Colorful Traditional Indian Wedding in the Mountains of Utah: Eshna + Suneil

Eshna and Suneil met while grad students in Michigan and the two were engaged on their one year anniversary! Having grown up in Salt Lake City, Suneil knew the mountains were the perfect backdrop to the big day, their colorful indian celebration blending seamlessly into the beautiful colors of the evening sky.

Wedding Date: June 28, 2015
Wedding Location: This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City, Utah
First Dance Song: “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson
Favorite Item on the Menu: Samosas and Lassi (appetizers)

Tell us about how you met and all about the proposal!

We met at grad school in Michigan. He helped my roommate move into her apartment and we became great friends on day one!

Suneil proposed on our one year anniversary. We went to dinner at this restaurant in Ann Arbor which was next to a river walk we had gone on the first weekend we were in Ann Arbor. Afterwards, we went by the river for old times sake and he proposed! I was so happy I started calling friends and family on the way to a wine bar he wanted to stop by at – little did I know he had brought in my brother from Chicago and organised champagne and celebrations with our close friends.

Wedding Style

I have always liked the rustic chic vibe but Indian weddings have a completely different style so I found a way to stay true to my style without compromising on tradition and leveraging Indian flare. I liked two dresses that I had seen online, so my mom and I designed my dream dress based on those.

My bridal colors were mint blue and pink when I started planning, so my reception dress was that combination. But we added purple to compliment it in place settings. Indian weddings are typically super colorful, so our mandap was bright colors. For the wedding ceremony, both Suneil and I had silver embroidery in our outfits and for the reception, we changed into gold.

Culture

We mainly followed Indian traditions including having a Sangeet (pre-wedding dance party) the night before, wearing our traditional clothing, having Hindu ceremony, etc… My parents, my brother and three best guy-maids escorted me down the aisle, as per Indian wedding tradition. For the ceremony, I walked to one of my favourite Bollywood songs, “Raabta.” In Hindu wedding tradition (Jaymala), you have to fight to place garlands on each other while the wedding party tries to make it difficult by lifting the bride and groom. Our wedding party made it fun by lifting us high up and really embracing the moment.

We mixed some American traditions by having some groomsmen and bridesmaids. As an Indian tradition, the bridesmaids stole the groom’s shoes and made him pay cash to get them back. The priest invited all of the guests to throw rice at us as a way to give them blessings. Yes, 230 people threw rice at us in the scorching heat (it was over 100 degrees on our wedding day).

Memories

The entrance of the bridal party dancing to upbeat Bollywood music was a highlight and the group dancing was a spontaneous decision seconds before everyone went out. My favorite moment of the day was dancing at the end of the night with family and friends. Everyone had a really great time and no one wanted the night to end. I loved dancing, hearing everyone’s speeches, and watching everyone have a blast. The after party lasted until 6 am

Help a bride-to-be out!

We should have delegated more responsibilities a long time ago. We had a lot on our plate and waited too long to reach out to friends and family for help. Even then, they came through but some stress could have been avoided.

Pick three things you truly care about and let the rest go. You can’t plan for the unexpected so do the best you can and be okay with having to be flexible.

As simple as this is, always have fun with each other and enjoy life as an adventure.

Vendors:

Photography: Pepper Nix Photography
Wedding Planner: Leslie Price, Leslie Dawn Events
Traditional Indian Wardrobe: From Bangalore, India
Bridal Salon: H20 Blow Dry Bar
Jewelry: Family Heirlooms
Bridesmaids Dresses: From Bangalore, India
Rentals: All Out Tent and Event
Floral Artist: Jill Sanderson
Cake Designer: Granite Bakery
Band or Musicians: DJ Lishus
Favors – Flasks: Wasatch (Local Craft Brewery)
Place Cards: DIY
Photobooth: DIY
Invitations: Indianwedding.com
Videographer: Brad, Forevermore Films
Rehearsal Dinner: Este Pizza
Officiant: Satish Ji (Hindu Pandit from the Ganesha Temple of Utah)