On the day of our wedding, we arrived separately at the venue - to a stunningly decorated wedding hall, complete with a large scroll outside with our names. The events of the wedding were streamed, we have clips from the stream here, and will have a full video later. The bride’s parents first welcomed Oliver with a formal entry procession (known as seemanpuja). Unlike western weddings, here the bride was brought by a maternal uncle instead of her father.

Haldi means turmeric, and the haldi ceremony involves family and friends applying turmeric to the bride and groom, to ward off evil spirits and diseases with its antiseptic properties. This ritual is believed to bring good luck, purify the couple, and create a joyful, auspicious start to their marital journey. Our haldi ceremony was the day prior to our wedding. More of TJ’s family arrived on the day of the haldi, and we completed other rituals with family.

Our wedding kicked off with our Mehndi celebration, two days prior to the wedding. A Mehndi celebration is a pre-wedding event where the bride and female guests have intricate henna designs applied to their hands and feet, symbolizing joy, beauty, and good luck. We also had delicious food and music for the gathering. TJ’s mehndi was beautifully intricate and needed six hours of patience and dedication from the mehndi team to complete.

It’s hard to believe we’re just a week away from the big day! We’re in Mumbai now, soaking in the excitement, running around for preparations and making sure everything comes together. It’s all feeling very real, we can’t wait to celebrate with everyone soon!