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Radhika and Gaurav
February 17th 2018
Texas Indian Wedding
Navi Kaur – K.I Weddings
Coordinator: Vildan Ruiz | Horseshoe Bay resort
Pastry Chef at Horseshoe Bay Resort
Caterer: Celebrity Chef Rosh
Amrit Achari – Radhika’s Paternal Grandfather, it was very special. Paternal Grandmother assisted him with all the necessary arrangements. The joy and happiness in their eyes will always be a fond memory
Blush & Glow for the bride, LoLa Beauty for the bridal party
Guests: 415
Nalini and Rohan- Decor One
Chani Singh- Desi Junction DJs
Mehendi- Tailored at Rani Boutique & Designed by Bride & Ameeta Achari. Haldi- Rani Boutique (Blouse), Desideewar (Sari). Sangeet- Manyavar. Wedding- Manyavar. Reception- Almas Tejani Desi Couture
DAY 1 | Mehendi
Three days before the ceremony, we kicked off the wedding with an open house mehendi at our home in Houston. I felt like a princess on the fancy pink sofa with a canopy over me as I had my mehendi done. It was a nice touch to have Gaurav come watch as Dipika Sodagar artistically scripted his name on my hand. My mother and I picked out the fabric and designed a playful Indo-American outfit. We were very happy with the outfit for my Mehendi, and we even chose the decor for our loggia around my dress!
Radhika – During winter break, everybody on my mom’s side gets together in Galveston, where my Nani & Nana (maternal grandparents) live. My extended family was anxiously waiting to meet the man of my dreams (we had only been dating a few months, but we were pretty serious). Sangeeta Mausi (maternal aunt) had arranged a “date day”, where Gaurav and my cousin’s girlfriend, could come and spend the day with our family. I was incredibly excited for my Galveston gang to meet Gaurav. Before that, we got together in Houston with my dadi and dadu (paternal grandparents) and my pishis and pishas (paternal aunts and uncles) on various occasions. One by one, Gaurav won over everyone’s hearts with his kindness and warmth. Nana was impressed with Gaurav’s genuine personality and that without any hesitation Gaurav went to touch his feet (sign of respect for elders). …. After that day, we had everyone’s blessings <3
DAY 2 | HALDI
The couple met each other for the first time while at their mutual best friend, Varun’s, college graduation. At the time, Radhika was an undergraduate at Texas A&M University and Gaurav was an undergraduate at the University of Texas. As Gaurav slowly won over Radhika’s heart, their relationship began to blossom. They were soon talking on the phone for hours and hours on end! The bond between the two of them grew incredibly strong, and before they knew it, they had fallen deeply in love.
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Gaurav – I had been planning this for quite a while. I asked her parents for permission to propose in late June 2016. We then went ring shopping for a couple of months before we found the perfect ring. Once I had a timeline for when the ring would be ready, I planned out the perfect time for the proposal. The trick was to surprise her even though she knew that I would be proposing sometime soon. I wanted the proposal to coincide with the celebration of our three year anniversary. I knew how much family meant to Radhika and how special Galveston was to her, so I made sure to incorporate both into the proposal. I coordinated it so that her parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, friends, aunts & uncles, and my parents, siblings, and friends would meet in Galveston for the beach proposal. On Saturday night, I took Radhika out to a really nice Italian restaurant to celebrate our monthiversary, and then we went to a jazz bar afterwards. I made sure to play it cool so that she wouldn’t suspect anything. Meanwhile, Radhika’s sister, Lakshmi, was working on coordinating their family to attend the beach proposal the following day. The next day, I woke up extra early to go to Radhika’s house to wake her up and surprise her with donuts for breakfast! She thought I’d be going back to Austin that day, but I told her I wanted to spend my last day in town with her to celebrate our anniversary and that I had booked a reservation for us in Galveston for dinner that night. Throughout the morning, her family made a great show of explaining how every one of them was busy doing something else that day. We went down to Galveston in the afternoon, exploring and having fun. We visited her Nani and Nana (maternal grandmother and grandfather) , and they also pretended to be incredibly busy that evening. What Radhika had no idea about was that everyone was gathering at the beach by the Porch Cafe to surprise her after I proposed!! As dinner time approached, we drove to the restaurant. I told Radhika that we arrived early for our reservation, and that we should walk along the beach since it was a beautiful day. As we walked to the beach, we found the rose-lined path that I had asked Vasudev, Lakshmi, and Devesh (Radhika’s siblings) to set up for us. It led up to a sand dune with a heart shaped rose pattern and my anniversary gift to Radhika, a scrapbook of past years together. A moment later, I got down on one knee and proposed to my radiant bride-to-be, Radhika. Of course, she said yes! She was speechless, looking at the ring and hugging me, when to her surprise our families came running from their hiding spots! Needless to say, she was surprised!!
DAY 2 | EVENING EVENT
Cute story about your wedding
Gaurav- We were very fortunate to have Radhika’s family perform our wedding. My father-in-law’s side of the family comes from a long line of priests. About a month before the wedding, both of Radhika’s younger brothers (Vasudev & Devesh) performed their Upanayanam Ceremony, culminated by years of learning the scriptures and Hindu teachings. This allowed Radhika’s family to be in the mandap (stage) and take part in performing our wedding, along with my parents. Lakshmi, Radhika’s sister, eloquently translated the scriptures spoken by the priest. All of these personal touches made the ceremony seem even more intimate and special to us and our guests.
Radhika’s nana (maternal grandfather) wrote a beautiful heartwarming poem for Radhika and Gaurav.
DAY 3 | WEDDING
As I was busy with work, my mother scanned all the Indian stores in Houston looking for the perfect wedding dress. Once she narrowed the search, we met at Manyavar and I fell in love with the gorgeous red and gold embroidered velvet lehenga. As I tried it on and put the veil over my head, I saw my mother, sister, and aunt’s faces. I knew this was the one! I looked like an Indian bride!!
Even though it was still dark outside when we took our pictures the morning of the wedding, Rebecca came up with such creative ways to showcase all my favorite girls. I can’t wait to see our “Vanity Fair” pictures!
Radhika was wearing a dazzling diamond necklace and earrings at the reception given by her maternal grandparents.
Radhika is wearing gold bangles gifted by her paternal grandparents. 
How did you choose grooms outfit?
Gaurav- I went to India to get my outfit! Before I left, Radhika and I traded photos of different styles. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t let me see her lehenga (wedding dress) until the wedding day! However, she gave me clues as to what style of sherwanis (princely groomswear) would compliment her outfit. While in India, I visited various boutiques before finding the right sherwani. It was a beautiful golden color, with fine embroidery throughout the outfit. The fit was ideal and the accompanying blue pagdi (head garment) matched Radhika’s outfit perfectly!
Sangeet- Manyavar, Wedding Ceremony- (Sherwani)Manyavar, Reception- (Tuxedo)Bravo Suit & Tux
Have fun ! This is the time that you just let the emotions flow and let the photographer capture the love!
Gaurav – Nerve-wrecking, exciting, heart-warming, and fantastic! It was a dream come true to finally be united in marriage with the woman I love! Everything just flowed together so smoothly. I know there was so much hard work and love that went into each of the events, from both the families and the vendors. All that love really made the entire time so much more special for Radhika and I. Radhika – Ditto! It was such a magical experience, from the beginning of the wedding weekend all the way to our honeymoon in Thailand!
(Saris) Meena Bazaar in Houston
(Kurtas/Pajamas) Poshak in Houston
Have fun ! This is the time that you just let the emotions flow and let the photographer capture the love!
How was your experience taking photos/working with me on your wedding day?
Rebecca became part of the family. She enthusiastically came to Houston to photograph the mehendi and drove up to Austin with the family, chronicaling all the chaos of our caravan traveling to the destination wedding. Rebecca was there to lighten the mood and made sure we smiled for the camera! She captured all the small moments for every relationship. She was such a great problem solver to make sure we stayed on track.
Gaurav – My favorite moment from the wedding was standing in front of the mandap (altar), waiting for Radhika to make her entrance, and seeing her brothers carry her on a dholi. As they approached the entrance to the aisle, Radhika stepped out and was absolutely radiant. My heart was beating a million times a minute and I was so overcome with joy seeing her walk down the aisle. Radhika – I’ve never been good at picking favorites, but there was one part of the wedding that truly made me feel like a married woman. At the very end of the Laaj Homa, my brothers gave me puffed rice to offer to the fire. Gaurav from behind wrapped his arms around me as we together delicately sprinkled the puffed rice (signifying unity) into the sacred fire praying for health, happiness, and longevity. Right at that moment, I felt that we were married and we would always be there for each other!
Gaurav – look at my answer to “favorite moments from the wedding” Radhika – Right before I came down the aisle, I was being carried on a dholi (palanquin) by my brothers and guy cousins. There was an age range of 17 years, but each of these boys mean the world to me. They not only physically, but symbolically, were holding me up. I got a bit emotional and gave them a little speech on how they made my dreams come true and how they were truly embodying the meaning of teamwork (they were all different heights, so trying to keep the dholi straight was quite a challenge).
DAY 3 | RECEPTION
Growing up I had always seen a picture of my mother at her wedding and I loved her maang tikka (jewelry that goes on your forehead ). I used to play dress up and create a maang tikka that was identical to Mama’s. When we started selecting my wedding jewelry and makeup, Mama generously offered her maang tikka and revealed that it was actually my Nani’s (maternal grandmother) that she had worn it at her wedding. I couldn’t have been more excited and I planned my entire wedding look around that maang tikka! I guess you could say that I’m sentimental. It was also special that the banana trees used in the mandap were seedlings from my parents’ wedding 29 years ago!
Radhika wore a diamond necklace gifted to her by maternal grandparents
DAY 4 |POST WEDDING SHOTS
