Mixing up Traditions: A Vibrant Indian Wedding With a Hip + Rustic Reception

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

If you’ve been reading GWS for awhile, you know that we’re all about mixing up traditions, making things completely your own, and creating a wedding that truly reflects you + your love. Stuti + Danny’s multi-cultural wedding is EXACTLY that. Bringing two families together, Wile Events helped S+D incorporate her Indian heritage with one vibrant and seriously cool ceremony, and then switch things up to reflect Danny’s family and their traditions. The day was filled with tons of color, geometric details, a decorated horse, tons of food, henna, a farm-to-table reception dinner, and more!

Stuti shares Planning a multi-cultural wedding seems daunting at first, but it’s actually a pretty awesome opportunity to get creative, redefine the rules, and make the day uniquely yours. While we had a Hindu wedding ceremony, we incorporated a personal vow exchange and musical performances by our close family and friends to honor Danny’s family traditions. The wedding party (and both of our families!) wore Indian clothes for the ceremony. Everyone switched over to relaxed American attire for the reception, where I wore a heavily beaded white wedding dress and Danny donned a non-traditional aqua green suit to pay homage to our personal style. We had an Indian buffet lunch after the ceremony and a plated farm-to-table American dinner at the reception.

Let’s see all the elements captured by Pat Furey Photography!

watercolor invitations

Isn’t this one of the coolest invitation suites, EVER?! Splashes of color and modern calligraphy, we’re pretty darn obsessed with Scribbled by Stuti’s creation (yup, the bride made that!).

indian bride

first look

How darling is his reaction during their first look?

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Rockin’ that red! Stuti was glammed up for the ceremony by hair stylists, Alyssa and Charlie from Bloom Morristown, and makeup artist, Pin it Up and Pout.

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Danny’s first look is a bespoke suit made in India. So cool!

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

indian bridesmaids

scroll backdrop

We really wanted to throw a different kind of celebration compared to what our families were used to. For the venue we moved away from the traditional banquet hall wedding and chose a rustic location, where we had a ton of greenery brought indoors interspersed with wild blush and neutral florals and succulents by Wile Events. We incorporated copper geometric accents to add an element of modernity. I chose the King Protea as our wedding flower because I love how wild, edgy, and unique it is.

protea bouquet

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Danny rode in to the ceremony on a horse surrounded by a parade in a Baraat.

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

S+D share: To our friends and family who may be reading: reminiscing on this day will probably never get old because we are so lucky to have the absolute best family and friends on this third rock from the sun. We are so grateful yet utterly unsurprised that you embraced each others’ cultures as if they were your very own from the start. We love you and are forever indebted to you for the memories you made with us this day. It wouldn’t have been the same had even one of you been missing.

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Our Musical Choices

Processional: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) by Arcade Fire (Vitamin String Quartet cover)

Recessional: You Are The Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne

First Dance: You And I Know by Ra Ra Riot

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

After raging on the dance floor for every possible second of the reception, Danny and I were crowd surfed all the way out the door of the reception venue by our family and friends as the DJ finished the last track of his set. It happened to be a song by the Static Jacks, the band that several of Danny's high school friends belonged to. It was the perfect exit to a stellar night.

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Since we were finishing our last year of medical school at the time, hiring a wedding planner was not in the budget. However we saw this as an opportunity to DIY and put as much of our personalities into the day as we possibly could. For inspiration we looked to what brought us together as a couple: the outdoors, music, art, and craft beer!

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

floral tie

It’s all about floral ties and blue suits this year!! Want to steal this look? Check out our latest collab with Neck & Tie Co. here!

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

protea bouquet

Those King Proteas complemented by blush pink roses + tons of wild greenery… Such a stunning bouquet by Wile Events!

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

For Stuti’s second look, she wore a beaded THEIA Couture gown.

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

Don't be afraid to create your own tradition. Danny and I come from different cultures, but it was very clear to us early on that our families raised us with the very same values. Because of this we wanted to make sure to honor each of our family's individual wedding traditions while still keeping the day uniquely our own. Planning a multi-cultural wedding seems daunting at first, but it's actually a pretty awesome opportunity to get creative, redefine the rules, and make the day uniquely yours.

wooden seating chart

I took up a calligraphy hobby a few years ago and so we were able to design our invites, signage, and other day-of details together. I calligraphed Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda onto a scroll that served as part of the backdrop to our mandap and sweetheart table. Danny built our escort board from plywood and I lettered it.

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

We love to visit craft breweries when we travel, so for favors we asked one of our groomsmen to help us brew six different types of home brewed beer. We slapped a self-designed label on them and poured neon wax seals over the caps to keep the day colorful.

sweetheart table

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Music was especially important to us as we spent a good part of the beginning of our relationship bonding over shows and festivals. We named our tables after bands we’ve seen together.

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

geometric table decor

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

Modern Hipster Indian Wedding

So many creative elements, twists, and DIYs — the kind of things we ADORE!!

Way to go, you two. Congrats!!

photography: Pat Furey Photography // venue name: Waterloo Village, Stanhope, New Jesery, USA // event design: Wile Events // florals: Wile Events // wedding dress: THEIA Couture // bride's ring: Heidi Gibson // hair stylist: Alyssa and Charlie from Bloom Morristown // makeup artist: Pin it Up and Pout // groom attire: Bespoke suit made in India and ties from Etsy // paper goods: Scribbled by Stuti // calligraphy: Scribbled by Stuti // catering: Jeffrey Miller // furniture rentals: Dovetail Vintage Rentals

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