Inside Shuchita and Richards' beautiful Punjabi-Cantonese wedding in Sri Lanka

Some relationships begin with instant sparks. For Shuchita Grover and Yui Cheong Richards Chang, it started with friendship.

The two met in 2022 while pursuing their MPhil degrees at the University of Oxford. Grover had grown up in Sonipat, Haryana, and spent years living across cities including Mumbai, Ladakh, London, and Oxford. Chang was born and raised in Hong Kong before moving to Oxford for his studies. What brought them together initially were shared interests and long conversations that felt easy from the word go.

One of their earliest memories together is a meal at a small Thai restaurant in Oxford called Chiang Mai Kitchen. At the time, neither of them knew where the friendship would lead. But over time, what felt natural and familiar slowly turned into something more. Fittingly, it was during a trip to Chiang Mai that they decided to move beyond friendship and begin a relationship.

Their decision to get married reflected the same quiet certainty that defined their relationship. There was no grand proposal. Instead, it came through honest conversations about their future and the life they wanted to build together. Once those conversations happened, marriage simply felt like the obvious next step.

When it came to choosing a wedding venue, Anantara Kalutara Resort in Sri Lanka immediately stood out. The property, inspired by Geoffrey Bawa's tropical modernist design philosophy, offered exactly the kind of setting they were looking for. What they loved most was its location, where the Kalu Ganga river flows into the Indian Ocean. For them, it felt like a beautiful reflection of two lives coming together.

Spread across two days and attended by around 150 guests, the celebrations brought together Cantonese, Punjabi, and Sri Lankan traditions. The festivities began with a traditional Cantonese tea ceremony where the couple served tea made with red dates and lotus seeds to their elders. They also exchanged custom jade rings before the celebrations flowed into a vibrant sangeet filled with red lanterns, Chinese fans, bamboo branches, and a wish tree where guests left messages in red envelopes.

The next morning was dedicated to Punjabi traditions. Marigolds filled the venue for the haldi and chooda ceremony, while guests explored a takeaway cart featuring keepsakes from India and Hong Kong. A traditional Ghada Ghadoli ceremony followed, adding another meaningful layer to the celebrations.

The wedding took place at sundown, right where the river met the ocean. The mandap was framed with banana stems and draped with jasmine and lotus flowers, blending beautifully into the surrounding landscape. With waves in the background and Sri Lankan musicians performing live, the ceremony felt intimate, peaceful, and deeply connected to nature.

The celebrations ended with a beachside reception under flowing white canopies. Decor inspired by local Sri Lankan crafts added character to the evening, but it was the personal moments that guests are likely to remember most. Among them was Chang surprising everyone with a rendition of Main Koi Aisa Geet Gau before the dance floor opened up for the night.

Every detail of the wedding felt intentional, from the gifting experiences inspired by India, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka to Grover's handmade coconut and makhana kaleera that accompanied her through every ceremony. Together, they created a celebration that wasn't just about bringing two people together, but also two families, cultures, and histories.

All images: Gaatha

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