So I always knew there would be a wedding for Jake and Anjali from book 1, In Like a Lion, at the end of the Chimera Chronicles series and now I’m writing it. It’s been a long time since my own wedding and more than eighteen months since the last Indian wedding I attended, so I’ve been going over the details.

An Indian wedding is an elaborate affair. Of course, there are multiple religions and ethnicities in India, but the weddings I am familiar with and Anjali, who is Gujarati and Hindu would want is, naturally, a Gujarati-style Hindu wedding.

I don’t know about other weddings in India but the main ceremony (there are several rituals that take place before and after the actual wedding) takes place under a structure called a mandap. It can be simple or elaborate. Here are some examples:

Here is a photo of the gazebo we used as our Mandap when I married.

Nikhil and me at our Hindu ceremony

I am having a great time (or procrastinating 😜) finding bridal clothes for Anjali. (the bride) and for Devon, Embry, Zara, CJ, Sofia, Mika (the heroine of the final book) and Thalia from Blood and Kisses who plays a big part in the series.

I wore a sari and they are beautiful, but those of us who don’t wear them frequently may find it easier to wear the lehenga choli. The websites say Lehenga means skirt and Choli means blouse. But my husband, (who should know) says lehengas are pants. However, what the websites are showing clearly have skirts, so anyone with more info please let me know. As I said, it’s been a long time since I was up to date on wedding fashion.😊

The set also comes with a dupatta, a long voluminous scarf that can be draped numerous ways and for weddings, often veils the head.

Here are some (the websites say) lehenga choli that I can envision on my heroines.

Anjali would wear something like this, but in my head there is a little green trim and pearl beading to accent the red and gold.
Mika the heroine of bk 7 would wear this or similar. She is Japanese-American and I think these colors would suit her.
I imagine Sofia, heroine of Her Sexy Beast, who is a latina with dark skin and hair, wearing something like this.
This is my pick for Zara from Lion’s Prey. She is African-American and Hawaiian, so I think she’d glow in this bright color.
CJ Kyle’s mate from the Dragon’s flame is a very pale blonde, so I think this would be a dramatic contrast.
Devon from Entity Mine is a red-head, so I think this pale gray lavender would set her off nicely.
This my choice for Embry from the Lion’s Share. She’s another blonde, but not so pale as CJ, so I think this delicate mix of blue and sea foam would look lovely.
Thalia from Blood and Kisses has a large role in the series, so of course she’s there! I think something like this rich purple would look nice with her chestnut hair.

I hope you enjoyed dipping your toe an Indian wedding with me!

This final book in the series, Book 7, tentatively titled Out Like a Dragon, will be out later this year. I need to discuss the release date with my publisher, but look for cover release news in the coming months! And if you haven’t read the series, get the first book here https://www.amazon.com/Like-Lion-Chimera-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B00AQJ756C/ It’s free with Kindle Unlimited and only $3.99 in ebook!

Or catch up with the series with Her Sexy Beast! http://bit.ly/HSBeast

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