My name is Niranjani. I am an ophthalmologist and currently performing research in the US. My husband’s name, although it’s still weird to refer to him like that, is Rohith. He is a marketing professional, currently running his own business. I met him in 6th grade! And yes, I’ve known for 20 years, more than 2/3rd of my life. He is my best friend and that’s why I find it hard when the connotation has changed. We started dating in 11th grade and went out for 9 years. In 2012, we decided to go on a break. We made many mistakes before finding our way back to each other in 2018. We started talking again and we both realized we couldn’t get over each other. I was moving to the US at that time and wasn’t sure how it was going to work. We were in touch for the first half, thanks to him. One fine day, I got a call from him, a call that changed our lives. We spoke about everything that day, our memories together, the mistakes we had made and so on. He finally said to me “naalai thevai illai penne naalum vazhalam”. He played the song from Imaikka Nodigal and asked me to marry him. I took a little time to say yes as I was studying. But I eventually did. We spoke to our parents and they couldn’t have been happier. We got engaged on July 4th, 2019 and our wedding was fixed for Feb 12th, 2020.
Then began the real deal. Although we thought we had enough time to plan the wedding, it was a mammoth task. Since I had to go back to the US, I had completed most of my wedding shopping in July. The invitation was designed by my mother, Meera Nagarajan, and her team. The front page was hand painted by an artist specially for us. The invite was the highlight of our wedding, and people were really looking forward to the day. Using both our names, we came up with a logo for the wedding. A swan enclosed inside a sun. The swan represented elegance and beauty (denotes Niranjani) and the sun represented vibrance and radiance (denotes Rohith).
My super talented cousin who runs her own designing studio called Mithra-House of design, worked on all my blouses. She also designed and stitched my lehenga for the sangeet. Silk sarees for all family members and friends were purchased from Pachaiyappa silks. They customized sarees for us using the wedding logo for close family members.
We had an elaborate 3-day wedding. It took place in Ideal Beach Resort, Mahabalipuram. Although Chennai is so close to the ocean, we felt weddings haven’t taken complete advantage of this beautiful city. I was particular that we should have as many tamizh elements to the wedding as possible.
February 10th was the mehndi and sangeet. It started with a baarat. But unlike the usual, my groom came in an auto rickshaw and we danced on it until we reached the beach. Our sangeet had an amazing beach setup, complete with balloon shooting, parrot joshiyam, manga badhai We had practiced multiple dance sets with friends and family. Rohith and I performed a solo set, which revisited our love life, beginning from school love to the marriage proposal.
11th morning was the vratham, which was a traditional pooja that we performed separately with our families. Both families fast on this day, praying for prosperity of their children and the newly married life. A clay pot is filled with grains, and the women pour water to let the grains sprout. We pour this water into a larger pond the day after the wedding.
At 4 pm on the same day was the engagement ceremony. We planned a floral theme for this event. Once again making use of the beach front, the decor team had designed a beautiful floral mandap along with decorating the huts and trees nearby. It was a sight to behold.
We exchanged our wedding bands and the invitation was read out loud to seal the deal.
At 6.30 on the same day was the reception. The decor team had erected an enormous floral backdrop in the spacious lawn, which had a window-like pattern to have a view of the beach behind us. The color theme was white and pastel for this event. I wore a pastel green Kancheepuram pattu saree with a contrast pink full sleeve blouse. Rohith wore a custom-made white sherwani with green embroidery. The menu was elaborate with over 50 items and the food at this event was a huge hit among guests.
February 12th, the day of the wedding began quite early for us. Kasi yathirai was at 5.45 am, which was followed by the garland exchange at 6 am. The oonjal was set-up beautifully on the beach, with marigold flowers adorning the set-up. All I dreamed of was a sunrise oonjal and we were lucky enough to have had that moment. The mangalyatharanam was planned indoors as we knew Chennai is notorious for its heat. The resort had a well-built marriage hall inside that could accommodate 1000+ guests. I changed into my 9-yards and sat on my father’s lap. He TIED THE THALI and the there are no words to explain the happiness we felt in that moment. It has been captured beautifully by the photographers. One of the happiest moments of my life and to have had that with my best friend is a real blessing.
Wedding & Reception Highlights
Featured Vendors
Wedding planners: Athithi Wedding Planners
Photography and Videography: Wedding Memoirs
Venue: Ideal Beach
Decor team: Subbu Decorrators
Bride blouses and Sangeet Lehenga: Mithradesigners
Makeup and Hair: Leimi Phinao, Makeup Artist
Sarees for the bride and family: Pachaiyappas Silks , Tulsi Silks , Nalli Silks , Keyah Label
Groom’s attires: His Studio , The Swayamvar
Jewellery: Sumangali Jewellers
The Amethyst Store, Vriksham Jewelry
Mehendi: Mehendi Aura
Tie The Thali would like to thank this lovely couple for sharing their big day with us and our readers. We wish them nothing but the best for their married life!
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