Real Weddings: Destined To Be Together

It was meant to be.

Kartik and my father have been friends and have worked together for years. But we only met each other at a dinner in Kartik’s house in Bengaluru when my family and I were visiting the city. We barely spoke to each other that night. I added him on Facebook a few weeks later, after which we had endless conversations and we grew close to each other. That led to Kartik calling me at 5 A.M., drunk, to tell me that he loved me. And the rest is history.

Sujata and Kartik during their wedding ceremony in their mandap

The quirky table setting

The décor of their sangeet ceremony

We have too many similarities.

We both are the youngest in our families, are Aries, have/had pugs, and love flat-faced dogs. We are also in the garment industry and are North Indians from the south of the country—I’m a Sindhi from Chennai while Kartik is a Punjabi from Bengaluru. We both have traditional South Indian names and proper Sindhi/Punjabi surnames, and we both love to cook.

The couple plays traditional games after the wedding

The couple dance away at their sangeet

Sujata with her pug

Performers at the sangeet

My childhood dream became a reality.

We looked at multiple destinations in Europe and the Middle East for our wedding but nothing felt like home. We then decided to get married at our family-owned hotel, the Park Hyatt, Chennai. I had envisioned having my wedding there ever since the place was built. Everyone working on the wedding treated it like their family wedding.

Sujata and Kartik take the stage for a performance

Sujata enters with her brothers under her floral chaadar

Sujata's mehendi

The most memorable moments of our wedding to me are:

My entry led by all my bridesmaids and followed by my brothers and I. The beautiful mandap, the Ganesha at the property, and my little pug sitting with us in the mandap, becoming the star of the night, and getting his solo photographs taken.

The bride's jewellery for her wedding day

Kartik gets ready for his wedding

My advice:

Enjoy the madness, it never comes back, and you’ll feel a void when it's done.

Sujata gets ready for her wedding

Bowl decorated with rose petals

THE DETAILS

The Bride and Groom’s engagement outfit: Both wore Sabyasachi.

The Bride’s wedding outfit: Jayanti Reddy and Raj Mahtani Couture Jewels.

The Groom’s wedding outfit: Rohit Gandi +Rahul Khanna and kalgi, jewellery, and sehra by Mrinalini Chandra.

Wedding Photographer: Monisha Ajgaonkar

Wedding Designer and Planner: The Wedding Design Company.

Catering: Park Hyatt, Chennai.

The couple right before their sangeet

Table setting at the reception

Plate ready for the haldi ceremony