Us.

Wedding Bells.

2016.

It was the Wedding Day.

Everything was going as planned. The venue remained the same, the Udaipur Lake Palace. The date was postponed to February 12.
It had taken hours to convince Armaan's mother but she eventually agreed 'for the sake of her son's happiness'.

All wedding cards, boxes rather, had reached the recipients on time and the confusion of Pritha'a bridegroom had been cleared out.

The two couples had their honeymoons planned out: a week in Udaipur itself and then Diya-Armaan would leave for Paris, spend a week there and then three days in Venice. On the other hand, Pritha-Aadarsh, after a week in Udaipur, would spend a week in Maldives. After that, they'd return to Mumbai and resume work.

It was a busy day. Loads of guests checking in. Many of them rushing to beauty parlours and salons. The families were involved in getting everything organized personally despite of a wedding organizer having taken charge of perfection. But well, parents will be parents.

The brides were ready in their lenghas which had been designed by Diya. These princesses would only look more beautiful after wearing the heavy gold jewelry. The grooms didn't look any less royal, after all it's their wedding too! In their well-tailored sherwanis they looked like kings who sat in front of an artist only to be painted on the canvas which would hang in the palace halls for ages, creating memories and history.

Soon, the great Indian wedding(s) would take place. The most awaited ones. The most successful of the under 30 were to get married. The press waited outside the palace, hoping for a few pictures. The four and their families hoped everything would end all well. The guests were just waiting for the grand feast of the evening.

The brides, along with Avni, Kriti and Kashish, walked down the palace hallways into the huge garden. From there, their fathers led them to the boats waiting for them. These boats made their way to the heart of the lake where a floating mandup was set up. Their respective grooms stood up, awestruck. Pritha and Diya shared a smirk.

The couples put garlands into their spouses' necks and with this, the first step, towards their marriage, var mala was taken. Their parents then asked them to sit for the ceremony now.

The couples sat, the bride's hand in the groom's and the pundit recited the hymns.
After this set of hymns were done with, the couples were asked to stand up for the saptapadi around the Holy Fire. As the last circle around the Holy Fire was completed, they were pronounced married.

Everyone present was wearing smiles on their faces. The guests had seen the wedding take place on screens set up in the garden. Not everyone can be in the water, can they? Only the close relatives and friends of the couples were allowed to get on the boats to view the ceremony.

The rest went very well, thanks to the wedding planner. Good music and dance, lots of pictures and delicious food. Women appreciating each others' clothes and jewelry on the face, and ridiculing and envying in the head. Men figuring how to score tonight. Kids running around the whole place and the oldies just enjoying the time like it is meant to be.

As the night grew, people retired back to the rooms after congratulating the newly weds. But a few stayed there till the morning, eating and drinking to glory.

The next day, the guests began leaving, going back to their reality while the couples vanished into a dreamier honeymoon.