Love, Community & Belonging
Shreya & Adi celebrated their October fall wedding reception at the historic Aldie Mansion, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Shreya and Adi’s wedding took place at the historic Aldie Mansion, set against the backdrop of the red-brick walls, deep green gardens, ornately arched doorways, and stained glass windows. The grounds echoed the beauty of Shreya and Adi’s classical vintage wedding style, complete with a swoon-worthy floor to ceiling ballroom windows and old world charm. Shreya and Adi had their invitations personally crafted in India with drawn replicas of the Aldie Mansion, as a touch of their South Asian roots in their American reception. With the mansion enchanted with traditional South Asian music, cuisine, and decor, along with guest attire, and by choosing to highlight their special day with vendors that were South Asian, the couple created a setting that reflected a deep consciousness in choosing to honor their ancestry and values.
“We picked this venue because we loved how much space there was and how cozy it felt at the same time… and sure enough during the event every room was filled with people enjoying the beautiful architecture and windows and grounds”
Weddings (traditionally and historically speaking) represent the creation of a new family, the joining of two individuals together, forever. Every wedding couple we’ve shot has a concept that echoes throughout the event as a running thematic element that makes each wedding unique. The heartbeat of Shreya and Adi’s wedding was that “more than anything, we wanted our wedding to symbolize community”. This communal love was truly reflected in our lens as we were blessed to witness the thoughtfulness of the couple themselves in each interaction with their guests and the endearing atmosphere they sought to create that felt like belonging; to a community, to a family, and truly, to a commitment of creating spaces of inclusion and happiness, a series of revolutionary ideas.
Shreya and Adi chose to put a modern twist on many of the common wedding traditions as a way to honor those that shaped their independent selves and values, and show a further commitment to building a life together that cherished their communities; they thoughtfully explained that,
“We believe that balance is essential. Weddings are a site of love, ancestry, and belonging, but can also be sites of harm and anachronisms that are at odds with our values. Creating a wedding that rejects all of the systems of harm in our world is hard, but we strove to be thoughtful and intentional—In choosing a female priest, Adi and I both exchanged symbols of commitment, and in excluding patriarchal rituals that didn't fit our values. None of these choices are perfect, nor enough to dismantle these systems, but navigating them with intention, criticality, and thoughtfulness was an important process for us, and one we commit to continuing. Hope is a discipline, and resistance is a discipline. We commit to continuing to fight for a world that centers love, humanity, and inclusion, and to finding a balance between history, ancestry, community, and resistance!”
Shreya’s ring is breathtaking, we just had to know the story behind it. Adi knew Shreya didn’t want a diamond ring because of ethical concerns, so he designed a ring using Brilliant Earth. He thought the teal sapphire was unique and special. The ring buying process was made even more special with the presence of his parents who happened to be in NYC from India the same weekend as BrillIant Earth.
Shreya & Adi’s reception was filled with autumn tones of orange, red and deep gold dahlias, with every other table centering a beautiful potted plant by Vault + Vine Co.
For our bride’s wedding attire Shreya chose a deeply rich, red, embracing her cultural tradition of wearing the sacred color to honor prosperity, love, and commitment. Her lehenga was encrusted with golden threaded embroidery interwoven with trails of gold beading. To fit her classical vibe, her gold and red bracelets and pearl necklace and tikka were neatly tied together in her hair’s romantic tresses of curls.
In matching attire, Adi chose a cream suit printed with a soft-gold array of delicate patterned florals. In a strong, contrasting strike of color, Adi chose a dark, maroon and black velvet dupatta lightly embossed in a similar soft floral pattern, enhanced with the boldness of the undertone color . His suit’s collar was uniquely encrusted with gold and silver beading, which matched the gold and yellow decorative jewelry on his breast pocket and his red and cream patterned necklace.
In a close up glimpse, Shreya’s lehenga featured several beautiful scenes embroidered of a groom adorned in blush on a white horse, surrounded by hints of orange, red, and blue floral details. Her “something blue” was magically found in the blue peacock neatly intertwined among the scenery of her lehenga. Seeing Shreya in her outfit felt like watching a story, with each photographic spin, another special touch of thoughtful detail is found in the glimmering details. Paired together, their individual outfits mirrored a sense of regality and classical beauty.
Shreya gleams, “I’m a huge book nerd—something we bond over is our love of fantasy and sci-fi. Our dream is to have a beautiful library and game room for all our books and games. I’m also currently writing a fantasy book with one of my best friends with themes of South Asia…” So a venue with a library, was just another reason to fall in love with the space.
There is something remarkably powerful about voice. And how through pitch, tone, vowel sounds strung together in language can make for a poetically emotional expression of identity. In Shreya’s freshman year at Columbia University, she found herself enthralled to be a part of the a capella group, Columbia Sur, which blended Bollywood and American music to create fusion pieces that represented an exciting awakening: the spirit of a cultural melting pot. It was here where she met Adi, a fellow Columbia student, who shared the same love and appreciation of acapella music. Together the melodies they strummed together turned their relationship from strangers to friends, and from that friendship, grew love.
To pay homage to tho their milestone a capella meet-cute moment, Shreya and Adi crafted a unique mash-up between three classical world canon favorites- “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, and of course, “Better Together”, and took a spin on the classical first dance with a classical acapella blend. And what a perfect mix it was, with their wedding events carefully curated to perfectly balance the modernized versions of classical traditions, symbolic of the joining of two individuals and their communities.
Along with a special exchange of symbols of commitment, and their female priest, the couple also opted for a communal first dance. This event allowed their village to come on the dance floor and take part in a moment typically reserved for a select few; the reasonings behind this concept came with the depth of love for their village that brought them up, and their eagerness to remember their roots.
To add to their wedding details, the bride and groom chose spices as favors to honor their South Asian ancestry, choosing his and her packaged themed spices as a modern day love letter to a traditional spice market. For Shreya, she chose her favorite spice of Vangibath Powder, a touch of Bangalore. For Adi, he chose his favorite of Biriyani Powder, as an ode to Kolkata.
“Our wedding actually happened in August in India, but we chose to have a reception in the US so all our family could participate. Be it our communal first dance, feeding cake to our parents in addition to each other, and dedicating our toast to family near and far, we viewed our wedding as a chance to thank all those who have shaped us into who we are today.”
In words expressed at their wedding event in Bangalore, the couple explained the importance of creating a wedding reception that honored their family and friends as well as themselves, stating
“Celebrating in community is one of the most beautiful things we as humans can do. We are truly so lucky to be able to share this moment with all those who have gathered here today. For much of our lives, our family, those who have raised us and those we have chosen, have been separated by oceans. What an amazing thing for our best friends and family from New York City and across India to be together in Bangalore! It is a blessing to be together. We commit to building more spaces of community like this.”
Photography: Journeys by Vivek
@journeysbyvivek
@journeysbyvivek
(Above) Photos from Shreya & Adi’s Bangalore event, taken by - Journeys by Vivek.
Adi’s favorite memory of the wedding reception were the toasts made by his brother and Shreya’s brother. The four of them stood on a balcony overlooking the outdoor courtyard, while the two brothers toasted their guests with memories, tributes and admiration for the newlyweds and their family. Guests below laughed at memories of their recent time in India together, sibling teasing and eyes swelled at the heartfelt words that were spoken. Adi reflects what the presence of his parents being at the event meant to him, recalling what a special feeling it was they were there to celebrate now that they are living in India.
HOW COMFORTABLE WE ARE, YOU AND I
Perhaps the most touching moment for their guests was listening to the speeches being shared that honored the bride and groom. For Shreya, she found her best friend, Anna, and her dedication of her wedding speech to Adi deeply sentimental and touching.Pulling from her Armenian roots, Anna quoted an Armenian song that translates to, “How comfortable we are, you and I,” in which Anna used to describe how thankful she is that Shreya has Adi, and that Anna now has a friend like Adi in her life. There is something to be said about having a spouse that is honored by your best friend in her wedding speech.
Life is short; we must fill it with food, laughter, silliness, and love! We commit to a life where we center joy!
In a ceremony and reception centered in love and building intentional community spaces inclusive of everyone, Adi and Shreya created the most beautiful wedding. On their special day, the bride and groom beautifully exemplified their commitment to creating an inclusive space where everyone felt valued and celebrated. From the busy cocktail hour that fostered conversations among guests of diverse backgrounds to the personalized touches that honored each individual's presence, their wedding radiated warmth and acceptance. The couple's genuine efforts to prioritize inclusivity were evident in every detail, from the carefully thought out ceremonies to the diverse music selection that had everyone dancing joyfully together. Their wedding was not just a celebration of their love, but also a testament to their belief in embracing and honoring the uniqueness of each and every guest. The thoughtful curation of the space and the priority given to their guests resulted in an atmosphere filled with warmth and inclusivity throughout the festivities.. Perhaps the most perfect version of love is committing to a lifetime of breaking boundaries for one another, and choosing each other over again, in every lifetime to come.
“Thank you to our parents, for their generosity, deep love, and commitment to community and care. Thank you to our siblings for being our bestfriends, for growing up alongside us, and making us into the people we are. And thank you to our beautiful friends and chosen family who’ve made New York City our home. We love you all!”
- Shreya & Adi
Venue: Aldie Mansion @aldiemansionweddings
Florals: Vault +Vine Co. @vaultandvine.co
Makeup: Nidhi Gurjar @beautyrushbynidhi
Hair: @hairbylena17
DJ: @DJKrish
Invitations/programs: By the bride @s.sun22
Henna: Ayesha Yousef @goldinkstudio
