Kunal and Shirin have been together for years, which is evident from the comfort and warmth between them, their friends and their families.
Shirin recounts the first time she met Kunal & how Kunal had gatecrashed an after party at her place—Kunal is convinced it was his long, curly hair, his good looks & charm that won her over when he showed up to her house and she remembers slamming the door on his face! Suffice to say, their relationship has grown a lot since then, but their goofy, playful bond remains.
They commemorated their love with a three day long inter-faith wedding, choosing to have both the Nikah & the Muhurutham as two separate events on separate days to honour their cultures. There's always something so special about a fusion wedding- which celebrates not one, but two cultures, and even more so when they are two separate religions that come with all their different, uniquely gorgeous traditions and even outfits for that matter! The Hindu-Muslim wedding was held at the gorgeous, green & cosy Miraya Greens, Bangalore; beginning with an intimate Mehendi for Shirin followed by the Sanchaq - where traditionally the groom & his family/friends officially visit the bride’s family with gifts including sweets, accessories and jewellery. This is the usually the last pre-wedding ritual, signifying the blessing, affection of both families for the couple.
There are usually many funny and light-hearted traditions that work as a breather in between the long stressful trail of customs of Indian weddings. Shirin called their wedding, "an Unconventional Wedding- where anything was allowed" and in that spirit, her cousins & friends had a lot of fun stuff planned. Before the family was to formally welcome Kunal, Shirin’s friends were heard yelling to him standing one floor above them “You have to get money and come, you’re not allowed to enter otherwise!” to which Kunal signalled his empty hands. After garlanding the groom’s side, Shirin’s sister messed around with him while feeding him murukku, but Kunal won out at the end—by managing to sidestep the bride’s side’s threats to pay up, and managing to happily eat his murukku and other sweets which were stuffed with chillis much to his surprise!
It was a lovely start to the wedding, and our team was anticipating a lot more fun coming up & we weren't wrong!
The next morning we saw Shirin, a calm, glowy bride-to-be, sipping on her coffee as she got ready for her Niqah, the Muslim ceremony, interspersed with a few friends and family stepping into the room and gasping at how beautiful she looked.
Shirin was dressed in a deep teal lehenga with floral embroidery paired with a dupatta draped over her shoulder, and another over her head as a modern veil, with simple gold neck jewellery and a gorgeous bridal passa pinned on the side of her hair, framing her face. Under a phoolon ki chaadar held by her brother and friends, Shirin danced her way to her Niqah to the sound of the dhol, after which Kunal did the same and was once again stopped and asked to pay up in order to see his bride. Once he playfully argued his way through, we witnessed their lovely, close-knit niqah with all the dearest people in their lives and ended with the newly joined families exchanging hugs, tears and photographs.
We couldn’t keep the couple from practicing their choreography for the evening’s sangeet while taking their portraits, their adoration for each other palpable.
At the warmly lit sangeet we saw some truly smashing performances from their friends, family and the extremely talented couple themselves; after which everyone danced non-stop for hours — we couldn’t keep from smiling & dancing right along with them. The next morning was the Hindu ceremony, the Muhurtham, the last of their nuptials. Shirin once again looked stunning in her jewel-toned outfit of an intricate red and gold sari with an emerald blouse, and alongside was Kunal looking dapper in a sleek, off-white kurta pyjama.
This union is truly blessed and the wedding was three days of joy, warmth, and heaps of fun – we couldn’t imagine a sweeter celebration.
Congratulations to the beautiful couple!
