And so this is part 3 of my "Wedding in Bangalore" series. For those of you who missed the previous parts, you can read part 1 and part 2 by clicking the links.
Picking up from where we left off, after the memorable wedding service of Thara and Eunice at United Theological College, Benson Town, Bengaluru, I went with my friend B.Ramhluna (Bee), President of the Goa Mizo Welfare Association to his sister's house.
Since I had taken a flight from Pune that same morning dressed in my suit and went directly to the Church from the airport, I was kinda exhausted, and I really needed a chilled beer to recharge myself. Bee on the other hand, was completely refreshed but still drank with me, because he's an alcoholic.
:D
Just kidding. It was great of him to give me company even though he didn't want to drink because I didn't wanna drink all alone, that too right after Church service in the middle of the day. Kinda makes me look bad :P
But sometimes, as they say, alcohol makes the tongue loose. After Bee took one sip, he told me that Mayline wasn't his sister, but his cousin. After one more sip, he told me she wasn't his cousin but actually his friend. Bee then took one more sip and confessed that she wasn't just a friend but his girlfriend. Another sip down and he told me she wasn't just a GF but his fiancée! After Bee took yet another sip, the things he told me next could no longer be mentioned on this blog :D :P
Mayline is a flight attendant who spends her free time decorating bottles.
Bee told me that the only reason why he drinks was so that Mayline could have some empty bottles to decorate. I really feel sorry for him, being forced to drink and stuff.
I have written 5-6 more juicy paragraphs about the awesome Bee, but I have deleted all that, for now. Will put those up in another post, maybe, if Bee is not being nice to me, like if he doesn't send me a personalized wedding invitation :)
Stairway to Bee's Heaven :D
While we were chilling out, Thara and Eunice had reached the wedding reception venue, held at Jayamahal Palace Hotel, near Cantonment Railway Station.
The super talented make-up artist Lahruaitluangi Chhangte was there as well, making sure the bride looked her very best.
A few pics with the newlyweds.
The place was beautiful. All the wedding guests arrived one by one. We were probably the only ones from the Church wedding service missing :D
U Maruata taking a photo of the two most important women in his life.
Bridesmaid C.Laldinpuii being decked up on the sly by Hruaii.
Urrmmm… trying to find a caption here :D
Some members of the Bangalore Mizo Presbyterian Kohhran Choir. They gave a wonderful performance in Church earlier that day.
Finally, the wedding couple entered the venue, with Thara and his Best man Lalawmpuia Colney leading the way.
The wedding cake was covered for the time being…
A few shots of the guests. I would also like to make a special mention of Johnson D. Khiangte, the official photographer of the wedding, who took all these lovely photos. A job really done well. If any of you want a high resolution version of these pics, let me know.
The amazing host Wendy Chawngthu kickstarting the reception program.
A few words from the families of the bride and groom.
The wedding cake unveiling ceremony :)
Thadaaa!
Cake cutting.
Clare aka Blondie Pachuau entertained everybody with beautiful covers, including "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran which she sang at least 10 times that night, lolz.
It's not her fault though, because the crowd kept requesting that same song over and over again.
Wendy walked around the lawn as she handed the mic to prominent guests and people who knew the bride or groom well to say a few words.
Ooooh I really should have been there, I had so many things to say since I knew both of them so well. But then again, we didn't want this to be the shortest marriage in the history of Mizos, so it was good I wasn't there :P :P
The kids too had a lot of fun at the Palace lawn.
Meanwhile, Bee, Mayline and I were finally on our way to the Reception venue :D
We walked in just in time for the present gifting ceremony.
Bee and Mayline with the newlyweds. Bee didn't get any wedding presents for them. When I asked him why, he nonchalantly said there's no greater gift on Earth than the gift of friendship. Ah, classic Bee :)
Proud me with my innocent l'il niece and innocent dear friend, who would no longer be innocent after this night…
After this event, Eunice and her bridesmaid went up to their hotel rooms and changed into our Mizo traditional wear (this is a common practice at all Mizo weddings).
That cute kiss :D
Eunice's mom and my cousin U-Dini was like, "Awweee that is cho chweet, they're kissing each other for the first time!" And I was like, "Urrrmmm…. okhaaayyy, if you say sooo…" :D
More photos of the guests, courtesy Johnson D Khiangte.
Evelyn Sailo, ladies and gentlemen. Without her, this wedding would have been a disaster. The bestest Event Manager and Wedding Planner in Bangalore. Get in touch with her if you're also planning a wedding in Bangalore! :)
Our Bloggers Group with the groom Thara.
With nurse Babie, who also flew down all the way from Mumbai just for the wedding. She wore pink to the wedding reception to announce to everybody that she has a new boyfriend now :) :P
With the talented Wedding Singer Clare Pachuau, mentioned earlier. Clare has been a long time Facebook friend of mine and we socialize very frequently, but this was actually the first time we were meeting in person.
Michael and Mama with Thara posing with their beers from the adjacent hotel bar.
Michael suddenly realized this was a Presbyterian Kohhran wedding and quickly hid his beer, trying his best to look innocent :D
Thara with Cherrie and Babie.
Sisters :)
I was completely delighted to finally meet Pi Zonuni Ralte and Pu Ramdinsanga Saiawi in person too. We had been friends on FB for a long time, and the Saiawi's had been a close family-friend of ours as well. And don't miss my infamous strolley in the photo below too! That strolley had been with me the entire day, right from Pune. :D
Meanwhile, this fellow Bee was everywhere. Sometimes he was here…
Sometimes in this group…
Sometimes by the hotel bar buying some… bottles for Mayline to decorate…
Sometimes there…
And sometimes standing in a queue for dinner….
Yeah that's right. Even though we all went to the reception together, Bee ditched me when it came to dinner! Tsk tsk tsk… Sad me…
He turned to me while we were sitting together at the lawn and said, "Hey how many hanging lights do you think they are using here?" And so I turned around and started counting, "One, two, three…. thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. They're using sixteen hanging ligh..." I replied excitedly as I turned towards him, only to face an empty chair, for Bee was already long gone, standing at the buffet section. :(
Anyway, the dinner was awesome.
The menu for the night was Roast Lamb with Barbeque sauce, Grilled Chicken with tomato pepper sauce, Mutter Paneer, Aloo Gobi dry, Vegetable Manchurian, Veg Manchow soup, Veg hakka noodles, Caesar salad, Papdi Chaat, Fruit salad and Ice cream.
U Maruata and family.
Our table, with Babie, Hlutea, Evelyn Sailo and Dawnga, who came all the way from Manipur to attend the wedding.
The bride and groom's table.
Me posing with the "lawi âr" (bride's hen?) that we stole from their hotel room. In our Mizo wedding custom, the bride brings along around 3 healthy hens with her to the groom's house, and they are known as "lawi âr". They are considered a blessing to the new union. It is also customary for people from the groom's side to steal the "lawi âr" while the bride's side try to prevent it (all in good jest).
So I committed a great blunder that night. Since I was a "Pusum" and a part of "Man-ei", my role was to not just purchase the hen but also guard it. Instead, I was happily on the side that stole it, lolzzzz. :D
A few more candid pics after dinner…
Everybody had a great dinner.
The bride and groom with the host Wendy.
Soon it was time to leave and give Thara and Eunice some space :)
It was an awesome wedding altogether. Everybody had a contribution to make, be it from organizing the event to being a part of the event. We all went home satisfied.
I too reached my Bangalore host's house, and later that night we had so much fun.
But of course for more juicy details on what exactly happened later, be sure to catch the next part :) Until then, cheers everyone.
