Stephanie, Freelance Writer and Parish Administrator & Sri, Doctor
One sentence sum-up of the wedding vibe: Old Hollywood/Bollywood meets thrift store. (It started off low-key all DIY everything. It quickly turned into “We’re getting married this weekend and no longer give a fuck about any other details.”)
Soundtrack for reading: “I Found You” by The Alabama Shakes
Other Cool Stuff We Should Know About
We prepped for the wedding day together, then split up for the walk to the venue because Sri refused to see Steph’s dress ahead of time. Our getaway car was a pedicab playing traditional South Indian music from the iPod dock.
We actually got legally married the Wednesday before our wedding weekend in an intimate courthouse ceremony. Just the two of us, plus a government-authorized stranger, followed by celebratory po-boys for lunch. With three separate ceremonies, Steph’s grandmother figures we’re about as married as anyone ever was.
We had talked about how to incorporate both Episcopal and Hindu traditions in our wedding, only to decide pretty quickly that we needed two ceremonies. Our Hindu priest was wonderful about explaining the ceremony rituals. She’s also special because she bends the traditional Hindu format that requires the bride’s parents and groom’s parents (or other married elders) to perform the key rituals. Since Sri’s father is dead and Steph’s parents have long been divorced, the traditional approach would have had us married by aunts and uncles rather than the women who raised us.
Favorite Thing About The Wedding
Our wedding was incredibly personal. Friends and family helped set up, did the flowers, made the cakes, and played for the Saturday ceremony. We also had family pictures up at the Saturday reception, and most of the table decorations came from Steph’s grandmother’s stock of antique treasures, including the green tiki cups made by Steph’s uncle. The cake topper was a gift from Sri’s sister and future brother-in-law that still lives proudly on our kitchen counter. Up until an hour before the wedding, there were still LOTS of setup details to take care of, but friends and family made it happen. It didn’t look quite the way we’d envisioned (does it ever?), but having our loved ones step up and help us throw a wedding more than made up for it.
