Raji and Nayan’s Incredible Indian Wedding

In an ode to online dating, the gorgeous Raji and the dashing Nayan matched on ‘Bumble’ in January 15, 2016 little realizing that it was the beginning of the rest of their lives together.

It was love at first sight for Nayan – and from the moment he saw Raji in person at their first date, he knew without a doubt that she was ‘the one.’ The earnest Nayan wanted to surprise Raji when he proposed to her and to ensure that she would be completely unsuspecting that starry night, Nayan asked Raji’s boss to schedule a dinner meeting at a restaurant in SoHo. To Raji’s incredible surprise, this ‘business dinner’ set off a 6-stop scavenger hunt with clues in each location leading her to the next spot. Raji was thrilled to see Nayan waiting excitedly for her at the first stop ‘Emporio’ (where they had their second date) and together they embarked on their ‘love quest’ stopping along the way at spots that held a special place in their hearts – first kiss, first date etc. Their clue-hunt across NYC culminated at their home, and a beaming Raji found their apartment decorated in scented candles and red roses. “Say Yes” was the final clue written on their chalkboard wall. Needless to say, she did!!

Once Raji said yes, it was on to the best part: planning the wedding.
Bring in the best: The incredible Sonal Shah and her fabulous team at S.J.S Event Consultants worked hand in hand with the fabulous Ceci Johnson of Ceci New York who created a breathtaking Indian-inspired all white invitation suite, accessories and a custom floral wall to deliver excellence. To capture every stunning moment, the couple enlisted the services of Anna and Simon for their bespoke photography and Nayeem Vohra for his striking videography. In keeping with the rest of the theme and to match with the décor, the magnificent Ron Ben Israel designed their wedding cake, with navy blue fondant and bright sugar flowers. Nayan and Raji had also asked Ron to create their engagement cake, which he happily did, adding a personal touch by placing yellow butterflies thereon which were symbolic of Nayan’s late dad – making the cakes additionally special to the bride and groom.

The wedding planning process was an elaborate 6.5 months long, covering some of the more traditional Indian events, two wedding ceremonies (one Sikh and the other Hindu) as well as additional western elements like a rehearsal dinner at Danny Meyer’s Marta. The couple chose ‘The Pierre’ for their wedding not only because of its location, elegance, and timelessness in New York City, but being a part of the Taj Hotel Group, it made planning an Indian wedding that much easier.

Staying true to her roots, Raji began the official wedding planning by making a trip to India with her grandmother, Nayan’s mother and sister in tow to shop for traditional ceremonial and reception outfits and jewelry. And what a wonderful trip it was! For the Sikh ceremony, Raji and Nayan wore custom designed outfits from Frontier Raas in Delhi in bright fuchsia and gold. For their dinner at Marta with all their friends, Raji wore an Alice & Oliva cocktail dress with her custom wedding bangles that said “Raji <3 Nayan”. For the Hindu ceremony, they both wore Sabyasachi; with Raji, a picture perfect bride dressed in a gorgeous red lengha with gold embroidery who also changed into an ivory sari for the cocktail hour, and Nayan the handsome groom in an ivory sherwani with delicate floral embellishments. For the reception, Nayan wore a made to measure navy shawl collar Tom Ford tuxedo and Raji wore a silver blue custom designed Manish Malhotra lengha with rose gold embroidery. Jewelry for both ceremonies and the reception was from Hazoorilal in Delhi. Raji also donned beautiful Kundan earrings and a stunning pearl and gold Haar from Nayan’s mom for the Hindu wedding. For the ceremony Nayan wore his late father’s gold Patek Phillipe watch and for the reception a shiny new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch gifted by his bride.

The day of the wedding was magical and both Raji and Nayan sent each other handwritten notes saying how excited they were. With great pomp and splendor, Nayan’s Baraat had the entire wedding parading down Fifth Ave from 63^rd street, with Nayan on a beautiful white horse. It was heartwarming to see people in the street join in too, a taxi driver stopped his car to get out and dance with the drummers!

Raji and Nayan had chosen very bright florals reminiscent of a vibrant secret garden with fuchsia orchids, oranges, lots of greenery and hints of yellow to be the underlying theme of the big day. The couple wore ivory and gold Jaimala garlands with rolled petals flown in all the way from India and fresh white jasmine buds adorned Raji’s hair. The ceremony was held in the Cotillion room and the mandap was beautiful with champagne drapery, candles coupled with beautiful fresh flowers. Nayan and Raji chose to say their own vows to one another during the Hindu ceremony; and although not customary, the Pundit, Dr. Ravi Srivastava was happy to oblige. Raji’s vows were super sweet but Nayan’s took the prize as there was not a dry eye in the entire room! Unfortunately, Nayan’s father had passed away when he was 4, and his stepfather had unexpectedly passed away in 2015, but framed pictures of them both by a Ganesha idol at the entrance to the aisle, honored their memory and it was believed that they would shower the newly-weds with their blessings.

The night ended in dance and merriment at the cocktail and reception with the couple surrounded by their loved ones. The couple’s first dance was to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” and in that blessed moment, everything was ‘perfect’ indeed. The band Paris by EBE and DJ Insomnia played both American and Indian hits and the guests danced the night away. With a room dedicated to a desert buffet and free flowing mini servings of iced Grey Goose vodka and ice cream; the entire wedding was a dream come true for the bride and the groom.