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Before even getting proposed to, I always wanted to go to India to do my shopping—it was like a right of passage. When the pandemic hit that was all out the window. I was so thankful for Anita Dongre's team in New York for helping ship out outfits for my events. It wasn't easy either due to the lockdowns India faced and how hard it hit there.
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Anita Dongre's lengas are literally like butter. My chunni outfit was probably the most fun and comfortable, I will always rewear this piece. And c'mon, it has POCKETS!
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Even though my pre-events and wedding were much smaller than planned, the love and support my family gave was beyond anything I could've ask for. My two cousins, Nisha and Geeta, were a huge part of keeping me sane during the whole process.
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On our Chunni day, Vijay wore a Bonobo's suit, Ermenegildo Zegna sunglasses, and a matching pink tie. We've always had this thing of matching each other. We never really figured out how it started, but once it did, there was no stopping it.
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Traditionally the Chunni is when the boy and his family come to greet the girl and provide her with gifts and blessings, as it's the beginning of the wedding week.
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Because the Chunni is also the first event of the wedding, it is also a religious one. Here, Ganesh is at the center.
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When I did my mini entrance to the Chunni, it gave me a like a little sneak peek to what the wedding would feel like. But this was definitely more fun because Nisha and Geeta were there supporting me. They are the best older sisters, and there is never a dull moment between our little group.
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My beautiful sisters.
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Damn, my hair looks good! Before the wedding week. my hair was actually blonde, super light blonde. I knew when I would look back at photos. I wanted to look more like the real me, so I went to the best stylist in LA, Nico from Ramos Carreon Salon (thank you to Nisha for booking him for me!) He helped bring dimension and my natural color back in the most chic and subtle way. Also, that wasn't easy to book—the salon was basically a speakeasy, but all these salons were closed due to the lockdowns in place.
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Vijay's family. His sister, mom, Vijay, and dad. I feel pretty lucky to have a group of in-laws that are as loving and supportive as Vijay's.
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My OMG face. You might think this was a reaction to the gifts Vijay's family was giving me, but it was the total opposite. In the audience, almost half of my family was already crying. My dad, my grandparents, my cousins, my aunts. All of them were already crying, and it was just the first wedding event! I feel like from their point of view, it was the beginning of a new chapter, and these were the first steps towards my new future. It was a very surreal moment.
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Indians love their sweets! During the Chunni, the two families not only gift each other material things, but it's also traditional to feed the soon-to-be's sweets as good wishes for their future.
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I asked Vijay why he and my parents were laughing in this photo, and his response was, "your dad made a dad joke." Haha. Having both families meld together can be scary, but I'm grateful that we all get along so well.
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My brother, dad, mom, and grandma all giving their blessings and love to Vijay.
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There is a moment during the Chunni where the mother-in-law places an actual Chunni (scarf/ dupatta) on your head. This moment is like the real acceptance of a new daughter into their family.
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During the events Vijay & I could not stop smiling—almost every picture was just laughter and love. We had to reschedule our wedding so many times, once the events started happening it was like everything was finally falling into place.
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Portraits from our Chunni. Gosh, I can't thank Vinu enough for the way she captured this whole week.
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The second event of the wedding was the Lady Sangeet, probably the most fun! You get to dress up as flashy as you want and party the night away. It's almost like a pre-reception. I wore Abhinav Mishra.
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I was having a blast on my mehndi day. I have always loved mehndi/henna growing up, and whenever I thought about my wedding day I was so excited to go all out. I wore Ritu Kumar.
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Normally before marriage you never really get henna on your legs or feet, it's mostly brides that do this and after marriage. When my henna artist, Tulsi, drew the smallest line on my leg I bursted into tears. It was a moment that hit me in a new way, the reality of my wedding finally coming together, it was right around the corner. From all the stress and hectic planning—everything was happening, and as a child you dream of your wedding, and it was just surreal.
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I didn't put too much story into my henna designs because I wanted it to be the best art that Tulsi had. I did ask her to put a little dog paw and a triton symbol on my palms. My dog, Lilo, is like a little daughter and I love her. The triton represented UCSD, the college where Vijay and I first met and fell in love.
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The Haldi is one of the last events before the wedding day. It’s an event where everyone in your family blesses you with well wishes before you go off and become a married woman. It’s traditional for everyone in your family to come to you and rub Haldi everywhere.
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The Haldi is a turmeric-infused mask made at home to help cleanse and exfoliate your body. Turmeric has a lot of great benefits and after washing it off, you're supposed to feel and look glowing. This is why they use it on brides and grooms before the wedding day.
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Nisha, my cousin, did my makeup the day of the Chunni. Growing up, we actually lived in the same house, and she would always use me as her little guinea pig to try new styles. She insisted on doing my makeup that day, and we both got teary eyed throughout the whole process. We had no idea growing up she would become the amazing makeup artist/businesswoman she is today.
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The Chunni actually took place at my Masi's house (Nisha's mom). We didn't have many options for venues during the height of the pandemic, so I was very thankful that our families were opening up their homes to us for these celebrations.
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Moments before walking down the aisle, and looking back, I wish I took a shot of tequila! The night before the wedding was tough going to sleep, it was the last few moments as a single lady in my home—I think I got less than 3 hours of sleep.
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Everything about my look was all from a kickass team of strong women. My aunt, Archana, had designed and made all of my jewelry. Jax is the queen of makeup, and Farah is the hair queen. I loved everything about my look. It was traditional, and it was me.
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Vijay and I always have to match, so the pops of jade in my jewelry was the perfect touch to match what he was going to be wearing.
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The one thing I loved about my wedding outfit was that you could dress it up and down. I just wore it to my cousin's wedding, and I can't wait to rewear it again. It is by far my favorite piece.
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Ready to walk down the aisle.
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As a kid when you think about your wedding day, you have so many wants and needs. The pandemic really pushed away a lot of my "dreams," but I didn't let that stop me from feeling that my wedding was any less than anyone else's.
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My mom. She is my rock. No matter what.
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The heart of everything. Family.
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Oh, hunny. My man. Vijay wore a custom outfit designed by Frontier. His turban and duppata were by Anita Dongre.
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The Mandap. This was the focal part of the whole wedding. Trying to figure out what we wanted it to look like was such a struggle. I had so many visions of what it could look like. It was truly my parents and Vijay who helped me hone in on one theme. I wanted it to be traditional, but I also wanted it to represent things I loved. Dried and muted flowers, vintage chandeliers, elegant chairs, greenery, the secret garden I always dreamed of.
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Traditionally in Hindu weddings, the groom comes to the wedding on a horse and his whole family is right behind him.
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Vijay had his sister and her husband walk him down the aisle.
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When I was walking through my uncle's backyard, the only thing I saw was Vijay. As soon as he got a glimpse of me, his face was glowing.
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My younger brother walked me down, and it felt so special. The umbrella he was carrying was made by dad just for this moment.
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When you look at these photos, you have no idea that this was in a backyard. Venues were hard to come by, and even if you were able to lock one in, there was no guarantee that you would still be able to use it. With the rules changing every second, we didn't take the chance. I feel like having it in my hometown was a gift I'll cherish forever. I'm so thankful that my family came together in this moment and allowed us to change their backyard into our wedding venue.
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The moment when Vijay finally put Sindoor on me. Sindoor is the main symbol of a married women, and it holds so much value and tradition.
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Blessings on blessings, always given sweets during a big moment.
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Moments before walking around the fire.
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Beautiful rituals during our ceremony.
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I grew up in a very traditional family, so kissing in front of my whole family after finally getting married was still a little risque. But just as meaningful to have a first kiss moment.
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Husband and Wife.
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Family is everything.
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A big sister's love.
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Vijay and I weren't able to have first look photos. Our families were too strict in seeing each other before the wedding. Thankfully, my aunt allowed us to come to take photos in her beautiful home.
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Editoria portraits by Vinuthna Garidipuri are iconic.
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An intimate moment where Vijay and I were so excited to be finally married.
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My dream was always to drive off in a vintage car. Before the wedding, Vijay told me he wasn't able to get a hold of any rental cars especially due to the pandemic. When I walked off the aisle and toward the car, I was in complete awe that he still made it happen. It was the best surprise and we had a blast riding around in the Thunderbird.
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Our cake was made and designed by Tasteful Cakes from Corona. I still have a slice in the freezer and can't wait to eat it again for our one-year anniversary.
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Something that was heartbreaking for a COVID wedding was that we weren't able to host a reception. We never got to have the dancing or the big celebration. During the wedding, Vijay surprised me with a whole performance with all my brothers, and it was so good—straight out of a Bollywood film.
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When you finally got him trapped.
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I don't know who, but someone announced a father-daughter dance, and it was the most special moment I've had with him. It was just us giggling on the dance floor. I always wanted a planned and syncronized dance with my dad but because of the wedding being planned so quickly and so much COVID-stress, we never had the time. I was very fortunate to have this moment with him.
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After the ceremony and all the photos, we had speeches. None of which were planned. I think that was the beauty of them. Everyone was thinking of what to say on the spot and speaking from the heart. It wasn't censored, it wasn't reviewed, it was all real, and it was one of our favorite parts of the day.
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The first dance.
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I loved our first dance. Everything about it was messy and real. We were laughing the whole time because either he missed a step or I missed one. Somehow we still made it look good.
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Oh, the speeches! None of which was rehearsed. There were "um's," "like's," and so many "uh's." Nothing was planned to the T because we didn't have the luxury of thinking it wouldn't get cancelled again.
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One thing I'm glad about is that Vijay didn't smush cake all over me, which he really wanted to do!
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The goodbye. The wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, but in our culture, it's also a moment where you are finally leaving your family to become your own woman. It was such a bittersweet moment.
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I can't go through the vidai without crying each and everytime. Back in the day it was your last goodbye, and for some reason it didn't feel like a goodbye to my family but a goodbye to my childhood. I'm already an adult, but this moment felt too real. It's unexplainable. It's beautiful.
