My Engagement Ceremony: Day 1

Where do I begin? I suppose I should start with myself. I told my boss that I had to leave work early because I had to get ready for my engagement. He said it wouldn’t be a problem and sent me on my way. When I got home I learned that my sisters were at the salon getting ready for my big day. I didn’t have the luxury of pampering myself just yet. I had a lot of errands to do. Like picking up flowers, looking after my nephews (one of them had a serious potty emergency). After all that I had just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat.

My dad did a fantastic job arranging everything, I can’t thank him enough. My brother-in-law was also on hand to help out as well. This gave me time to focus on getting ready. Mentally I was very calm in fact at times I even felt sleepy. I don’t know why that was maybe I imagined myself in GF’s arms or it was way past my bedtime. Emotionally I felt giddy. But I was in control of myself. No screaming from the rooftops for me, thank you very much.

Physically I adorned myself with some fabulous clothing. I bought a lovely pair of kussas. There the traditional footgear for grooms.

I can’t believe how feminine yet masculine these things are. But I don’t recommend them for daily use. They were tight as hell. My toes were smooshed together for several hours. I was glad to take them off.

I topped things off with a matching kurta. The embroidery on the sleeve and on the back is the same as on the Kussa.

Again very pretty but a bit uncomfortable. The collar was itchy and it left my skin feeling sore. My lower half was covered with a white shalwar. Put em together and this is what you get:

Of course this ceremony isn’t just about me or even just about GF and me. It’s also about two families willing to work together to support us as a couple. That’s why our parents exchange presents, just their way of telling each other we will play nice (even though they do wind up at each other’s throats). Again these gifts are traditional and very symbolic in nature. I bring you a whole lot of fruit:

We packed up everything and everyone and headed off to the ceremony. These events are typically segregated according to gender. So there was a girls section and a boys section. I was placed center stage in the boys section. You would be frowning too, wouldn’t you?

Things started picking up when GF’s dad came over and placed the engagement ring on my finger

My mom did the same for GF. Then began the “mass consumption” of Mihthai. Here’s my cousin feeding me some.

This happened about 40 times. Each guest took a turn. They wondered if I had enough but I told them that I was good and to keep it coming. To tell you the truth the mihthai was delicious it had coconuts and cherries in it…mmm. After all that we had some dinner chit chatted a bit and then one by one the guests began to leave. Me and my family were the guests of honor and were the last to leave. GF’s family saw us off as we headed home. It was 2 in the morning by the time we got home. I was exhausted but enjoyed every moment, because in the end I came out on top.