* Sachini, Health Policy Wonk & Michael, Biostatitician * Photographer: Mick Lerlop * Soundtrack for reading: “The Winner Is” from the Little Miss Sunshine Soundtrack *
One sentence sum up of the wedding vibe: What happens when you mix together a little Sri Lankan, American, Jewish, Buddhist, New England, and California with some happy tears and a whole lotta love and dancing.
The Info—Photographer: Mick Lerlop / Venue: Irvine Nature Center / Rings: Bario-Neal / Sachini’s Dress: Ann’s Boutique / Michael’s Suit: Nordstrom / Bridesmaid Dresses: Nordstrom / Flowers: Local Color Flowers / Ketubah and Invitations: Dalen Gilbrech, a friend of the couple / Klezmer Band: Michael’s uncles and cousins / Decorations: Sachini and her sisters
Other cool stuff we should know about: We had so many people from our different communities come together and help us create a wedding that felt like a big celebration of our family heritages, our past, and our dreams for the future. We had two family friends officiate the ceremony, one to perform the Sri Lankan Buddhist traditions and one to perform the Jewish traditions, and then said our own vows. Meg was right. The ceremony can put everyone on such an emotional love high that the rest doesn’t really seem to matter. Sachini’s mom and her friends made traditional Sri Lankan wedding cakes for everyone, and her sisters unearthed some mad craft skills to create some beautiful decorations. Mike’s family harnessed their musical talents and formed an amazing ragtag Klezmer band that started off a night of dancing that also included Sri Lankan Baila and a little “Call Me Maybe.” Sure things didn’t all go according to plan, but we were having so much fun that we didn’t really care. All that mattered was that we were married and had a sweet party with the people we love most in the world!
The planning process was a little tough, because we did not really have a lot of examples of weddings that blended the many different cultures and traditions of our personal lives in the wedding world or in the media in general. What does the ceremony look like? Will people be offended if we mash traditions together? What do we wear?! APW was a godsend for us and helped us just follow our gut to create a day that just felt like us. (FYI—I practically bear hugged my monitor when Ruchi posted her Wedding Grad!)
Favorite thing about the wedding: Too many things! Saying our vows under the chuppah/poruwa (the Sri Lankan marriage alter) structure that we helped make; spending a few minutes alone right after our wedding to geek out and drink margaritas just by our twosome; and making a last-minute decision to do a first dance to The Jackson 5’s “ABC” were all highlights.
