an absolute treat to my eyes and I couldn't help but capture some pictures.

So our trip started with the visit to the famous city palace, we hired a guide to take us around the palace and museum. As he was telling us about the story of the palace and the lifestyle of the kings and Queens of those times.. I was completely transported to the era and I could totally imagine all that happening right in front of my eyes. It was magical.

After the museum tour, we went for a boat ride in the Pichola lake that took us around the lake palace and on to the jagmandir, which is an island temple. The boat ride gives a good view of the entire city and made me understand why they call this place the "Venice of the east"

The Jagmandir island had a cute lil' restaurant where we had our lunch.

We spared a moment to click a quickfie (quick selfie :p .... i made this word) .

In the evening, we went to catch a traditional Rajasthani dance performance at "Bagore ki Haweli". We relished in the music and dance, watching the costumes and colors was a delight to the eyes. We were blown away by the skills of the performers. It also had a puppet show, which was a total entertainer.


 The day ended with some shopping around the small street shops all around our hotel at gangaur ghat. These shops are filled with tourists and have some amazing stuff like old postcards with miniature handmade paintings, silver jewelry and other handmade artifacts. Bargaining is a must do at these places though.

Since the area is filled with tourists from all over, the food joints offer a variety of cuisines here. You will find small french cafes and German bakery s in small nooks and corners and since there is a shortage of space, there is an array of roof top restaurants to choose from and most of these offer decent quality food and a nice lake view.

For the day, My lil' sister Nainy wore a pretty white dress. I made her wear this hat and pose for me, so I could put it on the blog :p .....

Since the post is getting too long .... i ll save the rest for the continued post..  please stay tuned and leave your comments, i love listening to you :).

How to survive a bad haircut

Well today's blog is about every girl's nightmare... a bad haircut ...urghhhh. I know all of you must have gone through this pain at least once in your life and therefore I am sure you'd be able to totally empathize with the story I am about to tell you.

So, flashback to 4th of may... just one month to go for my wedding..... all my wedding beauty prep is on its peak... beauty sleep, face packs, hair oiling, conditioning and the list goes on, and suddenly I feel the need to get a hair cut. Those of you who have seen my old pictures know that i had really long hair before and i've had them that way for as long a I can remember... the last time they were short was in Xth standard i guess.
Since, I get them trimmed regularly, it did not seem like a big deal. but still there was some part of my brain that kept me a little apprehensive..... So i asked my mom and she readily said that I do need to get the tips removed as it will add a little bounce to the hair and at the same time she warned me not to get it too short.

# TIP No. 1 Never cut your hair right before your wedding or any big event, always have some time on your hand for corrections and for allowing them to grow. (I had a month)

So, being the impulsive person that I am,  instead of going to my regular guy, I set off to find the hair salon with the best haircut in town. I asked a few of my friends and my sister's friends and one name came up a lot more than the others, people said that this is the new hep place...they give really cool haircuts and one of the girls also gave me the name of the guy there who's the best there. So I decided to go there...

# TIP No. 2  Never try to experiment with your hair especially near big days, these are the most accident prone days... (but that's just my theory :p...applies to all rash decision makers)

Next day, I went to this place and turns out that the guy I wanted was unavailable and is only available on appointment... so I being the impatient person that I am decided to get it done from the so called next best guy available (big mistake) and what the hell did i know  :'( ... He asked me what i wanted... I told him that I just wanted to trim my hair and add some bounce on the top. He looked really confident and told me to relax and put my neck down and began his work. After about 20 mins, he asked me if i would like some bangs... i said yes....after all I am going to be the bride... a different look would be perfect, I was thinking in my head and BAMMMMM!!!.... he took the scissors and cut of a big chunk of hair off my face.

# TIP No. 3 Always be really specific on what you want with your hair and do not agree with what they suggest, especially if its your first time with them.

So I come home with this stupid haircut, cursing that guy and killing him in my head. I felt like crying after seeing in the mirror (all length gone, uneven steps and super short bangs)

...  Nothing cheered me up... even my mother in law was upset after looking at my picture.. I was helpless. After two days of being that way I realized that I have to live with it so this is what i did.

# Accept your new haircut and try to make it work.
# Tie it up, pin it up, straighten it, curl it, put on a clutch-er.... there is a good chance it will look alright in at least one of the ways.
# Oil, condition, brush... regular hair care to make it grow faster.. I grew almost an inch in one month.
# For the big day, choose your hairstyle keeping in mind your haircut and what suits your face.
#Stop obsessing about it and be happy .... that is the only thing that will make it go away.... if you are happy and smiling nobody will care about your hair and as they say happy girls are always the prettiest.