THE Wedding

Growing up, my little sister Debby was always the one who would say that she wanted to be famous or a millionaire when she grew up.  Of course, we would just laugh at our little sister while the rest of us said we wanted to be lawyers and doctors.  I don't directly recall her saying it, but I'm pretty sure a super fancy wedding was on her wish list too.

Well, guess who's laughing now?  She may not be famous but she did have a super fancy wedding, and some famous people attended so that is probably close enough!

Debby married Sameer Kumar on July 7, 2012 at the Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, California.  And it was fabulous!  Everything was beautiful, especially Debby.  She was a gorgeous bride.  It was a great day for our whole family, we got to be at an amazing wedding, do lots of fun things, eat great food, but most of all see my sister SO happy.  Bottom line, when you see people you love happy, it just makes you happy.

I have lots of pictures to share and it's hard to know where to start but here it is:

The wedding ceremony itself was Hindu.  Debby and Sam wore Indian clothing and were married in a traditional ceremony by a Hindu priest.  The reception and party afterward were American.  They changed into American style dress and the fun began.

First off, let's just take a look at Pelican Hill Resort.

This place is so beautiful.  The wedding gazebo overlooks the ocean.  The morning of Debby's wedding the girls and I went over to the bridal suite and got ready with Debby and her bridesmaids.  Debby hired hairdressers and makeup artists to come do every one up.  The girls loved getting special treatment.

Hair and make-up

Even some pedicures...can't leave anything out!

The finished product.  Gorgeous!!!

Once everyone was ready, we took pictures before everything got going.  Debby and the whole wedding party wore American clothes for this.  We also took a family picture, but all these were by the professional photographer and they haven't come back yet, so I don't have any to post right now.

Bridesmaids in the bridal suite

After pictures, it was time for the Baraat.  Debby changed into her wedding sari.  Let me tell you this dress was gorgeous.  It was so beautifully made with tons of hand-sewn jewels and beading.  It weighed 40 pounds (probably why she didn't wear it too long!) 

 

I don't have any official information on a Baraat but basically it takes place right before the ceremony.  This is the part when the groom and his family meet the bride's family, they exchange gifts, hug, dance and then proceed to the ceremony.  This really was one of my favorite parts of the whole thing.  I'm thinking of ways to throw in a Baraat at every wedding!  Unfortunately, Debby the bride, is not part of the Baraat because you don't want the groom to see her before the ceremony...too bad she really missed out.

Now because Sam, likes to do everything BIG, during the Baraat he rode in on an elephant.  All the groom's family, guests and groomsmen gather around the elephant, music and drums start playing and the whole group moves in a dancing procession towards the bride's family who is waiting to greet them.  What a great way to get the party started.

Not the clearest picture, but you get the idea

This elephant was the same one from the movie,
"Water for Elephants" - a movie star!

Basically the elephant just walks right up to our family group, kneels and let's Sam climb down.  The two families then greet and exchange beautiful fresh flower leis.  I loved my lei!!  Because Dave was so much taller than all the Indians and Thai people around the Hindu priest had him pick-up the guy from Sameer's family that he exchanged gifts with.  So funny, everything was very celebratory nothing too formal or stuffy.

We then took our seats for the ceremony to begin.  My dad, escorted Debby down the aisle.  Paige was a flower girl and even Dave had a part in the ceremony as the "brother" of the bride.  Fortunately, there was a printed wedding program that explained each part of the Hindu ceremony.  There were about 17 different phases of the ceremony, a "combination of symbolic rituals and traditions, dating back 4,000 years."

Throwing rose petals at the happily married couple

The whole ceremony takes over an hour and is really very interesting.  It very much involves both of the families as they agree to accept and care for the new couple. 

After the ceremony, Debby and Sameer went to change clothes while we took pictures and enjoyed the cocktail hour.  They set a up a nice area outside to serve drinks and Indian food appetizers to all the wedding guests as we waited for the reception to start.

VudhiVadhana Family

A Sangeet

Debby's wedding was a blending of Indian and American customs.  Traditional Indian weddings usually consist of 5 days of celebrations.  In Debby and Sam's case, they combined some of the events and had 3 days of celebrations rather than all 5.  Fortunately, we were there and able to go the Sangeet.  All I can say is that Indians know how to party.  They truly "celebrate" weddings.  What a great cultural experience for us. 

Two days before the wedding, some very close family friends of the Kumars (groom's family) hosted a Sangeet for Debby and Sam.  It is basically a big party with food, music, dancing, and Mehndi.  Mehndi is the application of a henna tattoo.  The bride gets a very intricate design on her arms, hands, legs and feet.  It really is an art and amazing to watch it applied. 

Debby, after she started Mehndi.  Little does she know, she
will be spending the rest of the night getting her tattoo finished.

Debby trapped in the Mehndi Gazebo as Sam comes by for a visit.

All the other ladies also get a design on their hand.  Of course, the girls and I weren't passing this up.  None of us had ever had a henna tattoo before, so we were excited to get it done.  Tattoo's can last up to two weeks, but ours only made it about a week.  The design is supposed to represent your name, so each of us had something different.  What a fun and unique experience.

A main element of a Sangeet is music and so we had our very own live Indian band.  Seriously, these guys were a hoot.  The band was dancing, singing and pumping everyone up.  It was dark when I took these pictures, but look at the glow-in-the-dark pants on the band's lead--awesome!

Paige and my dad dancing

I should also mention that when it comes to dancing at Indian weddings, everyone does it!  I mean EVERYONE and they really do shake it.  Nothing formal here, just loud music, jumping and moving to the beat.  The highlight of the evening might have been my dad and Sameer's dad dancing--you don't see that every day!

We also had some delicious vegetarian, Indian food.  Funny thing is that when we first arrived there were tables of appetizers out and an open bar.  So we just figured it was finger food, drinks and dancing, which was plenty because there was tons of food.  Imagine our surprise when after about 90 minutes of dancing, etc. dinner was served.  We weren't ready for that but it was delicious.  Kind of reminded me of Thai culture---can't have a party without way too much food.

A Bridal Shower

One of the good things about arriving a few days before the wedding was that we got to attend some of the pre-wedding festivities.  (Before we begin, I have to say that I spent more time having fun and enjoying myself rather than taking pictures.  I have a lot of pictures, but there are also a lot of holes.  Fortunately, a long-time friend of my dad diligently took pictures at the wedding so I am using most of his from that day.)

First off, the girls and I went to Debby's bridal shower, hosted by some of her friends.  Two of Debby's friends grew up with her in Utah and now they all live in California together.  They have all known each other since they were 5 years old.  They played soccer together and went to high school together.  They know our family pretty well and we know them.  It was fun to see them again.

The theme of Debby's shower was "Sex and the City" but fortunately because there were kids from both the bride and groom's sides of the family it was very discreet.  In the end the theme was basically just "glamorous" which was good.

gorgeous table settings

The shower was held in a friend's backyard and another friend who happens to be a big-time LA event planner designed everything.  It was really nice.  They had huge flower centerpieces on the tables along with hanging chandeliers over the food table.  If we learned anything on this trip, it is that Debby and friends always go BIG.

Debby-the bride, Ashley and Paige

Aunt Pao (background), Ashley and my sister Katey

We all had a good time.  Ashley and Paige loved feeling all grown up and girlie with the ladies.  Also it was nice that two of my Aunties from Thailand were able to come to.  Funny thing is that the night before when we asked my Aunt Pao if she wanted to come to the shower and told her it was for girls only, she declined.  Of course, lost in translation was the American custom of bridal showers.  She was thinking "shower" literally with a big group of ladies.  No wonder she wasn't interested!  Once we cleared it up and let her know that it is just a party or celebration at which you "shower" the bride with gifts, she was more than happy to come.

Jenny, Paige-with fake glasses, and the chandeliers

Winner of the toilet paper wedding dress contest!

Best gift - awesome yellow hat, I want one!

The bridal shower was on July 4th so after brunch the guys in our family came over and our whole family along with a few of Debby's close friends stayed for a backyard BBQ and fireworks.  The girls went swimming in the pool, even though the weather was pretty cool.  After visiting and helping Debby with some wedding stuff, Paige taught Debby and all her friends a dance.  Paige and her best friend back home choreographed a whole dance to Katy Perry's "California Gurls."  Seriously it is so cute (if you ask her, she'd be happy to perform it for you or even teach you the steps.)  Anyway, it was pretty cute, she had all the ladies dancing.

After all the dancing and eating, we went out front to light fireworks.  Fireworks are fun for my girls because we can't do them in Illinois.  (Although, I'm not sure who had more fun, the guys or the kids.)  Again, lots of fun and I just have to say how thankful I am that Sam (Deb's fiance) didn't lose any fingers while shooting off bottle rockets.  The arm hair was gone, but that was not essential for the wedding!

California Dreamin'

Our family summer vacation this year was to California.  We were going for my sister, Debby's, wedding, but because there is so much to do in Southern California we managed to squeeze lots in.  The first part of our trip we stayed with Debby and Sam in Brea.  We arrived 4 days before the wedding and basically devoted these days to helping Debby with preparations and attending pre-wedding festivities.

Brea might be a little too slow-paced and suburban for Debby and Sam, but we didn't mind.  We were also excited to get to visit and eat at the restaraunt they own--Birch Street Bar and Grill.

Dave and I at Birch Street

The restaurant is located in this cute downtown area full of shops, restaurants, and movie theaters.  During our stay we definitely had to try out Farrell's Ice Cream, Candy and Soda shop.  It is has quite a reputation in the area as well as long lines to get a seat.  Our family shared ice cream nachos-broken up waffle cones covered in scoops of ice cream and lots of toppings.  I'm going to have to steal that idea.

The other food spot we had to try out was Bruxie's.  They serve gourmet waffle sandwiches.  There were so many varieties that we ordered 5 sandwiches but I wish we could have tried some others as well.  Ashley of course had the cheeseburger, I had the chicken, waffle, and syrup sandwich, Dave had the bacon, egg and cheese, and Paige a red bean with cream.  For dessert we ordered the cheddar apple pie sandwich.  I would have liked the banana, nutella but someone in our family doesn't like bananas!!!

Another highlight of Brea was staying with Debby and Sam for a few days.  They are so great, live right across the street from a donut shop, and have the cutest dog in the world.  I'm not exaggerating about the cuteness.  This is Harry (as in Harold Kumar) Debby's Schitzu Poodle. 

He is still a puppy so he is very playful, but is such a lover that Paige and Ashley were in heaven.  Even Dave liked playing with Harry.  I thought we were going to have to get a dog after enjoying Harry so much, but don't worry Dave and I kept our senses!

Happy Birthday to Jenny

My birthday was the day before we left for Debby's wedding, but my darling family didn't let it go unnoticed.  Dave and the girls took me for a birthday lunch to the White Chocolate Grill.  This was our first time eating there, but we weren't dissappointed.  The best part were the desserts.  We ordered two, both of which were covered in curls of shaved white chocolate.  Yummy.  We had a banana cream pie and when I say cream I mean the most delicious pastry cream and fresh bananas!  We also had a warm white chocolate brownie.  I probably don't need to tell you that was good too.

I also was treated to a pedicure, with purple nail polish to match my dress for the wedding and some earrings and a watch.  Loved it!  So glad to get to spend the day with Dave and my girls.

River Tubing

This year I took the Laurels (young women, 16 and up) that I work with at church on a tubing trip down the Maquoketa River in Iowa.  Another ward was planning the trip and invited our Priests and Laurels to go with them.  We had never done anything like this before, but knew it would be a lot of fun so we decided to go for it.

It was a three hour drive to the river and because of so little rainfall this year the river level was pretty low.  Fortunately, conditions were still good enough to tube and canoe but the low level made for a very slow moving river.  It took us 5 hours to float down the 8 mile section of river, about twice the usual time.  We were supposed to get home at 6pm but ended up dropping kids off around 10pm instead!

I think everyone had a pretty good time, even if we kept wondering when the end would come.  Thank goodness we rented some canoes.  They came in handy when we formed long trains with the canoes pulling the tubes in an effort to get things moving along.  By the time we got out of the water, everyone's feet were very pruney, we had been wet so long, but the setting was very naturesque.  We saw lots of birds, including eagles flying overhead.  The weather was also pretty nice, warm but overcast, so we were more protected from the direct sun.  I'd like to do it again with my own family sometime.

I also got to develop my rowing and balance skills as I used my super-talent to single-handedly save a canoe from capsizing after my rowing partner decided to jump off the side without any warning!  It happened to be the YM President from our ward doing this shenannigan.  You should have seen the faces of the kids when they saw the canoe going over with me still in it!  I don't think anyone could believe I saved it.  That was my big adventure for the day!

I'm in this picture, but I like to think I can get away
with looking like one of the kids ;)

Youth Conference

This year was my first every time going to youth conference.  Originally, I was just planning on going as a leader or extra set of helping hands, but in the end, Dave and I were asked to be "parents" which entailed something much different. 

Youth Conference is held every summer and is a two day program for kids 14 and up in our church.  This year's theme was Book of Mormon Heroes and all the participants were divided up into "families" or groups of 10 with two adult "parents" to chaperone them.  Having never been to a youth conference before I wasn't really sure what we were in for, but I am so glad we did it, because it was a great experience.  I am also very grateful to Dave who agreed to do it with me.  He gets sucked into a lot of Youth stuff because of me. 

Youth conference was basically two full days, early morning to late night for us.  Some parents actually hosted kids overnight in their homes, but we didn't have to do that, so we got a good night's sleep.  Fortunately, we also had the help of some good friends who helped us with our own kids (Ashley and Paige) while we were gone.

Anyways, the conference was great and we had SUPER family of young people.  It was great to get to know the kids and see what potential they have.  I've never been one for the "kid's nowadays..." complaints or the "things and people are so much worse than they used to be" stuff.  Every time has it's challenges and the young people living in them have to learn to navigate them, but they can do it,  especially with support from family and church.  These kids give me great hope and comfort (even as I think of the future for my own girls.)  They are good kids, trying to do good things, and they will be blessed for it.

Our Family of Smithites

We had lots of good stories from Youth Conference, but I'll share just one.  The funny one.  On day one we had did a number of team building-type games and activities.  One of which was some kind of ladder game.  Basically your team lines up into two rows facing each other.  Then each pair of people are given a short pole to hold onto, forming a rung of a ladder.  Sort of like this:

The rungs cannot touch the ground, this means that every team member has to be holding onto one of the poles in some way.  After you have your ladder formed, you then have to have another team member walk, climb or move across the ladder from one end to the other without touching the ground (or falling into the hot lava.)  Okay, so I'm up first, and the kids manage to get me across.  We then switch places and a few other people in our group make it across.  The whole time we are adjusting our grips and strategy for holding the rungs up.  Then someone gets the bright idea to have Dave try to go across.  Of course, the kids love the idea of the challenge, but I'm the realistic "mother" here and I'm terrified of this idea.   Seriously, me and 9 teenagers are supposed to hold Dave up off the ground and move him 8 feet?!  Some of these girsl barely weigh 100 pounds.  Let's just say we went for it.  Kudos for Dave for being willing.  And the result----our "Father" burned up in the hot lava!! 

Gotta love Youth Conference!