I can’t believe I’m getting married in five days. I feel like I’m going mad with the stress.
Cars, flowers, lights, decorations, menu, mehendi (bridal henna on the hands), are all still in the process of being organised.
The sari that I’m wearing to the reception has had to get additional embroidery work done on it. The consensus was that I chose something way too plain.
There has been, on average, four hours of shopping every day. Most of that time has been spent on looking at items and comparing them. I continuously feel besieged by the amount of choices to be made.
My jewellery for the wedding reception.
Yesterday, I was taken shopping for the jewellery set that I’ll be wearing to the reception. I have to wear so many ornaments, the bigger the better. It feels very strange for me, because I don’t normally wear a lot of jewellery. I’ll have items adorning almost all parts of my body – forehead, ears, nose, neck, arms, and feet!
Today there was another four hours of shopping. Bangles, bindis, gifts for my sisters in law, gifts for me, and the most important thing – the mangal sutra.
My mangal sutra.
The mangal sutra, made out of gold and black beads, is a special necklace that married women in India wear.
To get the mangal sutra we had to venture into the realms of Indian gold shopping. Good Indian gold stores seem to be perpetually busy, and this one was no exception. Listed at the entrance to the shop were the gold prices for the day. Inside the shop there were no less than 20 shop assistants, tending to the flock of women who were crowding the counters.
Despite my attempts to choose something small and delicate, I had a substantial gold locket forced upon me. Apparently, in this situation, size does matter!
The locket and chain were weighed, and the cost calculated by the gram. I was shocked by the total. Indians don’t just settle for 18 carat gold. It’s either 22, 23, or 24 carat — almost pure gold. It was overwhelming to say the least!
Related Posts:
- 10 Days Remaining Until Our Wedding
- At Last I Have My Wedding Dress
- Our Indian Wedding Ceremony
- Attending My First Indian Wedding
- Family & Friends Arrive for the Wedding
- Our Indian Wedding Reception
- The Search for Mineral Water & Other Adventures
- I’m Never Buying Ready-Made Clothes Again!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Since I’m a Punjabi by birth,my mum insisted on me getting the traditional Punjabi mangalsutra(its long,has more bead strings & a huge & heavy locket)& wearing it when I & my hubby go 2 da Gurudwara for seeking blessings post r wedding.I refused a lot,but she didnt listen & specially got 1 made for me in Patiala(dats wer my masi lives)!Its really heavy,dats plus da jewellery sort of weighs u down!Luckily,I didnt hav 2 wear it dat much!Since it was really heavy,I asked my hubby 2 c 2 it dat my in-laws choose a light,short mangalsutra for me.My luck!Before my MIL could go jewellery shopping for me,my hubby handed her da mangalsutra(which I wear till date)-it has a single strand of gold & black beads,its long but light & has a light pendant(da shape of inverted triangle)My MIL had 2 agree since he had not just bought it,he had gone a step further & got da blessings of r Guruji Maharaj from da temple,before he took it to her,just 2 ensure she doesnt refuse it!I’m sure u must not be wearing dis big 1 daily,coz I take out my big mangalsutra very rarely nowadays.
You’re right, I don’t often wear it… usually only to festivals and family functions. I really wanted a small one, but my in-laws insisted it had to be a big one so that they didn’t look cheap!
I’m not used to wearing so much gold either. Lucky my husband doesn’t mind if I don’t wear a mangal sutra all the time, because we both wear wedding rings. I feel really self conscious wearing a mangal sutra when I’m dressed casually because I’m sure it attracts more attention! I still want to buy a small, short one to wear though. Maybe this year I’ll get one. 
Come to Delhi to buy it Sharell.