First family wedding, done! Next ....

This is probably whats playing in the minds of my parents. All the months of preparation work has finally come to D-DAY. We've finally completed my brothers' wedding on 3rd of June, with my sister in law, Malar. They are happy, i'm sure :) , and the rest of us are still recovering from fatigue coming from all the pre-wedding & post-wedding activities, not to mention the wedding & reception itself. I cant imagine we have to go through this twice more for my sister and me. Beleive it or not, the word elope has crossed my mind a dozen times over the last 3 weeks! Some very brief pictures, straight to the point!

Brother Siva tie's the Thaali (holy matrimonial "string chain" with some gold stuff) on Malar neck, to basically tell the world SHE's MINE!!! muahahahahahaha! . Culturally you're married after this event, though tons more ceremonies takes place before the Thaali is tied. Legally in Malaysia, you're only husband and wife after official registration with the government. Those pictures arent interesting enough for this blog :p.

Siva puts the red pottu (red dot as many say) on Malar's forehead. In indian culture, wearing the red pottu is a symbol of healthy matrimony. Young single girls usually do not always wear red pottu or wear very tiny red ones. The norm is black or colourfull and stylish ones.

Here's another cute picture of my little nieces(Janani, Keerthana, Bhava & Sangeetha{hidden} ) leading the way with candle lid flower plates when Malar walks into the hall for the final Thaali tieing ceremony, with her entourage of family members.

Arent they cute ;) .Okay, lots of small things happen after this, which i'll skip. We had excellant lunch at the temple and headed back to our house (groom's house).

Three married ladies will then bless newly weds at the doorstep and the bride will step into the groom's house for the first time, right foot in first. She then goes all the way up to the prayer alter and light up the lamp, a symbol that the incoming daughter in law will light up the house, taking over from my mum :) .

Then comes the getting to know session, not that these 2 need it.....since it's a love marrige! They sit and feed each other milk and fruits, chat and wait till the bride's side comes to pick the couple up, where they will spend the first night at the bride's home! Here's a picture of the couple with my family and Malar's younger sister, who accompanied her to our house.

From L-R, Priya (Malar's sister), Gowri (My sister), Me (Duh!), Dad and Mum, seated are the couple(obvious aint it).

A few hours later, Malar's dad and aunt came to pick the couple up. I carried his luggage and showed him the way out.....with great happiness, OUT YOU GO :) ! Not that they'll be far. Their marital home is just 2KM away. So i can expect them often for food & babysitting :D .

Finally, more room at home. I wont get kicked out of my room anymore, or SO I THOUGHT! Am still living in the guest room :( , since they have not fully furnished their marital home. That night, we had a brief reception at my place for overseas bound relatives and friends who are returning the next day.

On sunday, 4th june, we had a wedding reception at the KL Lake Club, hosted by Malar's family. Here is a picture of the couple cutting the wedding cake.
I'm lazy to post other pictures, have 700MB of them. Okay, here's a professionally taken picture of the couple, care off Laakshya bridal photography, brickfields. See what technology does these days!

Throughout the wedding, me and my sister werent any short of "you're next" remarks! It seems everyone out there wants to have a say in getting us married, and NOW! Some even extended my brother's wedding invitation to families with single children for us to meet and "get to know" on that very day. I dont see why these people are in such a hurry to pressure us. We're in the midst of finishing the current wedding, cant they wait till it's all over? Looks like some things have not changed with the indian community.

Anyway, once it's all over, i had a good chat with my sister in law(cousin's wife) from singapore. We always had really good conversations on the topic of marriage and relationships. She left me with the following note that i fully agree with:

Marriage is not about just living together as man and wife. Marriage is about living together as loving friends!

If just the old folks understood the importance of the above statement, they wont be putting so much pressure on their kids to tie the knot, so they can feel relieved of a job done!