I started writing this post on 14th June 2011. It’s been more than 2 years that this started. Somehow I had kept it pending because I had wanted this to be an awesome piece – an awesome piece to do justice to one of the most awesome weeks of our lives. It was legendary without doubt…. – the first wedding in our group – and so much has happened since then- they have just had Aria – one of the cutest most adorable babies that I have ever seen, and I am not just saying that – if you have seen her pic then you agree – so here is a pic of hers.
In fact thinking about Aria and Pravs and Ike and their wedding was what prompted me to dig into my long abandoned BlogSpot account – because I had a sudden brainwave that reminded me of this long forgotten post and Aria’s pretty face gave me the impetus to finish writing it.
I want to start by saying – we all miss you Aunty and we are sure you are smiling the most today looking down at Aria – the little angel you packed and sent down from heaven..
Let’s rewind to the wedding ; A lot has since happened – the biggest news being Andy too got married!! I would like to finish this post of Prav’s wedding now and dedicate it to none other than Aria – who will have a glimpse into the wedding – the ‘union’ – that has brought her into this world. You have great parents baby, and they had a great wedding – so here goes – well this was written 2 years back and in a very emotional state so if you find the English weird please don’t cringe…
The title can be misleading, but my best friend's wedding, the girl who then went by the name Praveena Rebecca Fenn, had the worst bridesmaids and the best friends one could ever wish for! Hell, I am jealous of her for having the super coolest bridesmaids ever. And I am the only one that can be jealous cos all the rest of them are gonna have these same super cool bridesmaids, except me! Yeah Yeah the only non-christian!
So this post has been long overdue, what with my mind being otherwise preoccupied ever since I got back from the wedding, oh and in between all the madness I was bridesmaid for David Dawson's beautiful wife, Zoro, too. But that story's for another post.
So I reach Calcutta after weeks and weeks of prior planning, and the only three things on m
y mind - my besties, Biriyani and Booze. The first ones I had met were Andrea and Angela, and where - CCD! Does that sound a lil too mundane for us, you bet your a$$ it is way too mundane for us. That was just the place where we got done with all our hugs and kisses and lame formalities. After we had sufficiently scandalised the staff and customers of CCD, we came up with the most brilliant idea, I am sure it was entirely originated by Angi though! "Lets Booze!" That thought dint take us too much pondering and I immediately called up super resourceful sister Tinni whose knowledge of the watering holes in Kolkata far surpasses that of any other girl that I know. Yet again she did not disappoint me and we set off walking along the road adjacent to Vivekananda Park looking for "The Wrong Place" (hey that actually was the name of the pub and its a GREAT PLACE, be sure to check it out if and when you are in the City of Joy)
According to Angi, that walk was one of the most memorable walks she has ever had - I guess having me and Andy for company can make the boring roads of Calcutta seem like those of Paris :P I actually made random strangers take pics of us cos I wanted to capture each and every second of this trip (and the girls that scorned me then but are reading this with misty eyes now - hah! I am then having the last laugh, am I not) So here's a pic taken by a random stranger as e were walking to find our watering hole. And then a couple of pics inside the WRONG PLACE and outside, after we were sufficiently sloshed. At this point I am also going to add a NEBHARTHELESS cos this was my first encounter with this word that haunts me to this day, but only those closest to me will ever know what I am talking about - and oh thats so not for a public forum!!
Karo, Pravs and Vina had all called us by then and were extremely jealous and irritated that they couldnt be with us.
But the fun times were just starting, what followed next was the gala reunion at Angi's house. We left for New Market right after that and had khiri rol for the sake of nostalgia, but the shady UP Bihar restaurant (thats actually what it was called, I wasnt being regional :P), disappointed us. For the first time the food was as gross as the utensils that it was served in. Praveena, the beautiful bride to be may have added a few grey hairs to her otherwise beautiful head in trying to reach all of us and get us to reach the dress trials on time.
In fact thinking about Aria and Pravs and Ike and their wedding was what prompted me to dig into my long abandoned BlogSpot account – because I had a sudden brainwave that reminded me of this long forgotten post and Aria’s pretty face gave me the impetus to finish writing it.
I want to start by saying – we all miss you Aunty and we are sure you are smiling the most today looking down at Aria – the little angel you packed and sent down from heaven..
Let’s rewind to the wedding ; A lot has since happened – the biggest news being Andy too got married!! I would like to finish this post of Prav’s wedding now and dedicate it to none other than Aria – who will have a glimpse into the wedding – the ‘union’ – that has brought her into this world. You have great parents baby, and they had a great wedding – so here goes – well this was written 2 years back and in a very emotional state so if you find the English weird please don’t cringe…
The title can be misleading, but my best friend's wedding, the girl who then went by the name Praveena Rebecca Fenn, had the worst bridesmaids and the best friends one could ever wish for! Hell, I am jealous of her for having the super coolest bridesmaids ever. And I am the only one that can be jealous cos all the rest of them are gonna have these same super cool bridesmaids, except me! Yeah Yeah the only non-christian!
So this post has been long overdue, what with my mind being otherwise preoccupied ever since I got back from the wedding, oh and in between all the madness I was bridesmaid for David Dawson's beautiful wife, Zoro, too. But that story's for another post.
So I reach Calcutta after weeks and weeks of prior planning, and the only three things on m
y mind - my besties, Biriyani and Booze. The first ones I had met were Andrea and Angela, and where - CCD! Does that sound a lil too mundane for us, you bet your a$$ it is way too mundane for us. That was just the place where we got done with all our hugs and kisses and lame formalities. After we had sufficiently scandalised the staff and customers of CCD, we came up with the most brilliant idea, I am sure it was entirely originated by Angi though! "Lets Booze!" That thought dint take us too much pondering and I immediately called up super resourceful sister Tinni whose knowledge of the watering holes in Kolkata far surpasses that of any other girl that I know. Yet again she did not disappoint me and we set off walking along the road adjacent to Vivekananda Park looking for "The Wrong Place" (hey that actually was the name of the pub and its a GREAT PLACE, be sure to check it out if and when you are in the City of Joy)According to Angi, that walk was one of the most memorable walks she has ever had - I guess having me and Andy for company can make the boring roads of Calcutta seem like those of Paris :P I actually made random strangers take pics of us cos I wanted to capture each and every second of this trip (and the girls that scorned me then but are reading this with misty eyes now - hah! I am then having the last laugh, am I not) So here's a pic taken by a random stranger as e were walking to find our watering hole. And then a couple of pics inside the WRONG PLACE and outside, after we were sufficiently sloshed. At this point I am also going to add a NEBHARTHELESS cos this was my first encounter with this word that haunts me to this day, but only those closest to me will ever know what I am talking about - and oh thats so not for a public forum!!
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| inside |
Karo, Pravs and Vina had all called us by then and were extremely jealous and irritated that they couldnt be with us.
But the fun times were just starting, what followed next was the gala reunion at Angi's house. We left for New Market right after that and had khiri rol for the sake of nostalgia, but the shady UP Bihar restaurant (thats actually what it was called, I wasnt being regional :P), disappointed us. For the first time the food was as gross as the utensils that it was served in. Praveena, the beautiful bride to be may have added a few grey hairs to her otherwise beautiful head in trying to reach all of us and get us to reach the dress trials on time.
That was when I met her for the first time and she looked as glowing nd resplendent as a bride could ever be. After we were done trying on the pretty bridesmaids dresses we all went for a walk down memory lane as we went to the Pantaloons on Camac strteet, to buy the chic bride some Indian attire.
We had chai on the road – a must-have experience on a chilly evening in Kolkata. Nothing like it – the tea just smells and tastes different, thanks to the ‘bhaar’ the earthen clay pot that they serve the chai in. well then Andy, Angy and i went back to Angy’s place and bought some rum. Angy’s mom is the world’s second best cook – and I think the entire Gomes family got scandalized by how much Angela’s friends can eat. (that was then – I am sure they are used to it by now – comment added 09/11/2013) Karo Kumar the journalist landed from Mumbai and did us the honor of joining us right – away. What followed was an entire night of alcohol and photo shoots … and so so much fun.
The next day we left for Andy’s house and after a brief stopover and some amazing pork chops we left for New Market. Karo and Angy bought shoes – Angy had never worn heels before – but for Pravs wedding she said she would do anything!!! Overcome any fear..!!! We then headed to St Pauls’ for the wedding rehearsal and that’s when the much awaited moment arrived – the meeting with the groomsmen and the subsequent ‘ I want that one.. no I want that one ..’ followed – like they were toys that Pravs was handing out to us. Pravs needless to say was appalled and told us in her typical firm and final voice – ‘’ no point girls – we have already decided who walks with who..” I was about to get disappointed but I got the cutest of the lot, so I had my smiles back in place soon enough” .. ha ha ha …
After the rehearsal we hopped over to the Parlor “Prissilia’s (wink)) – skipped across the road to Dreams and had chicken bharta – reminiscent of our college days, and then jumped into a cab to go to Angy’s place and change.
Change for… the Bachelorette!! Yayyyy!!! What a night – nothing went according to plan – we were
terribly late – but hey – we had loads of fun and that’s what counts at the end of the day. LITs and Wine @ Barbeque and then the Sambucas at the club – then Francis uncle’s Tequilas at Andy’s, needless to say we went mad and did a mad dance – so mad that aunty, uncle and Prav’s sis-in law – were thoroughly scandalized. In fact Jen – the SIL, may even have had second thoughts about welcoming Pravs to the family (that was then – now she loves and adores us, right Jen? :) comment added 09/11/2013) – after sufficiently scandalizing everyone we passed out only to wake up the next day to an incredible hangover.
We dragged ourselves to Pravs place for lunch and then did a rehearsal for the dance we had been planning for her reception – it went from a dance rehearsal to a photo shoot. Angy and I went back to her place we did not drink but ‘talked about life’
And well the wedding day was next – from insane hours at the parlour to dressing up and putting all our make-up on together in one room – special mention now to Vina – the make-up Guru among us useless girls – to teaching Angy how to walk in high heels – what a fun filled morning that was!
And well the wedding day was next – from insane hours at the parlour to dressing up and putting all our make-up on together in one room – special mention now to Vina – the make-up Guru among us useless girls – to teaching Angy how to walk in high heels – what a fun filled morning that was!
As we reached the church we all looked like pretty dolls and thought nobody could look as pretty as we did that morning and then we saw Pravs and Andy, looking drop dead gorgeous (who being the MOH was with the bride – privileged much? )– OMG! Praveen Fenn… looked even better than Julia Roberts.
Ike was positively glowing – at this point I will let the words stop and the pics take over. Simply put, the ceremony was so elegant and so warm and we all had tears in our eyes. Except when we were being photographed by the paparazzi – then we all flashed instant Colgate smiles!!
At the reception we did announce our presence by cheering Pravs loudly when she started crying during her speech – that was actually a very emotional moment for all of us. And then we who were supposed to be distributing the favors and helping with the gifts sneaked up on to the stage and started hogging on the world’s most delicious mutton biriyani. Pravs didn’t know whether to laugh or cry looking at her useless bunch of bridesmaids!
This portion is added on 09/11/2013 – almost 3 years later so a bit brief on the details - After a lot of dancing (we all had changed out of our high heels by then ) we took a lot of pics and then very sadly headed back home. I had a short trip and had to leave almost immediately but Pravs let me tell you today that to this day we all agree that the reunion we had at your wedding is one of the most memorable times in our lives. Payel Kathuria – sorry you missed it. But here are some random pics to relive that event.
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| Night out @ Angis |
After the rehearsal we hopped over to the Parlor “Prissilia’s (wink)) – skipped across the road to Dreams and had chicken bharta – reminiscent of our college days, and then jumped into a cab to go to Angy’s place and change.
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| @ The Club |
terribly late – but hey – we had loads of fun and that’s what counts at the end of the day. LITs and Wine @ Barbeque and then the Sambucas at the club – then Francis uncle’s Tequilas at Andy’s, needless to say we went mad and did a mad dance – so mad that aunty, uncle and Prav’s sis-in law – were thoroughly scandalized. In fact Jen – the SIL, may even have had second thoughts about welcoming Pravs to the family (that was then – now she loves and adores us, right Jen? :) comment added 09/11/2013) – after sufficiently scandalizing everyone we passed out only to wake up the next day to an incredible hangover.
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| Photo Shoot instead of Dance Rehearsal! |
We dragged ourselves to Pravs place for lunch and then did a rehearsal for the dance we had been planning for her reception – it went from a dance rehearsal to a photo shoot. Angy and I went back to her place we did not drink but ‘talked about life’
And well the wedding day was next – from insane hours at the parlour to dressing up and putting all our make-up on together in one room – special mention now to Vina – the make-up Guru among us useless girls – to teaching Angy how to walk in high heels – what a fun filled morning that was!
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| Hair Done..! |
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| Make-up Guru Vina! |
As we reached the church we all looked like pretty dolls and thought nobody could look as pretty as we did that morning and then we saw Pravs and Andy, looking drop dead gorgeous (who being the MOH was with the bride – privileged much? )– OMG! Praveen Fenn… looked even better than Julia Roberts.
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| The beauty |
At the reception we did announce our presence by cheering Pravs loudly when she started crying during her speech – that was actually a very emotional moment for all of us. And then we who were supposed to be distributing the favors and helping with the gifts sneaked up on to the stage and started hogging on the world’s most delicious mutton biriyani. Pravs didn’t know whether to laugh or cry looking at her useless bunch of bridesmaids!
This portion is added on 09/11/2013 – almost 3 years later so a bit brief on the details - After a lot of dancing (we all had changed out of our high heels by then ) we took a lot of pics and then very sadly headed back home. I had a short trip and had to leave almost immediately but Pravs let me tell you today that to this day we all agree that the reunion we had at your wedding is one of the most memorable times in our lives. Payel Kathuria – sorry you missed it. But here are some random pics to relive that event.
