The Glam Indian Wedding In California With The Harry Potter Fanatic Bride

To all the people who think love can be found at any place, time, and situation; Ruchi and Sudhesh’s story will prove it right. They both met online through a matchmaking app, ‘Dil Mil’ where they fell in love and got married after a while. They decided to celebrate their first anniversary followed by an official Indian wedding ceremony, where they surprised their families and friends with the news of them being married already. From being adventurous to becoming cat parents and from being a complete foodie to watching their favorite reality show ‘The Bachelor’ together, these two grew in love and became absolutely perfect for each other.

The Proposal Story

Sudhesh prepared a ‘The Bachelor’s final round -the final rose ceremony’ inspired proposal. He took the help of his friends for the whole setup and staged the proposal at the Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco. In the end, he gave a rose to Ruchi and popped the question to which she happily said a ‘yes'. Ruchi loves pink, and Sudhesh made sure to get a ring that reflects her taste. He settled on a rose gold band with solitaire on it ????

Wedding Details

The couple hosted their wedding at the Hayes Mansion, as more than half of their friends and families were flying in to attend. Their wedding was organized by The Behl Events with personal touches. The bride was absolutely obsessed with pretty chairs and she got the luxe suede and metal gold chairs for the reception. The show-stopper decor of their sangeet and reception was the custom vinyl stage wraps and to add a contemporary touch the decorators used hoops as centerpieces. As cat parents, Ruchi and Sudhesh incorporated their cat’s pictures into the decorations in the Mehndi ceremony, in a signature drink, and made it part of the sangeet props too.

Wedding Shopping

For the wedding shopping, the bride took a risk and traveled during Covid to Bombay, India. Ruchi wanted to look different every day, so every outfit of hers was planned with different colors, styles, and silhouettes. She took inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram and customized all her outfits with her preferences of necklines, embroideries, fabrics, etc. She wanted to invest a reasonable amount in purchasing or making all her wedding outfits and was quite determined to not only wear lehengas. She even wore one of her mum’s wedding saree at one of the events. She even went for her mom’s extensive jewelry collection for her big day.

Sangeet Ceremony

The sangeet was a happening affair for the couple, as the whole event was planned with a 90s Bollywood vibe. There were movie posters as centerpieces and a photo station that featured both of their favorite films.  

They went with classic pastels for their beautiful outdoor ceremony. The food on their sangeet night was served in a station-style and the most favorite station was the Jalebi and Asian Khao Suey soup station. The choice of the food reflected the love the couple have for food items. The decor was a beautiful affair with a touch of contemporary and Bollywood-inspired decor pieces like the tiny frames with funny captions. Ruchi was looking gorgeous in her Peach Mirror work lehenga choli outfit from Misakee by Sudha Bhartiya.  

The highlight of her look was the hairstyle, the side twisted braid with pretty flowers on it. The silver intricate detailings were making her shine throughout the whole ceremony. 

Wedding Day

Ruchi is an avid Harry Potter fan and on the morning of her wedding, her bridal suite was decorated with Harry Potter-inspired decor.  For the wedding outfit, the bride wanted to carry a traditional Rajasthani look. She chose a heavily embroidered blouse with her red lehenga and a green dupatta to pair with it from Gangore Bridal Studio.  

A baraati scene was embroidered onto the bottom of the lehenga and she chose baraati payals/anklets.  

The highlight of the whole outfit was the date and name stitched onto her outfit on the side latkans.  

Even her Mehndi designed by Rania, had an illustration of Harry Potter and even her juttis sole was painted with a Harry Potter-inspired design.  

Sudhesh on the other hand loves cars, so the baraat was a happening affair with a luxury car and smoke bombs all around.      

They both had a display table at their ceremony with cars and books loved by both of them. After the ceremony, the guests were presented with regional lunch with delicacies from Rajasthan and Odissa.   

Reception Night

The reception was organized in a ballroom with draping throughout the whole room. It was an absolute fairy tale affair with cinderella glass slippers, an ice-cream cart with 6 flavors, and a hidden bar.  

The bride selected a gorgeous sequinned lehenga with an off-shoulder blouse and paired it with a transparent dupatta used as a trail.  

After the reception night, the couple had an intimate gala time with a few of their close friends in the hidden bar.  

There was a mirror photo booth and a custom animation of both of them. Both of them surprised all their families and friends with them already being officially married one year back by playing their elopement wedding video. As a welcome gift at the hotel rooms, they gave a gift bag containing instant Maggie Noodle cups, bindis, golden safety pins, coconut water, and hot Cheetos to selected guests and family members.

Wedding Songs Detail

Ruchi performed on a Marwari song; and Falguni Pathak and Nicki Minaj songs, as they are her favorite singers. Sudhesh performed on a PropheC, along with some hip-hop and Classic 90s Bollywood songs. At their wedding, they hired a professional renowned Sitar player who played pop songs. The bridesmaids walked down to the groom with ‘A Whole New World’ from ‘Aladdin’ playing in the background and for the bride they played ‘Halo’ by Beyonce. The sitar player played ‘Old Town Road’ for their recessional.  

They invited UC Berkeley’s Indian Acapella team to their reception. The couple walked into the party with the team singing ‘Dil Se’ in the background. Ruchi and Sudhesh chose a very unique Bollywood song, ‘Je T’aime’ from the movie ‘Befikre’ for their first dance.

Tips From The Bride

1. “One thing I learned was if you have a jewelry set in mind to wear, try it on before purchasing your outfits so the necklines, colors, and styles match.” 2. “Go straight to the source and do all your shopping in India for the best trends and prices.” 3. “Everything can be customized so it reflects your personality.” 4. “Use fake flowers when you can.”

Vendor Credits

Wedding Planner: The Behl Events

Venue Coordinator: Inga from Hayes Mansion

Caterer: Jalsa

Decorator: SV Designs

Rentals: GN Rentals

Chair Rentals: Fine Linen Creation

Bridal Bouquet: Florett Beginnings

Signage: Special Moments Canvas

Photographer: Tiger Leon Photography

Videography: iKhanic Productions

Reception Cake: The Buttery

Reception Ice cream: Sugar Mama Desserts

Photo Booth: Magic Tymes Photo Booth