Our Bridal Party ... The Bridesmaids

This next portion is about our bridal party. It will be done in three parts mainly because I am waiting for Chris to give me the information he wants to put up about his groomsmen.

Bridesmaids

Deepika Mahendra, aunt of the bride
Deepi is my mom and aunt’s cousin (her mom is my grandmother’s sister), but she and I are very close in age. She and her husband live in London and are true world travelers! For their honeymoon a few years ago, they took off and travelled the world for about a year. Deepi and I met many times throughout the years when we were younger. They came to America a few times and we went to London as well to visit. We really became close in the Summer of 2006 when her family came to the states for another cousin’s wedding. We spent 5 crazy days together with our families. There were 12 of us staying at my aunt and uncle’s house that weekend. In February 2007 I traveled with my mom, aunt and uncle to India for her wedding to Benji (the first non-Indian to join our family). This time it was two weeks of shopping and getting ready for her wedding. It was a life experience that I would never give back (though I would have loved it if I could have spent two weeks in London instead)! Deepi is a true sister to me even though technically she is my great aunt aka Masi.

Deepi and I at her Sangeet in India

Ginger Patel, friend of the bride
I met Ginger in high school at the random parties mutual friends threw. We really didn’t become friends until I went on the road trip of a lifetime with her and 4 other friends. We rented an 8 passenger van and drove to Vegas, where Ginger, Kristin and I danced on the bar at Coyote Ugly, then to Palo Alto to pick up another friend. Following that we went to San Francisco, where we ate at Jolly Bee, a restaurant that has pineapple on burgers and spaghetti with hotdogs mixed in them. Our last stop was LA, where two of us ran into the COLD ocean! We did a lot more, but these are some of the experiences that really stand out in my head. Ginger and I also lived in the same ghetto apartment complex over in the medical center where we shared weekend breakfasts and movie nights. I had the honor to be a bridesmaid in her wedding and I caught (nosedived) the bouquet at the reception. She got married in April of 2009 and she and her husband Neel just recently became parents to the sweetest baby in the world. When Ginger is not designing things for her friends weddings she is working at M.D. Anderson as a nurse.

Ginger and I at a party on New Year's Eve

Erin VanTreeck, friend of the bride
Erin is my best friend. We can go weeks without talking, but when we get on the phone it is like nothing ever changed. We met in seventh grade at lunch through a mutual friend and became okay friends at first. Our friendship grew throughout the years. There are so many stories that I can think of but the thing that stands out to me is how we are complete opposites, but we are the perfect fit as far as friendships go. I was the loud and social one and Erin was the quiet and sensitive one. What is funny is that we seemed to have reversed roles as we grow older (though I will always be the loud one). I think she was the one who kept me grounded before I met Chris. Now it is both her and Chris’s job to do so. Erin has been there for me for so much, even when we were 20 miles, 200 miles and now 1000 miles away from each other. Erin moved to Chicago 2 years ago and I know she has never been happier (though her best friend misses her). Her life has fallen into place since her move and I know that she is destined for great things.

Erin and I at Max's Wine Dive for a yummy brunch

Thank you to these wonderful ladies for agreeing to be in the wedding and for putting up with me when time gets closer to the wedding. I am trying not to be a bridezilla, but I am not promising a thing!