A few months ago, one of our drivers, and a good friend of mine, Sharon invited me to his wedding. I knew I really wanted to go but was unsure of the logistics of going. I know going alone was not an option and neither was taking the entire family, on top of the fact that I would be close to my 7th month of pregnancy. Approximately 3 weeks before his wedding my good friend Julie said that she would go with me. So we booked our tickets and made preparations to do a girls trip to Kerala for Sharon's wedding! It was a quick yet amazing trip!
Saying goodbye to my babies!
After a long night of traveling we were pretty beat! I was not feeling super well being as big I am, but we were only there for 48 hours so we started our visits right away. We did not want to miss a thing.
I'm not exactly sure what this water hole was, but it was very cool!
Coconut press!
One of our drivers, Aniyan (little brother) Najeem, picked us up form the airport, drove us around to various places to visit, took us shopping, and chaperoned us during the entire trip.
It was great to have him with us. We felt safe and very much enjoyed his company.
On our way to Sharon's wedding we stopped by Najeem's house and met his parents and a nephew.
Najeem's parents are amazing! They were so sweet and welcoming. They welcomed us with fruits and fresh coconut juice from their garden.
Najeem's dad makes rubber and sells it on the side. This is where is makes the rubber.
I really enjoyed getting to know them and wished we had more time with them.
Next we visited a beautiful botanical garden.
There were a lot of plants and flowers I had never seen before.
I loved the mother earth statue, I thought it was so beautiful!
We also visited an herb garden.
This is always so interesting to me.
I love learning about natural medicine.
This is truly why God put plants on the earth for us to use them in every capacity for our health and wellbeing.
There was a clump of rice grass on the celling.
I'm not sure the reason behind it.
cannon ball tree
banana tree
The auditorium was filled with guests and cameras, photographers, videographers, flying video drones... It was very impressive!
Once we arrived, we were very happy to meet Sharon's sister, mom,
and family as well as Fathima's family.
Sharon entered the auditorium with a procession of dancers. The room and stage was beautifully decorated with flowers, lights, and beaded pearl strings. The hall was filled with guests, I am guessing about 1000 to 1200 people came to Sharon and Fathima's wedding. I was very impressive.
Sharon and his family insisted we sit on the stage during the ceremony.
Julie and I felt slightly our of place being up there,
but it was a great honor to be treated like a family.
Fathima entering the auditorium!
It felt like I was witnesses the arrival of a princess!
The ceremony was full of music, dance performances and lights!
It was a very cool experience to witness such an event!
The ceremony consisted of exchanging gold necklaces, flowers, and partaking of milk and foods.
After the ceremony the dancers performed a few more dances after which the bride and groom took many pictures.
Sharon and Fathima
Sharon and Fathima, Julie and I, Najeem, Shajahan (another one of our drivers) and his children
Julie and I presented Sharon and Fathima a small gift.
I am very grateful for my dear friend Jolie who crafted it for me.
It turn out awesome!
One of the things Julie and I loved were seeing all the little children. They were adorable! They were very intrigued by us and kept waving at us. We took many selfies! lol!
After the wedding Sharon had arranged a big dinner!
Briyani rice! Knowing that I do not eat chicken, Sharon arranged shrimp briyani as well!
It was so good!
Julie is such an awesome person that everyone is drawn to her, wanting to talk with her!
After lunch we followed Sharon and Fathima back to their house.
More pictures!
View from our hotel room
Once of the things I loved about being in India a second time was the amazing curries!
I also love the quotes we would receive on our plates each morning. It was a good and uplifting way to start the day!
Najeem took us shopping at a local shop for shirts, dresses, and saree silk.
It was a blast!
After choosing our fabric we went to the tailor were Julie got fitted for a saree for her and her daughter Cami. We picked it up a few hours later! They turned out beautiful!
Najeem than took us to a beautiful beach in Trivandrum, were we could do a little shopping there too!
Beautiful seaport at Trivandrum where locals would take their boats and go fishing!
Sadly it was time to go home!
Our flight got delayed a few hours so Julie and I bought a pass to the lounge where we had access to internet, and were able to relax in a comfortable place. We also upgraded our seats to business class which was very nice! By the end of they trip my body had had enough and my swollen feet could not deny it!
I enjoyed my time away, but I was so glad to come home!
I sure missed my people!
I am grateful for Jon and all he did at home so I could take this trip.
It was fun to see all the decorations and cards the kids had make for me.
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