Violet on Orange … on Marriage!

My beautiful bridesmaids! Left is my best friend Elizabeth; right is my best older sister, Yee.

Children were encouraged to wear costume, because we wanted to piggyback off their cuteness!

My cousin’s girlfriend Kirsten (can I call her cousin-in-law? Going for it) did my makeup. My sister Quin did my hair. I think both did an outstanding job, and I loved the opportunity to go “in-house” (literally, actually – what you are seeing in the background of the getting ready photos is our living room). Quin did make a crack to the tune of: “Why pay your professionals?!” which is totally fair; obviously I got great savings by not hiring hair and makeup people. But the bottom line is I don’t trust myself to do these things — I haven’t watched enough YouTube tutorials, and also my products are all dubious drugstore “dupes” of high-end products. Meanwhile, Kirsten & Quin have tons of experience, own great/reliable products, and also I wanted them around me during the getting ready process anyway. Everyone wins! Thank you, my beloved family amateur pros!

Eventually, the night devolved … or evolved?

My dear friend Kate caught the bouquet — a symbol which we all know to be legally binding! Kate, send me your STD ASAP! (Also – yes, this is a different dress than the one I wore for ceremony. I changed clothes during cocktail hour. Bustling’s for the birds! Why pay to make your dress less dramatic, when you could put the money towards a whole new outfit?!)

“What did you say? MARRIED?”

I wore a Juliet cap veil with blusher (pushed back here)! Also – I wore a colorful peacock robe made by the trustworthy seamstresses in China!

This is the delightful getting-ready room at our venue, the Ebell of Los Angeles. It’s a beautiful, historic women’s club with tons of Hollywood lore, beautiful finishes and a fabulous house staff. Highly recommend! Everywhere you turn there’s another cool old architectural or design detail – great for all photos!

My bridal finery! Deepak & I exchanged carnation garlands during the ceremony. (They had been lovingly handmade by me, my mom, my mom-in-law and my two sisters a few days beforehand.) Also, I wore a mermaid-flare backless bridal gown with 15-foot train (and veil of the same length with blusher). Manageable train lengths are for the birds!

From the day before – our rehearsal!

For our first dance, we performed a 3-count waltz to to Florence + the Machine’s “You’ve Got the Love.” This accomplished both of our goals for the dance: to do something fast in order to avoid veering into the indulgently schmaltzy (the song is under 3 minutes, and pretty fast in tempo); and to look like we were coordinated, rather than just swaying randomly. We learned the waltz at midnight the night before our wedding by broadcasting YouTube tutorials on our TV, playing the Florence song on repeat (one of the only times Deepak has shelled out $1.39 to download a one-off song!), and receiving helpful instruction from Deepak’s best friend Jed, a groomsman. Jed teaches taekwondo, so he was very helpful with points about body positioning, counting and coordination. And the 2-minute Howcast tutorial we found on YouTube was very informative! YouTube tutorials are always the answer! Or at least, often they are …

I made my bridal bouquet myself! Key ingredients: dendrobium orchids, roses, spray roses, trachelium, Queen Anne’s lace, a generously pre-soaked Oasis slanted handle extra large bouquet holder, copious fridge space … and most importantly: delusional self-confidence and a very understanding soon-to-be-husband.

… by the end of the night, I had picked up a few new Bollywood dance moves! Also — a husband. So far, I’m getting a lot of joy and use out of both.