What is more fun than having one wedding?
How about two weddings!
Meera and Michael had a traditional South Indian Kerala Hindu wedding followed by a Jewish wedding. What makes Hindu Jewish so much fun are our long cultural histories. Just 5,000+ years you know! Hindu-Jewish weddings can be easily transformed from a mandap to a chuppah (or vice versa), or have single a fusion ceremony underneath a mandap/chuppah, as in Emily & Adam’s rustic Jewish fusion wedding.
But I just love how Meera wore a dark red sari with red rose petals adorning the wedding aisle, and then turned into a princess in her white wedding gown.
And now for our interview with Meera!
Tell us about the wedding!
Our wedding was a combination of our cultures and tastes. We started with a Hindu ceremony before sunset, with vibrant colors and nadaswaram players. The ceremony closely reflected a Kerala wedding, and included the bride’s family and closest friends as part of the wedding procession. After the ceremony, there was a cocktail hour while the ceremony space was transformed for the Jewish ceremony.
The scene changed entirely, to soft white and blue with a string quartet playing in the background. We had a Jewish ceremony where the cantor spoke about the many similarities between the two cultures, and the importance of the commitment we were making.
We tried to highlight the similar aspects of the ceremonies, including the seven steps of the Hindu ceremony and the seven circles in the Jewish ceremony. We just wanted to have a celebration that reflected both of our cultures and incorporated the things we thought were most important – including great food and entertainment.
What was the hardest part about wedding planning?
There was no hard part! It really was entirely fun, as it should be!
Did you do any DIY (do it yourself) at the wedding?
We designed our own programs, which was easy to do and important to us so we could explain the various ceremonies to our guests.
What was your favorite part of the wedding?
It’s hard to pick one favorite part – seeing all my closest friends and husband dressed so beautifully and all in one place was thrilling.
What 3 words of advice do you have for future brides-to-be?
1) Have fun, this is supposed to be the party of your life!
2) Even if nothing goes perfectly, if you enjoy it, you will remember it as if everything went perfectly!
3) Take the opportunity to take it all in – it goes by so fast!
Doing the hava nagila, a traditional fold dance where the bride and groom (and mom and dad) are raised in chairs and danced around. Mom’s look is priceless!
Mazel Tov Meera and Michael!
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Makeup, Hair, Dressing – Bridal by Jyoti, a Red Book member
Photography: Cody Raisig for Andre Maier
