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Dressed to the Nines: For the ceremony, the bride and groom both wore traditional attire handmade in India and purchased by the bride’s parents as a wedding gift. Her gown weighed about 20 pounds. (Photo by Don Mears Photography)
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Peacock Pastry: The newlyweds cut into a gorgeous four-tier cake decorated with cascading peacock feathers. Flavors included carrot cake (the groom’s favorite) and red velvet (the bride’s favorite). (Photo by Don Mears Photography)
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Intimate Surroundings: The bride and groom sat below a traditional white mandapa altar during the ceremony decorated with red roses and white flowers. Their parents stood beside them as the couple recited their vows. (Photo by Don Mears Photography)
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Give Me a Hand: At the sangeet, all women attending the wedding were invited to get traditional henna designs by mehndi artists from Style by Zahra. Here, the bride shows off her unique designs. (Photo by Don Mears Photography)
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Bits and Baubles: The couple had a colorful Indian bazaar at the sangeet where guests could accessorize with jeweled bangles and bindis, a bright dot worn on the forehead. (Photo by Don Mears Photography)
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May I Have This Dance: The couple enjoyed their first dance as husband and wife in the ballroom of The Jefferson Hotel. The bride changed into an embroidered silk ensemble (also made in India) for the reception. (Photo by Don Mears Photography)
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Grand Entrance: As tradition dictates, the groom rode into the ceremony on a majestic white horse (provided by Smithfield Horse & Carriage Co.) adorned with custom Indian drapery. (Photo by Don Mears Photography)
When Chandni Challa and Christopher Lewis first met, they simply couldn’t be apart — because they were in mutual friend groups, so the pair kept bumping into each other. And from there, love blossomed. Family is very important to the couple, so Christopher spent six months getting to know Chandni’s father before finally asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage in fall 2015.
The couple planned an opulent wedding weekend that lasted three days — a small wedding by Indian standards, seeing as most traditional Indian weddings last five days. First, the couple’s families and their guests met at The Jefferson Hotel to get to know each other at the sangeet, a pre-wedding event that involves festive singing, dancing and music. The next day, they took their vows in an intimate, traditional Indian ceremony in a woodland meadow near the bride’s parents’ home in Goochland County.
After enjoying a lunch of exotic delicacies from Malabar Indian Cuisine, guests left the ceremony and returned to The Jefferson for a lavish ballroom reception. The themed decor reflected a peacock-feather color scheme of blue, green and purple. For dinner, guests had their selection of Indian specialties as well as classic wedding favorites like prime rib, butter chicken and grilled vegetables.
The bride’s favorite moment was during the ceremony: as tradition dictated, she sat across from the groom beneath the mandapa altar while a cloth screen separated them so he couldn’t see her until the “auspicious moment.” “When I first saw him after they removed the screen, it was amazing to look at him in that light,” she says. “I couldn’t believe he was about to become my husband.”
Catering: Malabar Indian Cuisine (ceremony), Lehja (sangeet and reception)
Cake: The Jefferson Hotel catering
Planners: Trish Brinkley and Shawn Brinkley,The Occasionalist
Hair and Makeup: Avenue 42
Decor/Florist/Lighting/Draping: Le Reve Creations