This Chic West Texas Wedding Embraced Indian Traditions

Meredith had just moved to NYC when she and Abhinav swiped right on each other and had their meant-to-be first date one week before Abhinav was traveling to India. “The only way I can describe our meeting was fate,” Meredith remembers. “It was the kind of date that left you daydreaming in the back of the cab. A date that would make you wonder if you had known them forever.” Once Abhinav was back in NYC a few months later these two were official, and the rest is history! 

The chic + creative autumnal wedding they planned with the help of Shannon Rose Events has us head over heels. Hosted at Meredith’s parents’ home in Big Spring, TX, this unique celebration seamlessly wove together West Texas scenery with Indian wedding traditions and an NYC-inspired contemporary aesthetic.

“We wanted the weekend to feel like us,” say Meredith + Abhinav. “We wanted our wedding to be intimate and for it to feel like we were all spending the night out in NY dining and drinking. On top of that, it was important to blend elements of our two cultures and family traditions.” 

Touches like marigolds and Meredith’s bridal mehndi were thoughtful nods to Abhinav’s Indian cultural legacy. Extravagant fall-tone florals and metallic pops of gold made for a warm, luxe vibe. The wedding day fashion? Next level. And Cat Galletti was behind the lens capturing the beautiful blend of it all.

“In every moment and every corner you looked,” the couple says, “there was an element that was personalized and unique to us.”

Very into the deep, rich greens + golds of these wedding invites by Hazelwood Paper Co..

Meredith’s clear metallic-pearl-adorned wedding heels from Cult Gaia are total chic, contemporary Cinderella vibes.

We are obsessed with this emerald satin mother of the bride dress! The jewel embellished collar! 😍

“My dress was by Danielle Frankel and I purchased it at Bergdorf’s in NYC,” says Meredith. “I typically do not like to wear white and I really thought I would end up in a different or colorful option. I ended up narrowing it down to two dresses: one with a little color and a pattern that was more your traditional style of bridal gown.”

“But when I pictured the wedding photos or grabbing a cocktail and enjoying dinner on the wedding day I was in the gown. So I chose it. Something about it was very authentic to who I am and allowed me to feel relaxed, comfortable, and confident for the entire night.”

Meredith’s lovely low braid bun wedding updo and bridal makeup were created by Jenna Athanasiou.

“Abhinav wore a custom tuxedo by Alan David in NYC and black boots by Tecovas,” Meredith remembers. “He looked incredible and had a wonderful experience with Alan David. He had custom suspenders and a pocket square that were in the same fun fabric that he really loved.”

Explore our A to Z guide to men’s formalwear if you’re thinking of going full tuxedo-mode like Abhinav and his crew and need help navigating the options.

“I Do’s” On The Family Ranch

“We were married in my parents’ backyard overlooking the ranch that has been in my Dad’s family for 100 years,” Meredith says. “Being able to get married in your home is wonderfully meaningful. It helped to make the whole day feel relaxed and extra special.”

“I did not grow up in this house but it is where we share family meals, holidays and all memories as adults. It is also where Abhinav and I lived for 3 months during the summer of COVID. Because of this time, The Puerta (that is what we call it) is a significant part of Abhinav’s and my story and is his home as well.“

“The flowers by Wedfully Yours, while not specifically significant, were crucial and important,” recalls Meredith. “If flowers could talk they would tell a story of cultures merged, the start of new traditions, and our own individuality.”

“It was very important to us to make sure that the wedding was a true blend of both of our cultures representing who we are as individuals, our two families, and our relationship together,” Meredith says. “We worked to balance my culture growing up in West Texas and Abhinav’s culture growing up in India. The way our wedding planner Shannon, and the entire team, was able to take our off hand comments and requests to blend them so seamlessly together is something I will forever be grateful for.” 

“The entire aesthetic was a true blend of our home in NY, my family ranch and with subtle nods to Indian traditions and colors. Some cultural and religious aspects that we incorporated were my wedding henna, marigolds, a small statue of Ganesh ji at the entrance of the aisle for the ceremony, and laddoos (at the end of the ceremony guests were able to take a laddoo a traditional indian sweet, so that they may have sweet memories of the wedding and a sweet start to our marriage). And the ceremony itself was spiritual and religious reflecting my Christian upbringing and our shared values.”

Our Musical Choices
Processional
"Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins + "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Harold Arlen
Recessional
"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses
First Dance
"Love You For a Long Time" by Maggie Rogers

“I wore all of my gold bangles and borrowed some from my mother and sister,” remembers Meredith. “My Grand always wore gold bangles and she collected them from around the world. It is something I loved about my grandmother and always aspired to. The jingle of her bracelets was how we knew she was walking by and made her instantly dressed up. With the added bonus of the cultural significance of bangles in Indian cultures and weddings, it was the perfect nod to both my family and Abhinav’s.”

“My aunt married us,” says Meredith of their outdoor ceremony. “This was a really important detail, and we wanted to make sure that the person who married us really knew us.”

“A favorite memory is the poem that Abhinav’s father wrote and read at our wedding,” Meredith recalls fondly. “It was so personal and meaningful to us. The poem is originally written in Hindi. He read the first portion of it in English before completing the poem in Hindi. Having him read the poem in both languages was another beautiful way that the ceremony felt like a true blend and merging of our two cultures and families.”

Our Favorite Memory
A favorite moment of the day was our marigold petal exit after saying our vows. My aunts, cousins, sister in-law, sister, and mom all worked the night before the rehearsal dinner to pick hundreds of marigolds. It was such an unexpected and fun event to get everyone involved and to bring us together before all of the weekend festivities. I wanted it to dump petals and that is just what we got. We had a cannon shoot out petals and every guest had their own bag. It was such a joyous and fun moment to take our first steps as husband and wife. It was the most magical, celebratory, and joyous feeling.

Excellent Bridal Accessories

We’re going to get to this amazing bridal jacket in a moment, don’t worry, but first: how fabulous is this Cult Gaia Annika Clutch! We love a bridal purse!!

“My favorite piece was my blazer by Cinq a’ Sept,” Meredith says of this embroidered b+w beauty. “I had tried on various pieces and was trying to keep it white to match my dress and my friend and stylist Charmed By Carmen pulled out this blazer as a last option and it totally set the mood and style for the evening.”

“It perfectly complimented the dress, the Night Out in NY vibe, and perfectly accentuated by the fact that it had love sayings all over it. It felt so special and fun.”

Fashionable Festivities

Dallas Fashion Artist was on hand at the reception creating one-of-a-kind fashion sketches to capture the looks of the night.

“Whenever we dine out we collect the coasters and matches from our favorite places and store and use them in our home,” says the couple. “So we wanted to make sure we had matchboxes and coasters for our event. Our matchboxes were available for guests at the bar and were used as part of our seating chart.”

Custom matchbooks will always be one of our very favorite wedding guest favor ideas.

It’s hard to believe, but this drapey, sky-lit reception venue is indeed a tent. Sandone Productions really outdid themselves creating this space.

Rentals from Seated Rentals, Posh Couture Rentals, and Party! Dallas worked together to create the feel of a vibey NYC restaurant with a reputation for tough-to-score reservations

Velvet napkins + ornate tablecloths from BBJ La Tavola gave the space a golden glow.

“We wanted the reception to feel like dining out at a restaurant in New York and enjoying cocktails at a bar,” the couple says. “Everything was centered around this idea and executed perfectly.”

Guests enjoyed a delicious meal catered by Blue Fire Catering.

The Bar – A Place For Meaningful Memories

“One of the stand out features was the bar,” Meredith says. “This was one of our most important details and we wanted it to be substantial. All decorations were taken from my parents home and the bar was filled with photos of our parents and grandparents on their wedding days or from other special moments. One photo was of my grandparents right after WWII standing behind the same barn we were celebrating our marriage in. These details were incredibly important to us but also to our guests. My uncle cried seeing the transformation of our ranch barn into the reception space filled with so many small details.”

“Additionally, cocktails were super important to Abhinav, and Mama’s Medicine knocked it out of the park mixing drinks on the spot, matching the glass to the style of drink all with craft ice and garnishes. It was so impressive.”

A City-Style Celebration

Does this amazing tented setup have you dreaming big? Check out our roundup of our fave creative tented reception decor ideas for even more inspo!

“Our custom coasters were personalized to match the invitation suite,” the couple says, “and half of them included a favorite poem by Rupi Kaur that summed up our feelings of the day.”

Jordan Kahn Music Company kept Meredith + Abhinav’s guests up on their feet and dancing ’til the afterparty, which featured musician Justin Cash. “We wanted the same vibe of enjoying a nightcap after a wonderful evening,” the couple says. “We wanted it to feel relaxed and a space to talk about the evening before turning into bed.”

“Abhinav LOVES speakeasies,” Meredith says, “and my brother and dad were able to turn a storage room into a secret scotch bar hidden behind the draping. This was such a fun element of the after party and made for an epic behind the barn party.”

We love that Meredith + Abhinav’s wedding cake featured Indian henna-inspired sugar work!

Our Advice
Hire a planner and stay true to what is important to you. Planning a wedding is both exciting and completely overwhelming. It is ok to not like the process (I don't think people tell you that), but just know that the end result is truly worth it all, and hands down the best day. 

Congratulations, Meredith + Abhinav! We’re in awe of the creative ways you incorporated culture + tradition into your chic West Texas wedding! All the best from GWS!