We’re learning a lot about Sikh weddings this month, especially from this lovely couple – Navjot and Manny. Back in September, they had a bright and beautiful Sikh wedding in North York, Ontario which followed many traditional customs, including a Sikh society venue and a fancy baraat.
Navjot shared her in-depth wedding planning and experience with us:
First of all, how did you two meet?
Everyone asks how we met and cannot believe that we met the way we did – truly by fate. At the time, we both recently got jobs in downtown Toronto and one of my cousins was trying to set me up with someone who took the same GO train as me. I secretly wanted to talk to this one guy and he had the same description as what my cousin mentioned to me. One day, I built up the courage and asked this guy if he knew a cousin of mine, he said no, it wasn’t the person my cousin was talking about, but we continued talking regardless. We were always waiting for one another before getting onto the train but after that day we started talk to each other. 3 years later, we got married. If I did not get up off my seat and sit right in front of him, we probably would not be here right now. Sometimes we can’t even believe it either.
Tell us about the wedding:
We are both Sikhs of different casts (although our families do not care about this fact, thought it might be good to mention), who incorporate modern spins on traditions. We got married in North York, Ontario, Canada – Ramgarhia Sikh Society and our reception was at Chandni Convention Centre.
Our amazing family, fun friends, really colourful and unbelievably joyful is how we would sum up our wedding and events. Every day was special to us as it would be for any couple – from the small personal touches to the big surprises by and for our family; our wedding was a week that will never be forgotten. We incorporated splashes of colour everywhere we could with our decor at home, sangeet, wedding outfits and reception decor.
Other personal touches included lego lapel pins, immense amounts of chocolate, post-wedding photoshoot at a GO station as we met on the GO Train and paintings we created during one of our two photoshoots – paint throwing. We included both families in as many ways as possible to show our love for them supporting us throughout our journey. Similar to a lot of couples in 2013-2014, we created a hashtag – #mannynavsjourney, which we still use to showcase our colourful journey through life together. Feel free to search it on Instagram.
What was the inspiration for your wedding?
Our inspiration for the wedding was colour and personality. We wanted to showcase how we are as individuals and as a couple.
What was the hardest part about wedding planning?
Relying on others was the hardest part about the wedding. Although we both have many family members who are planners, including us, it was hard for us to let go of our year and a half planning and have others execute. Thankfully there were no major issues that the families could not resolve without us.
Did you do any DIY (do it yourself) or special projects/things at the wedding?
We added items from our previous photoshoots – ie our paint throwing photoshoot resulted in 4 canvas paintings which we added as part of the reception décor in the lounge area.
We created the Chinese paper lanterns as centre pieces on all the tables at the reception.
As favours we put gold tissue paper with a Lindt chocolate in small boxes, which matched the centre pieces.
Everyone loves taking pictures and we didn’t want to miss anyone, so we had a backdrop made by family, with a pattern of our hashtag and a couple on their wedding day.
We had one of my sisters and the groom’s brother interview family as they were entering the hall to make sure we included as many people as possible in the wedding video.
As part of the entrance table, we had a bird cage as our money box, and another box that held various notes from family and friend to us.
We wanted friends and family to be comfortable throughout the night, so we included a lounge area for guests to hang out, which many did not do since we were all on the dance floor.
On the wedding cake, we requested Bits and Bites Bakery – Mandeep to create a bride and groom structure, which we kept after.
Tell us about the wedding outfits.
Small but powerful gestures made our wedding week amazing for us and our families! During the chura ceremony, the bride wears a red chuni, usually a new one from the grandparents or mamaji. For this ceremony, we opted to wear the same one my mum wore on her wedding day – it was as a great gesture, which meant a lot. I (the bride) wore the same chun-chun on our wedding day as both older sisters did on their wedding days.
During the groom’s sangeet, they displayed a table of what makes him the way he is – all the marvel comics, childhood books, StarWars memorabilia and other items from his childhood.
We got our wedding and reception outfits custom made by Sahiba Fashions – amazing people and designers – both bride’s wedding and reception outfits and the groom’s wedding outfit. The Groom’s reception outfit was custom made by Empire Customs. We wanted a regal and royal look to our wedding day outfits but not in the traditional way, so we incorporated blue with the red, which made our outfits pop. The groom wore batman underarmor under his kurtha in the morning. We were looking for a modern twist to the traditional lengha for the reception – we chose a purple gown with silver embellishment on top and a chuni. The groom opted to add some of his personality into his outfit too with batman socks and lego cufflinks, to match the lego lapel pins we made for the close family on either side.
We requested the close female family members on both sides to wear the same colours – pink and yellow and the close men on both sides wore white shirts with light blue ties, turbans or bandanas. We wanted to showcase the two families becoming one by coordinating the colours with the men and women on both sides. What resulted in this was seeing a pool of blue on one side and a pool of bright yellow and pink on the other – our families were becoming one while we were.
Prior to the ceremony, both the groom’s side and the bride’s side meet, called the Milni; usually one person from either side. We decided to ask each generation of couples to meet instead – grandparents together, parents together, sisters, brothers and their significant others met together. In addition, we had family on either side recite shabads prior to the wedding and a close family recited the Anand Karaj, which all meant a lot to our families.
What was your favorite part of the wedding?
Our favourite part of the wedding was seeing everyone there, laughing and having fun. They were all there for us, to celebrate our day and it was just a great moment to see everyone so happy for us and our families.
What 3 words of advice do you have for future brides/grooms-to-be?
1. Take in everything that happens throughout the events because it will go by really fast.
2. Take a deep breath when something goes wrong and ask yourself, will this matter to you in 20 years? Then find a solution.
3. Remember to just have fun. Regardless of if issues come up, others will deal with it, you both enjoy the events and have fun.
We’re so glad you shared your happy wedding with us, Navjot & Manny!
{Wedding Vendors}
Photographer: Photokitch // Videographer: Keerti Films // Make-up and Hair: Beauty Concepts – wedding: Jenny Wu and reception: Shirley Wu // Hall: Chandni Convention Centre // Décor at reception: Diya Décor // Outfits: Sahiba Fashions – Bride’s wedding and reception; Groom’s wedding Empire Customs // Cake: Makkar Bakers // Bride and groom cake topper – Bits and Bites Bakery
