Memories Part II

6. When it came time to do the traditional garter and throwing of the bouquet, I realized I didn't have a mini bouquet to toss to the single women of the group. As Este made a show of throwing the garter, I frantically went around looking for some options. My eyes zeroed in on one of the centerpieces. It will have to do, I thought. So... complete with soil and all, I launched the centerpiece at my guests and turned around just in time to see Aria's hand go up to catch the flowers. (Don't ask me why he was even there to begin with.) At the moment his fist closed around the centerpiece, the arrangement exploded in the air and dirt rained down on everyone around him. Aria shrugged his shoulders and handed what was left of the centerpiece to my cousin Mahsa.
Mahsa took a seat as Justin prepared to put the garter that he caught on her leg. Now, I am not sure what the protocol is, but I'm pretty positive he was not supposed to slide the garter up her leg with his mouth. I tried to stop him and tell him that that action was reserved for the bride and groom, but I think Justin was enjoying himself too much to listen or even care. Poor Mahsa!


7. It's funny how quickly something fun can turn scary. When the last song was over, my mom asked Este and I to sit on two chairs and had all the guys carry us out to the club for the after party. We sat down and awkwardly rose above the crowd, feeling like an Egyptian king and queen.
"To The Club!" "To The Club!" "To The Club!" My fist pumped with the rhythm of our slaves' chant. "Yeah! Faster!" I said as I motioned an imaginary whip.
Then, I don't know how it happened, but someone (my guess is Borzou) had the brilliant idea to change the chant.
"In The Pool!" "In The Pool!" "In The Pool!" And just like that, my royal fantasy turned into visions of a soaking wet wedding dress, mascara running in black streaks down my face, and my hair a soggy rat's nest on top of my head. NOOOO! They can't be serious!
As we made our way closer and closer to the water, I realized just how serious they were. I thrashed my arms about and grabbed and twisted as many ears as I could. "Don't do this. Put us down now!" I pleaded with my brother and tried to poke Dara in the eye, but no one would listen. I called out to Este to stop them, but he was the one chanting the loudest.

And then, just as the blue water came into view, I saw an angel with curly brown ringlets and hazel eyes run up to the front of the procession and issue out a final directive: Enough.

No questions asked- Este and I came straight down and the guys dispersed.
I owe Sepideh one big hug for saving us that night.

8. I vaguely remember all the guys linked arms at the after party and started doing leg kicks. I wish I knew what song would make someone want to do this but maybe it's something you do when you are so happy you feel the need to kick your legs eye-level in a chorus line with your friends. I dunno. I had to take a picture of this.



9. I wish the weirdness would have ended with the leg kicks, but after all the dancing we decided to head down to the beach. We left the club and joined my mother, Aryan, Goli Kaviani, Susan, both Mehrans and Kamran Nikseresht by the water. (Forgive me if I left anyone out, my memories of that late night are spotty!) In those calming moments by the sea, some of us passed out on the chairs and others hummed distant songs from their youth. Goli, ever the life of the party, started doing cartwheels in the sand. Susan, a bona fide yogi, led a stretching and meditating session. And everyone else just emptied minds and cleansed souls with a series of "Ohmmmms..."
Naturally, the OHMs became OH Snaps. (Don't ask me why.) Ajay stood up and took his place as conductor of the Oh Snap Chorus. We would all start very low at first "ohhhh" then Ajay would bring his arms up to fever pitch.
"ohhhhh HHHHHHH HHHHHHHH....."
We'd all look at him in desperation as the last breath escaped from our lungs.
When he finally brought his hands down, our "SNAP!" would ring and echo into the night.
We did this several times.

10. After laying out in the sun all day, we decided to head back to our rooms and get ready for dinner. I took one last look at the ocean and noticed a couple on a private photo shoot with the resort photographer. I nudged Carly to watch, because things were getting hot and heavy. The man and woman were rolling in the sand on top of each other as the tide came in and the photographer was clicking away to capture the romance. Out of nowhere I see a lady in a pink bathing suit walk up to the couple. I did a double take because not only did she stay in the shot, she got closer and started to pose with--and on top--of them. The other reason for the double take was that the woman looked familiar.
"Is that....LILI?!?!" Yes, yes it sure was.



11. I will cherish memories of my grandma and grandpa enjoying themselves on this trip. They may not always have the facts right...(Babajoon had a long conversation with his seat mate on the flight over and was bragging about going to his granddaughter's wedding. "She lives in New York and works in publishing, and I'm so proud of her" he said. "Oh, publishing! Which company?" "Flamingo."
They may not know exactly what's going on all the time....(During our tango, Babajoon asked, "Who hired the professional dancers?")
But they laughed, danced, swam, ate big buffet meals, drank alcohol and freshly squeezed pineapple juice with equal gusto, and participated wholeheartedly in all of the festivities.
If I were invisible, I'd follow them around all day and learn as much as I could, because if anyone knows what it means to live a full life and find happiness with the one you love- it is Mommyjoon and Babajoon.



12. There are so many more memories that I'd like to record here, but now new memories are coming in and I don't want to lose those either. I must close the book on this chapter of my life when Este and I got engaged, planned a wedding and with the help of our parents, made it come true. This picture was taken after most of our guests had left, and Este and I were feeling post-wedding calm for the first time. Was it all a dream? Did we really just get married...on the beach...with 101 of our closest friends and family? YES and it was awesome.