Dear Bride, Calm Down

This is an open letter for all the brides to be.

Yes I know there's a lot of stress around you. The wedding date is approaching and there's so much to do!!
The lehengha has still not come, the gown does not fit well, the trousseau shopping is still remaining, you are yet to meet the decorator, you are yet to finalise on the food menu and oh of course you have to accompany all your family members for their shopping sprees and obviously that's pending yet.

Yes the Indian wedding does sound like one crazy mela with the bride at the centre of it all. There is no time to breath, no time to have your coffee alone, no time for friends. In short no time for yourself or for things you want to do.

Its an insane journey from the bride-to-be to the bride but trust me its all worth it. These are the moments you shall cherish forever.

My advice to you is.. Calm Down..
Dont let those bridezilla moments boggle you down. They will just add up to the stress lines on your face and nothing good shall come out of it.

You find most of the brides shouting and yelling either at vendors or friends or cousins or family members. But she is just venting her frustration out. Yes I know its easier said than done but seriously dont let the frustration get the better of you. Nobody is going to notice the lil spot that nail polish left on your skin or that flower which is looks ugly and hangs from the corner most part of your mandap.

All that matters is you are gonna be walking down the aisle with the person who loves you the most and feels that you look extremely ravishing as a bride. You dont want those stress lines to ruin that moment.. do you??

You should be thankful that all the people who matter to you in this world are standing by your side on that day and they dont care about those flowers or starters which were not as per your selection.

Another advice to you is always have a plan B.  Yes it might rain on that day even if you are getting married in December. The ghodi might not turn on time, the photographer may meet with an accident.. Yes such mishaps do happen and its very important to have a plan B. This way you shall not panic at the end moment and also shall you be able to carry on your functions like a boss.


I love how one of my friends was indulging herself into painting 10 days before the wedding and the next day she was gonna make a trip to the spa and the day after that she went out with her girls for some wine and shine. She was so relaxed about the whole thing that she just did not want marriage stress to touch her. This is called attending your wedding with a lot of swag.

So yes girls, just calm down... smile for your pictures, click lot of selfies and preserve this day as the most cherished one in your life than the most stressful one.

Bridezilla??? Says who???

The Bride-to-be is NOT always chocolate, lime juice, ice cream toffeeyan

Yes it is True!!

The Bollywood and this country has stereotyped the brides-to-be as the over enthusiastic super happy girl who is excited AF for her wedding right from the time her wedding got finalised and announced.

Its like the only dream of the girl is to have a lavish wedding, plan her wedding to the tee, dress in sheer finery, look resplendent as a bride, go for a honeymoon, have children and be a part of a big happy family.
Man, we are so typecasted.

Here's breaking the cliche for you guys. WE GIRLS ARE NOT ALWAYS EXTRA EXCITED AND HAPPY TO GET MARRIED.
No we are not dancing to bollywood songs as soon as we hit puberty. Who dafuq sings chocolate lime juice.
No we are also not dreaming about our 'Mr Right' all the time. Yes, Kajol was getting paid shit loads of money to stereotype us by singing Mere Khwabon mein jo aaye. Yes occasionally we do dream about Ryan Gosling or James Franco but that's that.

In our growing up years we are not really made to believe that our only purpose in life is to be a part of someone else's life.

And no.. Absolutely not are we always so jumpy at the idea of we getting married.

The typical stereotype is that we the F gender are always excited to get married and the M gender, they are scared AF even at the prospect of marriage.

There are tons and tons of bollywood songs dedicated to the whole 'FEAR' that men go through when they are about to get married but there's not a single song that acknowledges the fact that girls are afraid as much as the guys are with the idea of marriage. I kid you not. NOT A SINGLE SONG on that situation from Bollywood who churns out billions of songs in a year for all the weirdest situation.

Its not that only guys are thinking about their ex when they are about to get married. Oh ya our beloved bollywood does not even acknowledge the fact that girls do have exes too.

Ofcourse we are made to believe that the girl is always so seedhi saadi that all her life she was saving herself just for that one person and was waiting for that one person.

Men, yes they are always portrayed as the casanovas and how they dated multiple girls but when they meet the 'right' girl they suddenly change.
Ya thats another one of our responsibilities. We hear this so often. 'Tu jaayegi na toh sab badal jaayega' Ya right as if I am getting married to save a family, to do some kinda social service.

So let me sum it up for you people. Marriage for a girl is not about all the makeup, mehendi and lehenga. Its not about singing songs and jumping all around. Its not true.

Its way beyond. Its a huge responsibility, a big change. A change so difficult that we almost forget how to dance in the process of adapting to it.

We are so frustrated with the whole wedding planning process that the stress makes all the beauty and joy disappear.

And we are equally scared to get married as much as the guy but we know at the end of it, it shall be all good.

5 Wedding trends that are absolute faf !! Word of Caution: Don't fall for it!!

Yes the wedding season is approaching and I am sure a lot of preps are on in most of the households who are hosting weddings of their daughter or son. A lot of preps take place even when you have to attend a wedding of a close cousin or a distant relative.. Yea yea.. the societal pressure to look your best and especially if you next up in the queue; you have to be the most decked up because a wedding is generally a playground for you to find 'the Mr Right' (sarcasm galore). But whatever it is we love decking up and weddings and other functions around it are nothing but just another reason for us to play dress up.

Each wedding has a distinct element of its own be it through the means of its decor, or through its simplicity. Sometimes its the grandeur that charms the guests and sometimes its the quirk. A wedding is generally an extended reflection of the personality of the bride and the groom.
And every season we see various wedding trends come and go and some are here to stay, be it wedding fashion, wedding songs, the sangeet trend, etc etc. But to be honest there are certain trends which are utterly disgusting and should be stopped right away. They have so much faf in it that they fall in the list of 'nothing but annoying'.

Today I m gonna be listing down 5 of such ultimate faf trends which have popped up in Indian weddings and people who are tying the knot should never ever fall for it.

1. 3D VIDEOGRAPHY

Yes, this is utterly stupid. The photographer and his team who shall be responsible for cinematography shall try to push you for this saying that its the new in-thing. It basically covers your entire wedding in 3D and ofcourse you need 3D television and 3D glasses later to watch your videos. I mean who really wants see their own videos in 3D and then when I am inviting all my guests home to watch the wedding videos, I am going to have to buy a 3D television and ofcourse 3D glasses for all of my 50 guests. YEAH SURE!!!
Please do not even put your toenail in this trap because like I said its nothing but a trap. The quality of a 3D wedding is nothing close to a Disney movie and you shall end up looking shoddy in your own wedding video which you definitely dont want. This also costs upto lacs of rupees just for the equipment and another few lacs to edit and ofcourse another few lacs to buy that 3D TV. So much for that one video which is going to go in the attic after a few months of the wedding. Thanks but no thanks

This is how your wedding video might just end up looking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRsZtsPbzgI

2. WEDDING STYLISTS 

Wedding stylists are basically people who shall decide the look of your wedding. They shall sprinkle in a few technical words garnished with some extremely eloquent English that sounds classy and you are sold. These people tell you how the wedding should look, which flowers should be used for the wedding, which way should the flowers be arranged, what colour clothes should your mom wear as against what your dad is wearing, what scent should you be using, how should your lehenga swirl (No, I am not making this up) , how should your pictures look, what should be the theme of your wedding, etc. Basically, whatever your wedding planner and decorator could have done directly, a stylist is doing it indirectly because d'uh ofcourse they are gonna make you hire a decorator and a wedding planner eventually. You could totally google shit up and put an extremely fun yet elegant wedding together but people who are either not confident or have a lot of money and they want to flaunt of having a stylist hire one.
And mind you, a wedding stylist just to put things in perspective for you (from Pinterest and Google of course) coughs up a few lacs up your pockets. So please do not fall for this just because you can and its simply faf!!

3. Inviting celebrities for the weddings:

I am sure a lot of you know about this but my question is WWWHHHHHYYYYYYY???

I mean weddings is all about families coming together and the most important people are the bride and the groom but no there are certain families who want to take away that attention from the bride and the groom and shower all of it on a celebrity who charges a bomb just to make an appearance, who doesn't even know who's getting married to whom and is there just because you are showering shit loads of money on him/her. Who wouldn't click selfies with you then if you are paying them so much. Suddenly the talk of the town is that so and so had come to this one's wedding. Umm.. how about we give attention where its due. We shower all our focus and blessings on the two most important people of that day; The bride and the groom.

4. Finger print message book:

I dont know whether y'all have come across this one, but being a wedding planner I have got THIS particular demand a lot. Seems like its trending a lot. I mean ofcourse its important to have a message book and its very important to get creative and innovative there as it is an engaging factor too for the guests, but a finger print message book is like taking it too far. Firstly you don't know who all have stamped on that book because you obviously cant recognise the person with just his/her finger print. Secondly, that piece of chart paper is eventually gonna end up in trash can (ya..that's where) because look up, you don't know who's signed in there for you so its as good as useless for you and thirdly when I am all dressed up in finery and tried to look my elegant best all I want to do is smear some paint on my fingers and risk spoiling my outfit (ya right) That's something your guests don't want to do ..really.. believe me.. so throw this thought out of the window and brainstorm on a better idea.

5. Live broadcasting of your wedding

Oh yes, I am not making this up either. This is a thing, for real.. No KIDDING I Swear.. But this is surely the worst trend I have ever come across.
The whos who of the society who have a lot of cash to blow up and dont know where else to spend have started adopting this new faf trend. They tie up with the local cable guys and your wedding is broadcasted live.. like for real and the whole world can see it. This takes place majorly in the smaller towns where the communities are closely knit and cable is still a trending thing. But still, this is the ultimate crap I have come across. Its like I haven't called you for my wedding so here's me sending you all the minute by minute live footage bitch. I so totally want to do that right (sarcasm galore once again)

So guys.. please stay aware and stay away from such BS trends as they shall do you no good and you shall just ending up coughing a lot of money. A LOT.

If you know of such more faf trends write it down in your comments below or tell me on my facebook page.

7 most practical ways to cut down costs for your wedding.

Yes.. this is one question that always comes to our mind when we are about to get married.

Everything suddenly seems to be important and we just cant do away with certain things. We really cant decide where to cut costs and where to not and ofcourse the whole 'log kya kahenge' comes up in case you decide to NOT do something.

Here's presenting 7 simple yet extremely practical ways to cut down costs for your wedding. You wouldnt even feel like you are compromising on anything and trust me guys no one would even know that you are cost cutting.

1.  Flowers-

In your wedding decor opt for fake flowers topped with a few real ones. This will end up saving so much cost I cant tell you. The bill of real flowers can run into lacs but this way u shall ensure a good cost cut and at the same time it wouldnt look like you have compromised since the top layer shall have real flowers only. And these days the fake flowers look so good that you wouldnt even be able to guess the difference between the fake one and the real one.

Fun tip: Project an LED light on white flowers and set it on pink, blue or purple colour to give a soft glow to the venue. This shall look classy and no one shall ever know whether the flowers are real or fake.

2. Talk to your decorator -

 

Have an exact idea of what you want and don't let the decorator take you for a ride. Learn some jargons of the event industry and throw it in front of them while speaking to them. The decorator shall know that you know the industry well and wouldn't dare to take you on a ride.
Also check if there is a wedding happening at the same location a day prior. If there is then check for the decor that the decorator is putting up. In case you like it and its as per your taste, speak to the decorator to keep the same decor intact. This way he might charge you only 10% of the whole decor bill since he doesnt have to end up doing double work.

3. Bridal outfit- 

 

While shopping for my bridal outfit (the bridal lehenga) I realised that there is nothing below 75-80k that I like. And the costs just kept shooting up. I was really sad since I thought this is the most wasteful expense. I would look like a million buck on the D-day but would not be able to wear it ever again for my entire life.
I then entered some shops to just check stuff and to my surprise (a pleasant one that is) I found an awesome lehenga which was beautiful and my jaw dropped when I heard the price of it. It was below 20k.. I was like whaaaat, Im picking this up. So the trick here is to go for unstitched lehengas instead of the stitched ones. You just have to get it stitched from the same guys you buy your lehenga from and they charge you a couple of thousand bucks extra for stitching but trust me its totally worth it. Rather than spending 80k on an outfit that is stitched, you might just buy an outfit that is not stitched and get it stitched later.
You can get these great unstitched outfits at shops like Bawree, Aishwarya Design Studio, Kanchana, etc
P.S- Kanchana also has some great bridal unstitched lehengas for 4500rs. Just in case you like some bling, it is just the thing for you. In my case, I dont like bling too much so I let it go.

4. Use regular water instead of mini mineral water bottles:

How many of you have been to a wedding recently and seen a bunch of bisleri bottles adorn the centre of the table. I am sure most of us have. Guys, its not only fancy but the most wasteful thing to have bisleris at your wedding. One you end up wasting gallons and gallons of water and two you have to pay the caterer a minimum of 6rs for each bisleri bottle. And for a crowd for 1000 people you have to end up paying for 10000 bisleris as caterers believe in getting 10 bottles on an average per person. So you waste a good 60000rs and waste tonnes of water. And in case your guests end up drinking more than 10 bottles of water your expense shall just keep shooting up.

Instead keep the regular filter water that caterers usually offer. It is not unhygienic and trust me no one shall even notice that the bisleri bottles are missing.

5. Choreographer:

 

We all have that one friend whos a great dancer, the life of a party and can swing to any tunes. Rings a bell? Ask that friend to choreograph for your sangeet instead of hiring a professional choreographer who shall charge a bomb. And in case the friend is not too sure of the whole sangeet, you can assign them a few songs and divide the task amongst two- the choreographer and the friend. That way you shall end up paying half the amount to the choreographer. And trust me it will be a lot of fun to learn dance moves from a friend rather than a stranger because you can be totally comfortable in front of your friend.

6. E-invites:

 

Go digital guys. There is not a single relative of yours who's not on whatsapp or facebook. You can design a cool invite and send them all an e-card and ask them to consider it as a personal invitation.
This way you end saving a huge chunk of money on the card itself and also ancillary costs like sweets or chocolates that go alongwith the card, fuel required to reach to people's places because you personally want to invite them, etc.
In case your folks believe that there are certain people for whom we shall need a card because 'log kya kahenge' ,then just get a card printed for those people. Strictly do not exceed the no of people on that list.

7. Centrepieces:

 

 Center pieces on tables end up adding quite a lot to the whole bill. Because they use fresh flowers there as well alongwith other props. Instead why not come up with something creative like a vintage globe in the center that can also double up as a message book. Whoever sits on that table writes a message for the couple. Or a mason jar filled with fairy lights or cut fresh fruits and fill them in a mason jar. There are a lot of innovative ideas for a fun and innovative center piece. You just have to 'google' it.
P.S- People would not even know you are saving some money, they would just go like 'wow you are damn creative'

I hope these tips might seem useful to you and that you end up using a few or all of them.

In case you need any further assistance then you could reach out to me at nehal161@gmail.com

If you know about more such cost cutting strategies do share it with us and all our readers so that they can use them too.

In case you find these helpful do comment in the box below..

Share, Like and Subscribe guys. :D

20 Things that prove you are a certified Foodie!!!

20 Things that prove you are a certified Foodie!!!

1. You plan your itinerary of a trip around best places to eat at in that location:

 When your friends and you decide to take a trip somewhere in your own country or outside you find yourself googling 'best places to eat at so and so', 'most unique cuisine of so and so', 'best desserts in town of...', etc . you know what we mean. For you every trip is more of a gastronomical trip and you make sure you explore the place by exploring its delicious cuisines and come back home with a lot of stories to tell about food.

 
2.You plan your 'things to eat' even when you are going to see someone in a hospital:

Yes, I know you relate to this. If you have go see someone at a hospital that is in a different vicinity, you plan your after-hospital food trips to places or local joints which are popular in that vicinity. Similarly when you have to go to funerals, you are more interested in the food around that area than paying homage to the dead (This point is only valid for distant relatives and people you don't know so closely. We are not trying to say you are insensitive)

3.You are an expert at 'foodstalking' :

 

Foodstalking is a term used when you look at food on other people's tables in a restaurant until your food is served. You also ask the waiter about what is table no 1 eating and what is the lady on table no 4 drinking. Ogling at food excites you a lot more than ogling at people.

4.You know the whole world of gourmet food in and out:

You dont have a problem in explaining aubergine, caviar, balsamic vinegar, valrhona dark chocolate, etc etc to your friends. You just dont know the words but you also know a little story behind it and can explain it to your friends with elan.

5. You hate it when people say you eat a lot or you go out very often:

You love food and anything against it is outright offensive. You go out not to while time but to enrich your knowledge about food, to tantalize your taste buds, to understand the current markets in the food industry.. In short you love eating and you can come up various such innovative excuses.

6. You prefer food porn than real porn:

Errr... May be this is taking it way too far but trust me I personally know so many people who love ogling at some awesome food pictures on yummly all the time and it seems that they are definitely experiencing foodgasm.

7.You love watching cookery shows:

No we are not talking about the typical Tarla Dalal kinda shows but something like Chakh-le India where he travels the nooks and crannies of the country to get to the origin of an old recipe or a Nigella Lawson, Masterchef Australia, Cupcake wars, Most bizarre foods of the world kinda shows.

8. You love sampling new eateries in your city: 

Your idea of a great evening is good food, good company and good conversations over clubbing and dancing all night. You are absolutely updated on the food scene of your city. You know which new eatery popped up, which has shut down, some might be under renovation, whats the most popular dish of a particular bistro or where do you get the best burgers in the city. You are updated about all the information.
 
9. Free Food excites you a lot more than cheap clothes:

The sign FREE FOOD is a lot more exciting than FLAT 50% OFF for you. Without a blink you would select free food.

10. You love weddings just for free food:

You go to weddings just because they have lots of free food. Your friends know that they can always find you in the food section.

11. You know all the street food vendors of your city:

Ok I dont mean literally ALL but ya most of them and you know what are they popular for. You know who sells the best pani puri in town or who makes the most awesome grilled sandwich. You are also aware of the most innovative food vendor who makes fusion food and makes it taste so good. Yummmmmm

12. You know that cheese is the secret ingredient of any recipe:

You love cheese. Period.

13. At the end of the month,you realise that you have eaten most of your salary:

We mean you have spent most of your money in trying new places and its awesome food and reviewed them on zomato and your blog, or you brought home some dips and chips and chocolates and all the wow things from the shelf of a supermarket. You realise that most of your money is gone into food than clothes or shoes or bags.

14. Presentation does not matter as much as taste:

Yes you do give importance to food presentation but if the food tastes yummmy than you almost forgive the maker for bad presentation. Good food just makes up for everything.

15. You know the staple food of a lot of countries:

Your were strong at geography back in your school days and now you what is the staple food of various countries and ofcourse you are all excited to try that once you visit that country and at times you just want to visit that country because of its amazing food.

16. Your friends seek your advice when it comes to going out on dates : 

You suddenly feel like an event manager when your friend asks you where should he take his girlfriend for a great dinner. You list out some exotic places to him with details like what should you order and what you should not. You also go the extra mile and make reservations for them and also ask the manager to make it special. You gain immense happiness in doing this.

17. You keep a tab on food fests happening around the city:

You know that the food you get to sample in food fests, you dont get it anywhere else and the food at these fests is heavenly. Hence you keep a tab on all these food fests happening around your city and make sure you attend them with a bunch of your foodie friends.

18. You feel nostalgic around food related matters:

You will not miss your school as much as you miss your school canteen, or you walk in to your ex office and go with that awesome meal at the cafeteria which you have been missing all the while. You of course the cafeteria guy and the school canteen guy so well till now.

19. Food is your best friend:

You believe nothing can lighten you up as much as good food.
You are depressed you resort to eating, you are happy you go out and eat, you are sad you binge eat, you broke up with your girlfriend you binge eat. Food just solves all the problems no matter what. Food doesn't ask questions, food understands.

20. You made it till here:

You read all these points and related to them. You made all the way till down here. There's no better way and no other way to prove that you are a foodie!!!

Top 5 destinations in India to go for a bachelorette trip with your girlfriends.

One decision that a gang of girls just can't decide on: Where to go for your bachelorette trip.. That one crazy trip u take with all your girls before getting hitched.

And I absolutely detested how various travel portals used to list usual touristy places, tweak it a bit and package it as a destination you should go to with your girls..

Hence I did some research and came up with a list of places in India which you shall definitely want to try and explore with your girl gang.

1. Ladakh- 

 

If your group of girls are adventure junkies, then there's no better place than Ladakh for you people. Doing some lean and mean tasks in the absence of the boys is surely challenging. Go for a crazy white water rafting adventure in the wild zanskar river where the rapids go up till level 7 and 8, or u can drive up to the world's highest motorable road- khardung la. Camping at nubra valley and staying in petite tents right outside the picturesque pangong lake sure sounds exciting right ?? Have a cuppa chai with the jawans when you spot them. They are always happy to oblige and in the bargain u can have some interesting conversations with them and have an enriching experience with some of their stories. Ladakh as an experience shall leave a mark in your hearts for life and you shall definitely have a ball of a time with your girls here.

2. Manali-

 

 

If you and your girls are more like the chilling like a villian types, then Manali is just the place for you. With some of the best quaint lil cafes that faces the river whereas some that are on the river, Manali is a place that shall never let you down. Go far off from the usual tourists who clamp in the main area of Manali and wander around in the bylanes of Old Manali which is also particularly famous for pure Manali 'stuff' #youknowwhatimean.

Chill in a quaint Israeli cafe with some awesome local beers, stuff and forget about all the stress which is piling up due to the wedding. 

Also while there you would want to try your hands at a few adventure sports like valley crossing, paragliding (which is undoubtedly one of the best in India), skiing (only if you get lucky) and valley zorbing (must-try).

 Insider tip- Make locals your friends. They shall give you information about the best parties that are happening in the valley. The best raves

You can also contact him while you are there- 

Lekhraj- 09318830641

He's local there who guides young tourists in the best possible manner. Might also arrange for an awesome trek to Spiti valley or other closeby destinations for the adventurous ones.

3. Auroville -

 

This quaint little town of Auroville is a less commercial neighbour of Pondicherry. With some of the cleanest and the most beautiful beaches and some mind blowing French architecture, a trip to Auro should definitely be on your list. Chill at some of the lazy cafes, take a walk down the beautiful strip of beach or just relax in your beach facing cottage all day long with your girls and totally feel de-stressed.

While here you can also take a surfing course at India's first professional surfing school in Pondicherry. Eat some awesome french food which is made out of fresh local produce in french styled bistros of Pondi and Auro and do not forget to try the cheese and chocolate that are made locally in Auro which are yum beyond words.

Awesome food, beautiful beaches, quaint bistros, clean roads, warm people, yummy chocolate and fresh cheese..is there any other way to say adios to your stress lines.

Just the trip you need with your girls.
And mind you..some really good looking French guys to ogle at.

• Word of caution: Auro is a liquor-free town but most hotel/villa owners are open about BYOB. Hence, stock up on your alcohol while you are in Pondi and guess what Pondi is a UT so super cheap booze. Double whammy

• Also if you want to visit the Aurobindo ashram then you need to send an email to them. They shall revert to you with a confirmation and only then you can make a visit and enter the ashram. (and its totally worth it)

• Surf school of Pondi 

You can contact them incase you wanna book yourself and your girls for a surf trip

You can check the following link for some cozy yet amazing accommodation

https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/2448787?s=UxR5

https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/6353518?s=UxR5

http://www.aurovilleguesthouses.org/index.php?param=cGFnZT1wcm9maWxlZGV0YWlsLnBocA==&id=63 

the hosts of Samarpan guest house Donata and Stefano are really warm people and very helpful too.

4. Rishikesh- 

 

Picture this:
You are on a white sand beach right on the banks of Ganga (the whole stretch of beach is just to yourself) living in tents which consists only of beds and lanterns, listening to the mystical sounds of the swift Ganga river flowing right next to you and the magical sound of a waterfall right behind your camp; a lil bonfire put up just for you and your girls, beers that are chilled by anchoring them in the fast paced icy river water and you and your friends are sitting on a distance of 2 feet but still cant see each other clearly because clouds (literally clouds) are passing from from between the two of you. Sounds like paradise right?
Yes, the small town of Shivpuri which is at a distance of 14kms from the main town of bustling Rishikesh is nothing less than a paradise. You gotto trek through two mountains and cross a over water bridge to reach the camp but once you reach the camp, you wouldnt want to go back. There are a lot of activities at the camp too like waterfall rappelling, cliff jumping (yes jumping right in the deep river from a height of 80ft..sounds fun?) , white water rafting (the rafting on the waters of Ganges is popular across the world), river crossing, ziplining, etc.
While here, you can also try your hand at Bungee Jumping as Rishikesh is India's best and highest bungee jumping site and fret not, its extremely safe.
Do not miss the mesmerizing evening aarti of the Ganga while you are in the main square of Rishikesh.
So much adventure packed in one trip is surely gonna let your stress be at bay.

For riverside beach camping you can contact them:
G5 camps 
Vivek -  http://adventurerafting.in/our-camps.html

5. Andaman 

 

Another beautiful and yet unexplored beach town in India which is absolutely the place that deserves a visit before you tie the knot. The tranquil beaches, the serene sounds of the waves, the sumptuous food and some mad beach parties is what makes Andaman islands a must-go destination.
You can explore the under water world by taking lessons in scuba diving or just by going for a guided deep sea dive. Andaman is blessed with a beautiful marine life and boasts of the best corals in India.

Ask the locals where are the beach parties happening and they shall not let you down.
A long island iced tea, all your girl pals, a beautiful clean strip of beach with not many people and lots of gossip and conversations after a long day of exploring the town on your scooty and also exploring the world under the water.. What else do you need to forget about all the mounting stress of marriage.
While here, take a beach yoga session in the mornings. Its so divine that you shall instantly feel the energy surrounding you and do not forget to bring back a lot of beach and bikini selfies with your girls.



I am definitely calling my girls now and asking them to pack their bags. Whats your pick??

My bucket list before marriage

It was a pleasant sunday morning. The sun wasnt too much in its own element.. we Mumbaikars love that.. and the birds were chirping at my window sill.. I had a cup of amazing coffee in my hand and serenity all around me. Out and out..a good morning.

While I was sitting and staring into space, the haunting thought of marriage just around the corner came in my mind and then I thought to myself that my life going to change and for good (of course) and no more m i gonna be single (obviously) and then all tasks have to be done together.. its more like we are gona be a tag team.

Hence the deep thought, what is it that I wanna do before getting married.

Whats my bucket list before I walk down the aisle with Mr S ??

Here's my bucket list

1. Take a solo trip

Yes thats one on top of my list.. before i tie the knot i definitely want to take a solo trip and explore the world on my own. I want to meet new people, know their culture, dance with them, get lost in an unknown territory , find myself, find my true calling.. for some weird reasons, these kind of things excite me.


2. Learn how to bake

Oh yes.. I believe baking is a therapy in itself.. like an instant stress buster.. but i m so terrible at it and atleast once in a day I find myself looking at the picture perfect recipes and those extremely well shot photographs of their cakes, brownies, cookies, etc which are far from reality...

I keep trying my hand at it thinking that whatever I bake the end result is definitely gonna be like that in the picture but alas!! its exactly the opposite. Hence learning how to bake falls in my list too


3. Learn the LANGUAGE

Mr S and folks speak a different language.. yes i wanna learn the language and be able to speak fluently in that language to anyone from the family. I m so weak at it and its grammar is so tongue twisting. I definitely want to be extremely proficient in that language.

4. Get fit

Oh my god.. I have been telling this to myself since donkey years but never got myself to do it. I have started to make small steps now atleast.. like drinking smoothies in the morning.. eating healthy.. trying to go for a walk or a jog.. but nothing beyond that has gotten materialized.. Im trying hard and I m sure to succeed.. thinking this way is also one step closer..isnt it??

P.S- my point #2 is contradicting to this one :p

5. Go for a crazy bachelorette trip with all my girls.

This one is definitely on the list of most girls and I am no different here. I would love to let my hair down in an unknown town with all my girlfriends. One crazy party before I get hitched. I wanna drink, dance, chill, relax, put our feet up, let our hair down and in the bargain get to know them a lot more.

6. Get my finances right

I hate to admit this but I m terrible with numbers and my finances are always haphazard and absurd. I dont even keep an account. dont save much and hardly invest. Yea I hate it and hence I have decided to change this and learn how to keep accounts of my each expense and income.. invest my money and save some regularly

7. Learn one adventure sport professionally


I am an adrenaline junkie and I love to indulge myself in various adventure sports, water sports, etc

I want to take a professional course in one of the adventure sports, be it learning how to surf, or paragliding or hang gliding..be it scuba diving or learning how to skydive.. I definitely wanna do this thing.

I wish to tick this bucket list before my D-day

Whats your bucket list? people who are tying the knot soon?

5 tips to keep in mind while shopping for your bridal trousseau

So it's time to get all prepped up now and one of the biggest task for the bride and her family in brown families is preparing the great Indian bridal trousseau..
For us its more like gifts parents wish to give us in the form of clothes, accessories, jewelry, bags, shoes, perfumes, cupboards, suitcases, dinner sets, 325 types of crockeries, microwaves, blender, toaster , waffle maker.. Everything I 'might' need in the future and certain things i might just throw away.. And the most weirdest thing they want to gift u is lingerie.. Oh yes ..u heard me right.. Lingerie.. Indian parents don't want to keep that factor personal and are probably way too kinky and want to prepare you for your sexcapades with ur to be husband..

I recently went to Ahmedabad to shop for a part of my bridal trousseau.. That's Indian suits and sarees.. Ahmedabad is supposed to be the Mecca of Indian wear and oh I wasn't disappointed with what I saw and what I bought.. And it just made me heave a sigh of relief that for atleast a few days mum shall keep mum and stop bickering about the never ending shopping as I could tick off a lot from my list..

But with personal experience I would like to share with y'all 5 essential tips to keep in mind while shopping for all those Indian stuff 

1. Ask a friend whose style you trust and is honest enough with u.

It's very important to have someone who understands you and your body type and helps you decide what looks good and what doesn't in the most honest way. I made this mistake and regretted it in a big way.  I had the quintessential annoying aunty accompany me along with my mom.. Somewhere in between shopping trips, a not so good friend also joined me and her opinion didnt matter much but she somehow just convinced me to buy stuff I wasn't too sure about and now I have a few things I believe I m never gona wear and I wasted a few thousand bucks ..all thanks to her.. I made a mental note of never meeting her ever again but the damage is done already.

2. Never buy anything without trying it on.

Yes I agree that trying tons and tons of things is quite annoying but u have to hold on and make yourself do it. You need to be completely sure whether something looks good on you or not because you got to stay with it forever. Buy it only if u r 100% sure. Leave it even if u have 1% doubt towards it.. Chances r you might not end up wearing it too much 

3. Never shop on an empty stomach.

I think the title says it all.. An empty stomach might make you cranky and cantankerous and you might just find yourself dismissing most of the good stuff just because the fuel hasn't reached your brains yet. It is equally important to stay hydrated.

4. Shop during off season.

Shopping during off season has a lot of its benefits.
A. You get the personal attention from all the salesmen of the shop since they don't have much customers to attend to
B. You end up getting great stuff which are gonna be launched in the next season. The new and fresh stock might just become yours
C. The biggest benefit is cheap bargains.. Since its off season you can demand for great discounts and you can buy the stuff u like for a lot more cheaper rates than it is actually meant to be.

5. Be proactive and start early.

This might reduce a huge amount stress from your shoulders. When your major shopping is taken care of, you can sit back and relax and sip your coffee. You can also start getting your bridal outfits made early as well so that you are not stressed out when your wedding date is coming closer.. A survey suggests that 78% brides face stress because their shopping is still pending or because their bridal outfit is not yet ready. Hence avoid this stress and start early so that you can finish well before time.

Major tip for all you brides to be: 

just sit back and relax..

delegate work.. Don't take a pile load of wedding work on your shoulders,its practically impossible to get everything done alone 

and if it doesn't happen like the way you want to ..don't fret.. Chances are no one shall notice but you and the stress on your face shall be noticed by everyone!!

Whats your definition of an Alpha Male??

So it was Bae's birthday a couple of days back and we decided to take a day off in the middle of the week.

We decided to go on the outskirts and take a small sojourn. Hence, Alibaug got planned. We drove till there, had a lazy lunch at The Radisson Blu (its a mindblowing place to relax and rejuvenate) and we took a dip in the pool and had a couple of beers with a beautiful climate as a backdrop. So all in all a good life.

On our way to Alibaug, in the middle of this awesome picturesque drive..we ofcourse struck a lot of conversations and one very interesting conversation was What is an alpha male of today.
One thing led to another and we realised that we both have two completely different definition of an alpha male.
The topic led to mild conversation which got converted to an argument to a debate and thankfully not a fist fight thankfully (Alpha males dont do that you see).

Opinion 1- Mine:

An alpha male is somebody whos rough, rugged and tough. Like someone who knows how to change a flat tyre and also how to set up a tent. Someone whos loves to go camping, offroading and someone who takes those daredevil kinda road trips. Someone who loves to trek, hike, hitchhike, rappel, climb a gigantic rock,etc. Someone whos not scared of adventure and wouldnt think twice before taking a risk like jumping off a cliff or jumping off a plane.
Ofcourse apart from being confident, sharp, street smart and intellectual to hold on a coversation for as long as hes holding on to his beer.

Opinion 2- His

He believed that an alpha male is someone who takes fancy and appreciates the finer things in life. Like someone who has finer taste in clothes, finer tastes in his scotch, a love for his fine and fancy watches or pens or suits or shoes.
Someone who would love to take care of his woman and show utmost chivalry. Someone who believes that safety comes first no matter what and taking such silly risks is not a way of life but a way of death.

Ofcourse we mutually agreed to some part like having confidence, being intelligent, having a sharp personality and respecting elders.

Whats your take on it? Who according to you is the perfect alpha male?? Any name that comes to your mind?? Any particular trait or traits you believe that makes a man an alpha male??

Whats YOUR definition of an alpha male??

6 months to go!!

Ok

So here I am, 6 months to go for the D-day!!

And there is so much I want to get done.

Lose weight, get fit, meet my long lost friends, take a couple of bachelorette trips, take a couple of solo trips, go for a trek, drink till I drop and blah and blah and blah.

But all I am left with is, lets get your outfits done.. lets book the venue.. did u see the doc for that pimple, stop going out- u r getting tanned, lets book the vendors for your wedding and lots and lots and lots of blahs..

It seems as if my personal world has come to an end, its come crashing down.. There is no me as a person who I am, a person who loves traveling, a person who loves eating some delicious food, a person who loves outdoors. The only role I have to don is of a bride-to-be.

I am so tired, literally tired..phew of people asking me how are my wedding preps going.. where is your wedding, when is your wedding, what are you wearing, what did you shop.. OMG as if people have forgotten that I have a life, I have a career too. Ofcourse thats not as important as my wedding so who would care to ask me about that.

The typical conversation with the big fat quintessential aunty:

Aunty enters house
Fills my mouth with a laddoo (aunty, I have to lose weight..remember??)

Aunty: How are wedding preps going??
Me: They are going .... (gets cut off by mom)

Mom: I tell you, girls these days think they can manage the whole wedding by themselves. They just dont get time. Everyday they just wanna keep working. No time to shop for this and that and this and that. I m the only one in this house whos going mad.

Me: (silently agrees)

Aunty: Yes Beta, you should start focusing on your wedding preps now. Start doing your shopping. Think of it as an exercise, you anyways have to lose weight (ya right, you just shoved in a laddoo in my mouth) so take your wedding shopping as an excuse to exercise.

Me: But aunty, its not funny. I dont get time. I have work to do as well

Aunty: Exactly what I m telling you. Now this is your work. Nothing else matters. Your fiance will take care of everything else.

Me: (Gives the most horrendous look a feminist can ever give, thinks of 100 ways to throw this fatass out of my house but eventually decides to walk out of the room)

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: Girls these days,..I tell you.. They have taken all the responsibilities of the men and expect their men to cook.

Auntyyyyyy... shuuuutttt uppp

Yes guys..this is a blog of a bride gone mental..

A bride to be who is driven mad by the Indian society.

Marriage is good but wedding is one hell of an experience.

I m excited yet nervous. I am totally in love yet scared. Life is gonna change and for good but what is in store for me.. No one knows.

See my journey unwind..