Category Archives: Our Wedding

Our Story – Reception in Sydney – Part 50

Posted on December 4, 2014 | 6 comments

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

Once we landed in Sydney from Vietnam, I was so happy that the wedding was over and it went better than I had hoped. We also had an amazing honeymoon and life was -good.

Once we settled back into the life in Sydney, AS and I decided that we needed to organise another reception in Sydney as we had discussed before, for all the friends and family who were here. As you know that I have been living in Sydney for so long that I have more friends here than in Nepal now so it seemed natural to have a nice reception here to celebrate our happiness.

Reception in Sydney (1)

Thus, the planning began. We wanted to keep it simple so we booked a restaurant instead of a party venue (no need to worry about setting up and easy decoration) and invited around 100 + to celebrate our happiness.

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We ordered the cakes, balloon and decoration and decided on our music and food. It was not as hard as the one we had to organise in Kathmandu.

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The morning of the reception, we were busy at first picking up the decoration and getting the venue ready. It was not hard as restaurant had done an excellent job with what they had and it was just touch up with banners, balloons and centrepieces.

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Once the venue was all ready, I got ready with my hair and makeup. I was wearing one of my wedding saris and AS was wearing the daura surwal from the wedding too.

When we got there the place was ready for the party. The cake was at the centre and everything was ready to go. This time the cake was AS’s favourite mud cake with the printed centrepiece from our wedding in Nepal.

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Slowly guests started to arrive and the entrée was served. The food was very tasty and everyone was having a great time.

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After entrée, there were some speech and first dance for AS and I.

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Then we cut the cake so the function continued.

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We had a white board for guest to write a message for us and a photographer capturing the moment. It was fun to read what everyone wrote and it was a good memory.

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We had main served followed by dessert and in the meantime, dance floor was rocking with guest having fun. By the end of the evening, almost everyone was on the dance floor and we had a great time with the guests.

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By the time, the last guest had left it was close to midnight and we were tired as well.

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It was great being the bride again and surrounded by loved ones who were happy for us and enjoying our happiness. We were glad everything went so well and finally our wedding celebration was officially over.

I have a big announcement to make on my next post , till then ,take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to vote your favorite blog . NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

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Our Story – “Wanjala” ceremony- Part 48

Posted on December 1, 2014 | 1 comment

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

This is a ceremony where the newly wed bride is taken to the temple of the Kuladevata (family deity) where the bride is introduced to the god as a new member of the family and in front of the god, the groom puts Sindoor on the bride’s forehead and hair partition.

Wanjala (1)

The very next morning after I came to AS’s house, we went for Wanjala. It was me, my MIL, AS’s aunts and AS. We drove to the temple and waited in the queue for the priest to be free.

Wanjala

Once he was available, we handed him all the things for the Puja along with Sindoor from the Swayamvar ceremony. He performed some rituals and prayers and then asked AS to put Sindoor on my forehead. My MIL held a red and gold cloth from behind and, AS put the Sindoor on my forehead. Then I had to touch AS’s feet to get his blessing.

Wanjala (2)Wanjala (3)

Then we went around the temple to get the blessing from the gods. Once all the pujas were done, we sat down and ate the sagun we had brought from home. It is considered a good sign to eat around the temple.

Wanjala (4)

More on wedding on next post, till then, take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to vote your favorite blog . NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

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Our Story – “Jwain Bhitraune” ceremony- Part 47

Posted on November 30, 2014 | Leave a comment

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

“Jwain” means son in law in Nepali. After the wedding when the newly married couple visits the bride’s home for the first time, the groom has to give Supari to all the close members of the bride’s family and is introduced to the members of the bride’s family. The event also comprises of the bride’s family presenting the groom with gifts such as clothes, shoes and even jewellery.

When we (me and AS) came to my parent’s home for the first time, all my relatives were waiting for us. It was exciting as it was the first time a son in law visits the house after the wedding. It is the ceremony where the, groom is introduced to the bride’s family members. The funny thing was he already knew all of them.

The preparation was all done before hand so we went straight to the room where Supari ceremony going to start. AS sat down alongside his brother and my aunt (the eldest member of the family) started the ritual.

Jwain Bhitraune (1)

Like most ceremony, she put tika to Lord Ganesh and then to AS. Then AS gave supari to my parents and it return they gave him a suitcase which had a suit, a shirt, shoe, socks and perfume. Then Supari was given to rest of the family and my brother gave him a watch and other relatives gave him money.

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As it was only close relatives it didn’t take long. After that we had dinner. It was fun to be back at my parents’ home.

Jwain Bhitraune (3)

The days following the wedding, AS and I had to visit all my close relatives. They performed simple puja and give him Sagun. It is called “Jwain Bhitraune” in their home. Normally this process takes many days as you go to various relatives one day at a time but we finished this process all in one day. We visited all my relatives and we had breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner and more snacks in different relatives’ homes.

In Nepal, everyone loves to feed you and they don’t like an empty plate so by the end of that day we had so much Sagun and food that both of us were completely stuffed. My relatives also gave us some cloths as gifts.

Till then, take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to vote your favorite blog . NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

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Our Story – “Mukh Herne” ceremony- Part 46

Posted on November 28, 2014 | 7 comments

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

Mukh Herne is the day when the bride’s family comes and meets the bride at the Groom’s place, with lots of gifts like jewellery, saris, cosmetic, shoes, bags, fruits, Nepali Rotis , Masala and much more.

Mukh Herne literally means “looking at the face” and traditionally it is done after the bride spends a few days with the groom’s family. All the bride’s relatives then visit the groom’s home so they can “look at the bride’s face” and see if she is happy and being treated well.

During this ceremony every member of the bride’s family gives her money or jewellery as Mukh Herne gift. The groom is not allowed to be present while this ceremony goes on.

Once I came to AS’s house I was looking forward to this day. I hadn’t seen my parents for four days so I was very excited when the day finally arrived.

Wedding Ceremony

I woke up early, went to the beauty parlour and got ready to go to the venue. I was wearing a pink Sari with a green border (a gift from my mother in law) along with lots of accessories and bridal makeup.

Wedding CeremonyOnce we were at the venue I called my dad to check where they were. He said they were on the way. When they arrived at the venue, it started raining heavily. This is what is called a Monsoon Wedding I guess. Every time any big event was about to begin, it started raining during our wedding.

Wedding Ceremony

It was so nice to see my family again, my dad was there with my brother, my sister-in-law, my uncles, aunts, cousins and close friends. According to the tradition, my mum hadn’t come. I wished she was there too.

They brought everything that was sent from AS’s family during Supari ceremony except perishable items and they had added more items so there were heaps of trays decorated nicely.

Mukh Herne (4)Wedding Ceremony

They also had a cake (the two tier with bride and groom topping), a decorated yogurt, Saris, bags, lots of Rotis and fruits. They also had decorated fish, and a coconut.

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Once everything was organised for the ceremony I was asked to sit to start the ceremony.

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Then the ceremony started with Tika being put on my forehead by my uncle, the eldest male in the family. Then he handed me the red Dupatta Sari. I had to go and change into this new Sari for the remainder of the ceremony.

So I took my cousins and friends to help me change into the room next door. It was a big job as it was a Dupatta Sari and it takes an expert to get it right. On top of that my mum had forgotten to cut the blouse piece from the Sari so there were people running around looking for scissors. We didn’t mean to take long but it took us a while to get the scissors, cut the sari and for me to get ready after that. I was really grateful that my friends and cousins were there to help me.

Wedding Ceremony

Finally, wearing my new Sari, I came back to the event hall. There were more rituals to go through. The priest from my family was instructing my dad and uncle on what to do and they were following the rituals.

L-R My brother putting a ring, My dad putting bangles and ring, my sister in law puting bracelet

Then everyone who had come from my family came one by one and met me with gifts like jewellery and cash. It looks like the bride is the ultimate winner in a Nepali wedding.

Wedding Ceremony

This process took a while but it was so fun. I received lots of gold and diamond jewellery, watch, sari and lots of cash. 🙂

Now it was my turn to cut the cake again. The cake was given to everyone and then it was time for dinner. On the way to the dinner hall everyone from my family side received Masala (a Sagun bag with lots of dried fruits and nuts).

After dinner, my family left and I was a bit sad. I knew I had a new home with AS and his family but I still missed my parents and the home where I had grown up.

More on wedding next post.

Till then, take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to vote your favorite blog . NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

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Our Story – Groom side Reception- Part 45

Posted on November 25, 2014 | 2 comments

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

After I came to live with AS’s family, there was a reception organised by the groom’s family so that all their friends and family get a chance to meet the bride. I knew that it was going to be a big event yet again but this time I wouldn’t know most of the people.

I was a bit nervous for this ceremony as I would be meeting lots of new people. On top of that I would need to bow to all of his close relatives and greet the rest with a Namaste. Most of these people would be meeting me for the first time so there was the extra pressure to have a good first impression.

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That morning I asked AS to introduce me to all his relatives so I would know who the people were, but his response to this was “I wouldn’t know half of them as I haven’t seen most of them for over a decade.” As AS has been living away from Nepal for more than a decade, I did understand his answer but that didn’t help at all.

Anyway, I went to the kitchen where my mother in law was busy preparing for the day. She asked me to have breakfast and get ready so I went to the beauty parlour to get ready. Probably this was the only day in which I was worried about the way I would look. I asked the lady at the beauty parlour to make me up into a typical Nepali bride. I wanted to fit in as much as possible.

I wore a red Dupatta Sari with a matching shawl and jeweleries that were given to me by both families. Even though I don’t believe in the theory “More is more”, I had to wear lots of jeweleries like a diamond set, a big gold set and tilahari on top pf that. I was wearing many gold bangles and many gold and diamonds rings.

I had roses in my hair and was feeling very traditional for sure when I left the beauty parlour. I always feel saris are sexy, feminine and so much fun to wear.

Wedding Ceremony

By the time I returned to AS’s house, the photographer was there waiting for me. AS was already ready in his grey suit and was looking very handsome :).

We took a few photos at home and went to the reception venue. AS’s brother drove us there and the guests started arriving a few minutes after we got there.

Groom side Reception (1) Groom side Reception (3)

The venue was nicely decorated with flowers. At one end there was a DJ playing music and at the other end there were dinner tables. The entrée was already on the table nicely decorated and there were chairs and tables everywhere for guest to sit and enjoy the day.

Like my mum, my mother in law also had given Sari to all her close female relatives, so I knew when I saw the sari that they were close relatives.

Within a few hours there were hundreds of people at the venue. I seriously lost of count how many people I bowed to. I met countless number of people that evening and had small chit chat.

I think I stuffed up a bit as well, I bowed to the relatives I didn’t have to and then greeted with a Namaste to some people I should have bowed to. Anyway lots of them brought us cloths and flowers. From time to time I saw familiar faces of his cousins (I know some of them through Facebook) and my in laws but the rest of the time it was all new faces.

Most of the time AS was sitting next to me but when he had to go somewhere his relatives were there talking to me. It felt strange thinking that none of my family member was there. Suddenly I am part of this new family who I have known for a very short time only.

AS did get caught a few time when the guests asked him if he remembered who they were; he really didn’t remember them. 🙂

I think after 5 hours when the guests started leaving we had dinner as well. Then his cousins came and took us to the dance floor.

I was not sure if I should dance my normal way so just did a couple dance with AS in one song and stopped. As there were so many eyes watching us I didn’t feel comfortable and decided to get off the dance floor.

It was really nice to have all these people come to celebrate our happiness.

More on wedding next post.

Till then, take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to vote your favorite blog . NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

 

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