A Vibrant Traditional Indian Destination Wedding in California

July 28, 2011

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Gauri and Daniel

Gauri Nanda and Daniel Georgiev fused their Indian and Western backgrounds over a weekend-long destination wedding in the heart of California's Sonoma County (they call Michigan home). Guests flew in from all over the world to enjoy the various ceremonies and festivities in late August of 2009.

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The Prewedding Rituals

The weekend began with the "mehndi" ceremony. Traditionally, the ceremony is just for the female wedding guests. However, Gauri and Daniel wanted to combine its activities -- henna painting in particular -- with a "sangeet" party (a larger affair involving dancing, singing, and eating) to create a daylong celebration for all guests. Family members brought "dhoki" drums; everyone sang and danced to Indian folk songs.

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The Invitation

Gauri had her hands painted with a henna design that resembled the letterpress invitations.

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The Traditions

Credit: 3 Photographers

In Indian tradition, there are no bridal showers or rehearsal dinners. Instead, there are many sacred ceremonies, such as the "chura" ceremony. During the chura, the bride's family adorns her with traditional red and white bracelets that have been dipped in milk (to cleanse them). The bracelets are then decorated further with gold ornaments, each placed on her wrists by different guests. Historically, the bride wears the jewelry for the next week -- Gauri wore hers until that night.

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The Location

The first wedding day of the multipart wedding weekend took place at Viansa Winery, with 100 guests in attendance. The venue's beautiful setting was enhanced with vibrantly hued flowers. Orange, red, and magenta petals were scattered along its pathways.

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The Decor

Petals filled the fountain at the ceremony site, which was bordered with orange carnations. Susan Garden, of Garden Party, designed all of the weekend's floral elements.

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A Special Touch

In keeping with the bright, bold palette, tangerine paper parasols were set out for guests to use during the sun-filled outdoor ceremony.

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The Ceremony Decor

Leis of fresh blooms from noveltylei.com adorned the mandap (the customary altar) on which the ceremony took place.

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Traditional Dress

Daniel wore a turban during the "baraat" -- the portion of the ceremony where the groom and his family are greeted by cheers, hugs, and the exchanging of "jai mala" garlands.

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The Ceremony

Daniel looks on happily while his bride-to-be strides towards him.

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The Ceremony

Gauri, accompanied by her female family members, walked down the aisle to music played by a classical Indian band.

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The Ceremony

The many rituals were outlined in the program, which also informed guests that "the marriage ceremony is the thirteenth among the sixteen 'samskaras,' or rites of passage. It is a sacrament that unites the couple and sends them on their way to a new life together."

The wedding contained many other rituals, including the bride's favorite, "akhanda saubhagyawati," where seven married women are called up to give the bride advice.

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Young Guests

Three young cousins dressed in festive attire, including the ring bearer, Owen.

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The Attire

Daniel wore a traditional Indian wedding suit and a mark on his forehead to signify the day's importance.

Gauri dressed in the two-piece outfit called a "lengha," topped with a headpiece called a "chunni." She further accessorized with custom jewelry from India.

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The Reception

Following the cocktail hour, dinner was served in a tent. Long tables held simple centerpieces of vanda orchids, carnations, mums, and roses, plus taller arrangements of oncidium orchid sprays.

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The Menu

Amber Indian Restaurant catered the seated dinner, which included five traditional side dishes, four curried main dishes, and a duo of desserts ("ras malai" and "gulab jamun").

Bollywood dancing followed.

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The Next Day

Everyone gathered again on Saturday for a day of Western rituals and festivities. The day began in the landmarked Mission San Francisco de Solano to the sounds of two Spanish guitars.

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The Processional

Audry Hill, the maid of honor, and her daughter Sadie (who is Gauri's goddaughter) walked down the aisle before the bride made her entrance.

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The Ceremony

During the secular ceremony, the best man read a passage from "The Little Prince."

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Portraits

Photographer Abdi from 3 Photographers snapped a few group portraits after the ceremony.

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The Bouquet

Gauri carried a bouquet of garden roses, dahlias, calla lilies, button mums, and chocolate cosmos.

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The Fashions

Gauri wore a Vera Wang gown, and Daniel wore a suit from Barneys New York.

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The Boutonniere

Golden berries and greenery tied with antique gold ribbon made up Daniel's boutonniere.

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The Reception Site

The Western reception, held on the beautiful Miraval Estate overlooking Sonoma's vineyards, had a muted palette, compared to the previous day. White, black, and peach decor played up the surroundings.

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The Reception

Tags on each chair featured a silhouette of the bride or the groom, and the guests' seating assignments.

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The Favors

The silhouettes were also rubber-stamped onto the favor boxes, which included a duo of desserts to honor the couple's heritages: "kalakand" (a sweet Indian treat) and "ovocny knedliky" (a Czechoslovakian fruit dumpling).

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The Centerpieces

Glass and wire vases, encircled by flower petals, were filled with roses, spray roses, dahlias, stock, and Star of Bethlehem.

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The Menu

The three-course meal began with a red-butter-leaf lettuce salad with Haas avocado and Ruby Red grapefruit, and a ricotta gnocchi with summer truffles and peas.

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The Reception

The newlyweds, with the picturesque landscape behind them.

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The Cake