Cue the music and bright colors! This was probably was one of the days that I was looking forward to the most as Gaye Holud also happens to be one of my favorite Bengali events. I’ve given a lot of research and thought into the decor, food, attire and overall ambiance as I wanted it to reflect our unique and distinct culture. Most importantly, I was uber excited to see how the palanquin turned out that was hand built from scratch by Bivash (that’ll be the husband, and it’s still super strange to address him as such 😛). I was to make my entrance atop it followed by a procession of bridesmaids carrying all the gift trays and different kinds of sweets. Little diva-ish eh but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy all the eyes and paparazzi on me :D. Although, Bivash’s rickshaw might’ve taken some of that attention away from me 😉.

Our decorator did a fantastic job with the decorations and came pretty close to bringing my vision to life. Only thing that was missing was the presence of marigolds that I badly wanted in abundance as we failed to source them (times like this, I really miss what a resourceful city Toronto is).

The atmosphere itself was pretty chill, all the guests mingling and getting to know each other while munching on the delicacies that were offered. Then came the performances –  my girls were absolute STARS!!!! They knocked it out of the park with their dance and what a treat they were to the eyes!! Definitely one of the highlights of the night as they grooved and swayed amidst all the whistles and applause.

Next came the fun stuff, holud round. This is the part when all of the friends and families come to rub turmeric paste (holud) on the bride and groom’s faces and if that sounds fun to you, then clearly you’re not the bride in this scenario. Bivash and I were like the lambs ready to be smothered in holud while our bridal party were more than excited to do their part and then some. I bet they were waiting for this all night long. We had to have the most wicked group of participants in the form of friends pfft. BUT, even my most critical self can’t deny how much both of us enjoyed it. I’m just so glad that I decided against making my face a no fly zone in the last minute, it was so so worth it! Also, I got spared from being known as a party pooper for the rest of my life 😜. In all honesty though, the pictures from this day came out unreal due to the splash of yellow all over us, well lived gaye holud is all I can say ☺️.

 

P.S. Stay tuned for next post on THE WEDDING DAY!!!!