We continue Trisha and Barinder glamorous triple wedding ceremony on the Canadian-US border. And don’t forget catch the Sikh wedding ceremony and the modern lux wedding reception.
Since destination wedding was out of the question for both of our huge families, I wanted an outdoor wedding. So for the Buddhist wedding, we kept it outdoors in a very serene area and my inspiration was to have it all traditional, which meant red and gold.
I wanted the colour red to pop out, so I added accent colours of purples and blues. The mandap was very traditional and majestic with bold designs. The aisle way had gold paisley pedestals on either side, which had Manzanita trees with crystals placed on top. We had gold chivari chairs set up in orchestra style. I tried to go for the infamous Devdas Bengali wedding, by coming in on a gold palki as well.
For the reception, we went with an English Garden theme. From the entrance, we had a horse carriage shaped gift box. Going into the hall, both entrances had large gold gates with white Wisteria flowers hanging on them. The entire hall had white perimeter draping done to give an enchanted atmosphere.
The two family head tables had tall vases that were linked by white wisteria flowers. All the other tables had gold candlelabras wrapped around with Wisteria flowers. Each guest had a little heart shaped carriage that had chocolates in them on their plates.
What was the most difficult aspect of wedding planning?
The hardest part about the wedding was time management. With two different cultures, we both had traditions that needed to be done prior to and on the day of the wedding. I was very strict on having to perform both sides of the culture, however there had to be times we would have to forego one for the other. Managing a schedule was difficult on the day of as we had two weddings and the weather was not something we were able to foresee. It was pouring the entire day, which meant we had to delay our outdoor ceremony by nearly two hours.
Thankfully, as it became time for our ceremony, the sun popped up and it was as if it hadn’t even rained. The ceremony went well and as soon as it was time to pack up, the clouds were back and it started raining again! The good news in all this was we were able to have the rooftop down on the Lamborghini for the drive home!
With a venue that is far for most of our guests and which seemed like in the middle of nowhere, my bridesmaids and I came up with signs to put along the way to the Buddhist temple. We came up with some funny and creative phrases just to indicate the guests are driving the right direction!
What outfits and customs did you have?
For our second ceremony at the Buddhist temple, the groom was brought in a Lamborghini by the bride’s brother-in-law (Bengali custom). Groom had to then be fed sweets & water by the bride’s parents and then hand out sweets to the groom’s family members, as a welcoming gesture.
Then it was time for the bridesmaids to make some money by not letting the groom into the mandap until he paid up.
After the groom took a seat at the mandap, it was time for a custom called Shubo-Dhrishti, where I covered by face with two Paan (betel) leaves and was carried to the mandap in a palki by four of my cousin-brothers. Once we reached the mandap area, it’s Bengali custom that my brother-in-law carries me on to the stage. My face was then revealed to the groom for that auspicious “first” look.
We had monks chant the prayers and then my grand-uncle performed the rituals where the bride would go around the groom 5 times. For each time I go around my husband, I would bow down and get his blessings.
With much failed attempts at convincing my husband that the groom has to be the one to bow down to the bride, my parents told him the truth and so I had to bow down to him. It’s clearly a very old custom, but because I wanted everything traditional, I still went ahead with this custom.
In this ceremony, my husband wore a custom made sherwani with hints of purple with a purple dhoti. As the bride, I wore the traditional red & gold work Benarasi silk sari, with some blue & purple mixed in, which was worn in the traditional Bengali way.
Jewelry wise, it was just layers upon layers of gold necklaces and bangles. I also had the Bengali traditional set of Shaka (bangle made of conch shell), Paula (bangle made of red corals), and Loha (bangle made of iron) worn from the night before the wedding. To top it all off, both my husband and I wore a conical head piece, which are super fragile called Topor (for groom) and Mukut (for bride).
When you’re done swooning over the rest of their Buddhist wedding photos, head over to see Sikh wedding ceremony and the modern lux wedding reception.
{Wedding Vendors}
Photographer: G+H Photography // Henna: Sonia’s Henna Art // Cinematography : Republic Film Studio // Make-up: Xpressions Studio // Bride’s Sikh Wedding Jewelry: Xpressions Jewelry // Wedding Decor & Reception Stage Décor: Diya Décor // Wedding & Reception Tables & Entrance Décor: The Perfect Setting // Home Décor: Fuchsia Décor // Floor Wrap & Media Wall: Designer Dance Floors // Tents & Servers for Buddhist Wedding: Empire Events // Catering for Buddhist Wedding: Cuisine of India // DJ: DJ K-Square // Event Planing: The Colour Red // Invitations & Sweets Boxes: Voguish Wedding Invitations