Saturday. Sagan+Sangeet day. The morning passed by in a blur. All I can recall is the growing sounds of laughter as guests poured in, and plates – lots and lots of plates stacked with puris and jalebis. Last minute dance practices could be seen in a few corners of the house, interrupted only by the occasional jalebi break.
One of my friends walked in close to 1 pm – he had flown down all the way from USA to attend my wedding. I sat with him for probably 5 minutes, before excusing myself to take a nap in my room. Honestly, I don’t even remember if I got any sleep that afternoon, but I did try for 30 minutes to keep my eyes closed. Once I was up, I rushed to get my things together – I had to leave for b:blunt with ALL of my things. I’d reach the venue directly from there. So I had to carry my outfit, jewellery, shoes, back-up shoes, emergency kit, phone, cash – the works! Putting it together took longer than anticipated and after a rushed lunch, I was out the door.
My makeup artist (MUA) was the same woman who had been cutting my hair over the last 8 months. I’d had a short meeting with her shortly before the wedding where I’d shown her my outfits and we’d decided on a rough draft of what we wanted the look to be like on all the occasions. Point is, I was already comfortable with her.
While she got to work, I just tried to make the yawns go away. Imagine just sitting there, for almost 3 hours, with nothing to do except stare at yourself in the mirror.
The photographer kept it slightly entertaining for me, and I remember eating a LOT of Hide & Seek biscuits. The staff at b:blunt was really hospitable, and they kept an endless supply of biscuits going.
I was running short of time by the end of it, but we managed to wrap up by 6.30ish. The only problem was, the venue was only 15 kms away from where I was and start time was 7 pm! I must admit, I was a little stressed about reaching the venue on time. Thankfully, it was Eid that day, and the roads were pretty empty. I entered the venue at 7.05 pm (5 minutes late), and literally made a run for the little room that was reserved for me.
I was relieved to find that no one from the boy’s side had turned up yet – I had been stressing for no reason! This was beginning to feel like the roka all over again. The bride is running late, but is saved by the equally late arrival of the boy’s family! Phew!
They arrived around 7.30 pm finally, and started off with the Sagan ceremony. This was a new experience for my family, as we had never seen a Sagan in action before. Only the boy is supposed to sit through the puja, and I was waiting inside the room till this part of the ceremony got done. Unfortunately, I had to sit in there for over 1 and a half hours! My true bride-zilla colors were beginning to show. Thankfully, only my closest family and friends were around to see that side of me – I was close to screaming at having to wait so long on my own Sagan/Sangeet! I was thoroughly prepared to wait on wedding day – I knew that the girl waits inside patiently till the groom enters the venue. But this was NOT wedding day, and I was not prepared to wait this long on the Sagan/Sangeet!
Finally, I was told I could come out. I was glad to see my groom in the distance, looking dashing in his blue kurta. Once I was on the stage, things moved at a quick pace. We finally got to the part where rings had to be exchanged. This was the moment I had been waiting for. Call it whimsy encouraged by years of watching too many Hollywood movies and shows on Star World, but I wanted my groom to go on his knees and propose. I had even written a whole post on this, and as the seconds went by, it seemed more and more likely that he would not give in to my childish demands. But I kept prodding, saying I wouldn’t give my hand till he went on his knees. Finally, reluctantly, he obliged. And he may not realize this, but it made for a beautiful memory. For me. Later on, I felt a tinge of regret at making him do something he was probably uncomfortable with, but I’m sure we’ll get over it 🙂
Up next – Sangeet! Can you guess what surprises were in store for the bride and the groom?
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Photographs by Tarun Chawla Photography
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You can read the whole thedelhibells series here:
Shinjini Amitabh Chawla 
Hey! It wasnt such a long post.. Waiting for the Sangeet post now.. 😛
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Really? Hehe, i guess it’s length on MS Word scared me a bit. But after what you’ve said, I’m assuming I can afford to go longer with my posts!
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Ur looking like such a doll…congratulations for so many things..the wedding the centuries on ur blog..well done 🙂
u look like such a sweet heart…that i feel like i know u even though we hav never spoken. thanks a lot for stopping by my blog n leaving ur comment ..really appreciate it…cant wait for ur wedding post…so im following u now 🙂
all the very best n a big hug from me…love
lookingoodfeelingfab.blogspot.in
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Thank you! I love your sense of fashion that comes across on your blog – your ideas are unique, and I LOVE this clothes! 🙂
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so cute… every girl waits for guy to got down on knees to propose.. its such a pleasure to see your dreams turn into reality… God bless you..
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thanks shikha! it really was a dream come true 🙂
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Aww u look great!!! And a very cute moment indeed!
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Also – I love the white – very unconventional 🙂
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thanks! my mother was extremely uncertain about the lehenga till even a few days before the sangeet…she kept saying “I’m still willing to go out and spend on another lehenga for u, isn’t this too plain?” but eventually, the lehenga was such a huge hit – sooo many of my mom’s friends asked her “whereeee did u get that lehenga from? we loved it!” So eventually, all went well. Phew!
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As it always does!!! Im glad it was a hit – it had to be!!
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Hey….. jst started reading ur blog…. & loving it…. you are looking really cute & I love the way that ur would be went on one knee & proposed u….. both of you are looking really amazing…..:)
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thanks for following vishakha! are u also getting married soon/newlywed?
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You are so lucky .. Atleast he complied to your wishes! Mine would have run away 😛
Very cute post 🙂 Enjoyed reading it .. And now looking forward to the next one!
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hehehe…mine did almost run away 😉
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Haha. I love how you stuck to your guns about not giving your hand in till he gets down on his knee.
Also, love your lehenga. So simple and classy.
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thank u sonia! And…where there’s a will, there’s a way 🙂 hehe!
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I just realised – thats my hand holding his ring 😛 *insignificant trivia*
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thanks for clearing that! I was wondering all these days – yeh kiska haath tha? 🙂
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lol!! the ring on my finger served as a reminder. I can serve as a hand model. Loved your post btw. you hv a follower in me 🙂
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Luvd ur lehenga.. pretty pretty.. 🙂
whr did u buy this from??
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Lehenga is from Aumbre at Hauz Khas, designed by Astha and Siddharth
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its just beyond perfect..!!! I always run from marriage.. n coming across your blog is just so wonderful that I really wanna get married now… Uber like!!!!
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Hehe…what shall I say “ek aur bakri phas gayi”?
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hey delhi bride… i think my parents attended your wedding, your description of the functions sounds like what they attended haha 🙂
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Hi! your parents probably did attend my wedding then 🙂
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hey delhibride, I really liked your sandals.. Mu hunt for my weddign sandals in on. Could you please tell from where you bought your ones and recommend good shops to buy weddign shoes. Thanks a lot.. I have been constantly following your blog and must say you looked lovely on all your functions and your blog is actually serving as a great guide.
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Thank you! I bought mine from Lajpat Nagar mannnyyy years ago. Other good places for shoe shopping are Stilletoes (not sure how you spell their store’s name) in Lajpat Nagar and Venus Steps in South Ex – for bridal bling-type shoes. If you’re looking only for comfort, then Clarks is the best.
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I love reading your blog! I can’t believe brides in India wait for their grooms wHile it’s the other way in moSt countries!
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