Anil & Mary's Armenian Indian Wedding Part 1
Have you ever been to an Armenian Indian wedding? We were blown away when we came across Mary and Anil's recent stunning wedding (or we should say weddings) captured by Jay Jay Productions. Coming from two diverse and rich cultures, Mary and Anil held 2 separate celebrations to honor both Indian and Armenian traditions. We interviewed the couple and we've got all the details! First, we will share the couple's love story and their beautiful Indian wedding on July 30th, 2017:
Q. Tell us about how you met and your proposal story:
Mary: We met 5 years ago at a salon when Anil and his brother both came in for haircuts! Soon after, Anil's brother and I became friends as he was planning his wedding the next summer. He invited me to the wedding because I had told him I had never been to an Indian wedding. It all started there... At the wedding, Anil and I had our first dance, and remained good friends after. After a couple of years of being best friends but having feelings for each other, but always keeping it a secret, Anil finally said he wanted to get married to none other than his best friend, me! We told our parents and got blessings from both sides. Then we invited both sides of the family together, along with our pastor, to be a part of the special moment when he proposed.
Q. How was your wedding planning experience?
Mary: Most people have one wedding and freak out about the details. We had two! We wanted to celebrate both ceremonies to respect and follow tradition. At first, we had decided that the Indian ceremony would be private and small. As we talked more about details, the Indian wedding became more and more elaborate. Anil wanted it to be special, so we added a hall, food, Bollywood dances, a DJ, the works. We had agreed that we were going to have a small reception for that day, but on the day of, we had almost 300 people there.
Q. We love your traditional Indian bridal look. Where did you purchase your Indian Lengha from?
Mary: The Indian lengha was purchased from Dreams Collection in Artesia. It was customized and ordered from India. We decided on royal red to keep it traditional. To ensure the sari was secure, I had enough safety pins in it to fill up almost a whole box.
Q. Which Indian traditions did you incorporate into your special day?
Mary: We are a couple coming from two strong cultures, so we wanted to keep those traditions alive in our weddings. One challenge we had was doing the mendhi (henna). Our concern was that the Henna would not wash out in time for the Armenian wedding, and I didn't want it to look funny in my white wedding gown. After thinking about it, I felt proud to have it for the Armenian wedding. I am not the typical Armenian bride - I'm married to an Indian man. We told all our guests to feel free to dress up in saris and lenghas, and made sure to have plenty of bindis for all the ladies. Our Indian wedding alone lasted 3 days. We had a mendhi party, where everyone was able to get henna done, a prayer night, and the ceremony/reception. We had choreographed dances to Bollywood music, just like Bollywood movies. I had a solo, Anil and I had a duet, and we had a few group dances.
Q. What was one of your favorite moments from this day?
Mary: Performing a Bollywood style dance in front of family and friends was so amazing. We were both so nervous to perform, but after practicing for days together, we had also much fun at the wedding.
Special thanks to the couple for sharing their wedding and Jay Jay Productions for sharing their beautiful photos. Congratulations Mary and Anil on your wedding!
We love learning about cultures and wedding traditions, and we were blown away by the richness of the Indian ceremony and receptions.
UPDATE: Part 2 of this blog series is now live where we feature photos and details from Anil and Mary's gorgeous Armenian wedding! Find out what Armenian traditions they incorporated into their wedding!
Tags: bride , indian wedding , tradition , wedding day , wedding photography , wedding planning
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