Wedding travel to Aurangabad

My bestie finally decided to get married which got finalized to take place in Aurangabad (recently named to Chhatrapati Shambhaji Nagar) - a city in India's Maharashtra. We started from Pune at 2:15am , via the nagar road to reach the booked accommodation in Aurangabad at 7am. My other friend had already arrived the previous night with her parents and had checked-in. We were meeting each other after almost 6 years. It was such an awesome feeling to meet her early in the morning. Uncle aunty were still sleepy from the previous night. We woke them up, greeted them and then went on to prepare the morning tea. The accomodation was a 3bhk spacious built-up floor. We had our tea in the dining area and caught up on a lot of things. We explored the house as well until we realised our commitment towards our friend who was getting married. The ceremonies were scheduled for morning. We took shower and got ready. The venue was a 15-min drive. We were welcomed to a beautifully decorated entrance that intrigued is to click some pictures. While entering, there was another unexpected surprise. We were groom's friends, but at the entrance was one of my husband's friend. We discovered he happens to be the bride's brother. Such a small world!!

They met & greeted. We were then made aware of the program. We went to the terrace where the mandap was ready. Our friend was sitting in a traditional attire for the rituals. While there was a moment we walked up to him to greet and soon his rituals started. It was so lovely to see the couple intently listening to what the priests had been them. The groom anyways knows majority of it all.😇

After this, we went to the dining hall to have breakfast. The breakfast consisted of a good spread of idli, wada  dhokla, poha, sandwich, fruits, sheera and tea. Very delicious and fulfilling. The families from both the sides had dispersed to prepare for the next set of events. The baraat came in after some time. The bride n groom went through some more rituals on the stage post which relatives and guests were allowed to meet them on the stage. We got our chance too, had dinner, bid adieu and left from the venue. We quickly went back to the accomodation to change and then were on our way to Ghrishneshwar jyotirling. We didn't find any rush there, had a peaceful darshan and then started on our way to Shirdi. We took the Samruddhi expressway and reached by 6:20pm. We parked the car and got the entry passed. In the meanwhile we got tea for all before entering the shrine. We joined the queue through the senior citizen gaye at 7:05pm and out after our darshan by 7:40pm. Though it was Friday evening, but still this was another peaceful darshan. We went to Udipi Express restaurant to fill our tummies. The cab was booked for my friend's family to go back to Aurangabad. While the cab was on its way, we went for a quick paan break. The cab showed up. We bid adieu after spending an amazing day together after such a long time. With happy hearts we were on our way to our destinations.