Indian wedding - day 2 - the ceremony

Day two started back at Siya's parents house where we began with more henna; this time by Siya's aunt. It was nice having time with just the immediate family as it provides a more intimate experience. The natural light was a bonus. We then started to get ready with hair and makeup for the big day. 

Siya happens to be very passionate about makeup so it was only appropriate that she did her own makeup on her wedding day! You can check out her makeup channel on youtube here.

Once the hair and make up was completed, the wedding party helped each other put on their sarees. Siya's saree weighed as much as my camera, however it looked and photographed just beautifully. Right before we headed off to the temple, Siya and her brides maids took some time to open and share some gifts. Last minute preparations to some final details were made before we headed off in the limo.

Arriving at the temple, we quickly headed into a private room where the bridal party could make some final preparations for the ceremony. This room also provided a hiding place for us in a sense, as it's customary for the bride to not be seen by the guests before the beginning of the ceremony. Siya couldnt help but take a peak outside the room as the guests gathered. 

Rob arrives shortly after with his immediate family and is offered a ceremonial welcome by Siya's family. He is then joined by Siya's dad on the altar for prayers and a blessing. 

The ceremony officially beings as Siya enters the room with her cousins by her side. Prayers and blessings, mixed in with offerings of gifts start things off. 

A fire is then lit as the ceremony continues. In a Hindu wedding, the fire acts as the main witness and plays an integral role to the ceremony itself. During this time vows and rings were exchanged and we welcomed the new couple as Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery!

The ceremony is followed by two small games the first involving the henna on Siya's hand. It is said that the husband should be able to find his initials in his wifes henna. A crowed gathered as Rob successfully takes on the challenge. 

The next game involves Rob's shoes. Of course shoes are not allowed in the temple, and during this time the brides maids will take advantage of this and will hide his shoes as part of a traditional game. After the ceremony, Rob must find his shoes, or pay up; and it is the goal of the brides maids to get as much as they can out of him! 

The day is completed with a vegetarian dinner as the newlywed couple is greeted by guests at the head table. Tomorrow begins the party! 

Indian wedding - day 1 - henna night

So it began, the first day of Siya and Rob's wedding, the henna night. Having never attended an Indian wedding before, I wasnt quite sure of what to expect. I definitely made sure to do my reading ahead of time and things seemed pretty straight forward. I arrived right as the guests were starting to arrive and quickly found Siya upstairs covered in a turmeric paste. The paste is applied by the women in the family and is supposed to purify the bride. On top of this, it is also supposed to give the bride a radiant glow on her wedding day. 

Siya could not leave the living room the entire day in order to avoid the "evil eye" as her mom would say so I was given a tour and was introduced to the guests by one of her brides maids. 

All throughout the night we saw Siya's grandpa hand Rob's dad this drink which I though was some kind of soup. I only found out the next day that it was an alcoholic Fijian drink! Rob's dad must have downed at least 5 of these!

As the day progressed we moved into traditional ceremonies which were filled with joy and laughter. A home made dinner was also served at around the same time the ceremonies were happening.

Of course this couldnt have been a henna night without the henna! All of the ladies ended up joining Siya inside the home and lined up to get their henna done while bonding through conversation. It was great getting to know all of the main guests before the wedding day as familiarity is almost always a good thing. Stay tuned for the wedding day photos!

book review: I Will Teach You To Be Rich

Having been a subscriber to Ramit’s mailing list for a while now, I finally got around to reading his book “I Will Teach You To Be Rich”. Written in a clear and humorous manner, Ramit’s book is targeted at young people who have done little with their finances and are interested in taking the next step. Through this practical guide, Ramit teaches the reader on how to live a richer life by setting up your finances so that they work for you. It’s a common misconception that one has to spend hours and hours on stocks in order to see a return on their finances, but this definitely isn’t the case. The first part of the book is all about setting up your personal finances in an automated system and finding which systems works best for you. Once everything is set up, you hardly have to do any work if you don’t want to. 

One of the cool things that Ramit talks about is having big wins. He says you shouldn’t worry too much about cutting out on lattes or going out less. Instead he stresses on focusing on big wins, which could come in the form of travel, or things such as fancy shoes if thats what you’re into. Another thing I picked up from this book is how real estate may not necessarily be the best investment, depending on the market that you live in. The thing with real estate is that you are essentially purchasing an asset, and if you don’t live in the home for a very long time, you may end up losing money. Also, if you never sell the home, you never actually got your return on investment so to speak. Therefore it may be better to rent, and just pay that as a fee and spend the extra money you would have spent on your mortgage on other investments such as RRSP’s. 

Overall, I Will Teach You To Be Rich was an entertaining and informative read that helped me get over the tough hurdles of finances which before, seemed rather overwhelming. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to get their finances on track!