Tradition was very important for brides Deepa and Gauri, and it was essential that their big day honored that. Hayes Mansion in San Jose, California provided a beautiful open space for these brides to celebrate with their friends and family. Apollo Fotografie was on site to capture all the vivid colors, intricate details, and sentimental moments, that took place. Let’s take a peek into this beautiful love story!!
A Colorful Celebration
We asked these brides to share with us the inspiration for their wedding day:
“We made sure to honor both our cultural upbringing and our queer identities. We had never seen a same-sex wedding done in a traditional Hindu way and we knew that was something important to both of us. We made sure to work with our parents and our priest to ensure any irrelevant or gendered language was removed from the rituals. We also had a mixed-gender bridal party of bridesmaids and bridesmen.”
This bride is all smiles! The joy radiating from this photo is almost palpable!
Details of the Day
Status Salon took care of all things hair and makeup. The gold shimmer adorning her eyelids matches perfectly with the bride’s dress.
If you are looking for more gorgeous Indian wedding inspiration… GWS has you covered!
When Two Become One
D + G look absolutely magnificent in their sarees, a traditional Indian dress. These drapings are by Perfect Saree.
The Venue
B Beloved Events took care of event design, florals, and planning for G + D’s big day! Can this be any more picturesque?!
Processional: Aaj Sajeya by Goldie Sohel
Recessional: Kabira (Encore) by Arijit Singh
First Dance: A medley of: “Mine (Glee Version)”, “Rataan Lambiyan (Chill Mix)”, “Ghungroo”, “Aankh Marey”
Walking down the aisle! That’s when everything finally sank in and hit each of us that this was real. Gauri walked down first so she had the privilege of getting to see Deepa walk down the aisle. That moment was everything.
The couple shares that Deepa’s Mom and Birth mom were both at the mandap (alter) to represent her during the ceremony, which is traditionally done by a husband and wife.
“We felt these small changes really paid homage to us as a non-traditional couple and made our wedding truly feel like it was ours.”
They did it! Congrats to the newlyweds!!
An explosion of color! Smoke bombs truly enhance any wedding photograph… and this is excellent proof!
A Reception of Elegance
Hello?! I’m pretty sure this is the tablescape of our dreams! Just look at those details!
Don’t let other people’s opinions sway you too much, in terms of style, decor, clothes, etc. Make sure you choose things based on what YOU love and want
Choose vendors who are familiar with each other’s work, or have a good working relationship
Allow buffer time on the day-of, because things WILL run behind.
Make a checklist of important wedding-day items that need to be returned to you (guest book, card box, etc!) and designate someone (ex. your planner or a bridesmaid) to ensure that all those items are collected and returned to you at the end of the night/weekend. You don’t want to leave behind important things, but you also don’t want to have the stress of thinking about that on such a hectic day.
Deepa and Gauri danced the night away in their gorgeous bridal lehengas from contemporary international design brand, B Anu Designs. How beautiful are they?! Congratulations to D + G from all of us at GWS on their big day!
photography: Apollo Fotografie // venue name: Hayes Mansion, San Jose, CA, USA // event design: B Beloved Events // planning: B Beloved Events // florals: B Beloved Events // wedding dress boutique: B Anu Brides // bride's ring: jewelry // hair stylist: Status Salon // makeup artist: Status Salon // desserts: KelSweet Event Rentals // tabletop rentals: Pleasanton Rentals // furniture rentals: Pleasanton Rentals // linen rentals: Pleasanton Rentals // Henna Artist: Mehendi Designer // Saree draping: Perfectsaree
Such a beautiful wedding! Do you have the info for the officiant?
Wow, what a beautiful and inspiring story of love and acceptance! It’s heartwarming to see that the Hindu community is embracing diversity and inclusivity, especially when it comes to celebrating love in all its forms. The way in which this couple blended traditional Hindu customs with their own modern twist is a testament to the power of love to bridge cultural divides. May their story inspire others to embrace their true selves and find acceptance and joy in their own love stories.
Great post
Wonderful designs , awesome India collection looking forward to read more of these informative post from your side.