Likhita and Abhishek, KC Emporia Luxury Banquets and Resorts
A real-life reflection of Chetan Bhagat’s 2 States, this Punjabi-Kannadiga wedding sets high cross-cultural wedding goals!
Magically captured by WeddingSutra Favorite – House On The Clouds, Likhita and Abhishek’s cross-cultural Punjabi-Kannadiga wedding was a beautiful mix of both cultures. Here, bride Likhta sharing the story of her wedding.
How They Met
“About nine years ago, Abhishek came to Bangalore from Jammu to pursue his studies in engineering while I was at law school. We met through a mutual friend who is a photographer. He had uploaded a few photos of Abhishek on his Facebook account. It was love at first sight when I saw his pictures. I sent him a friend request which he accepted. We clicked instantly and it has been eight years since then.”
Wedding Venue
“We decided to get married in Jammu, Abhishek’s hometown. As I was studying in the Netherlands, the venue hunting was done by Abhishek, and together we decided to tie the knot at KC Emporia Luxury Banquets and Resorts. The owner, management and staff were very cordial and receptive to all our requests. While the pre-wedding ceremonies were held at the Ramada Jammu City Centre, our wedding reception was at Princess Golf in Bengaluru.”
Wedding Planning
The wedding was planned entirely by the bride and the groom. Likhita says, “Abhishek and I took it upon ourselves to plan every aspect of our wedding, right from making the guest list to allocating rooms, seating arrangement and setting up the itineraries. It was fun to do all the work. Our wedding seemed so much more personalized because we had our hands in everything.” Proud of selecting House On The Clouds as their wedding photographers, Likhita adds, “HOTC was obviously going to photograph my wedding as I had fallen in love with their portfolio. Their work is truly commendable. By the end of our wedding, they were more like my family than just a team of wedding photographers.”
Wedding Functions
Devara samaradhane
“As I am Kannadiga and Abhishek is Punjabi, we decided to have a mix of rituals from both South and North Indian cultures at our wedding. Our celebrations started with a South Indian Brahmin custom called Devara Samaradhane, in which we invoke God so that the wedding rituals are completed without any hassles. We hosted this ritual at my Bangalore residence before we started our journey to Jammu.”
Mehendi
“The mehendi ceremony was the first one to take place after we landed in Jammu. It was an intimate affair celebrated at Ramada Jammu City Centre. I had a henna artist from Amritsar there. He did a fabulous job. Abhishek surprised me by gate-crashing my mehendi ceremony! He surprised us and danced his heart out.”
Engagement
“This event was very special as Abhishek went down on one knee and proposed to me. Although it was just a day before our wedding, I still felt very flattered. Our families danced till the sun came up despite it being very cold as it was the month of January in Jammu.”
Haldi and Chooda
“My haldi and chooda ceremonies were very traditional and hosted indoors due to the extreme cold. I always wanted to wear a chooda all my life and couldn’t control the excitement when I finally got to wear one. It was an overwhelming experience. My maternal uncle and aunt were very happy to be a part of this ritual as it was a new tradition for us, albeit an emotional one. My cousins too were thrilled about the novelty of tying kaleeras on my hand as we don’t get to enjoy this in our culture.”
Wedding
“Our wedding ceremony was a traditional South Indian one with a fun Punjabi twist. We had a South Indian Brahmin wedding at night, which is a very uncommon concept. We had rituals such as maalai matruthal, oonjal, mangalya dharanam, panigrahanam and arundati nakshatram, which was at 2:30 am. We had to walk barefoot to look at the arundati nakshatram and our feet felt frozen, however, we still managed to accomplish it. We added a sindoor ceremony to blend in North Indian traditions, which completed the wedding.”
Reception
“We had a reception party hosted in Bangalore for all our friends and colleagues who couldn’t make it to Jammu for the wedding.”
Advice to Couples
“Start planning your wedding at least a year in advance so that you get time to select proper vendors and venues. There are times when things don’t work out as planned but don’t lose heart and try to look for the best alternatives.”
The Wedding Makers
Venues: KC Emporia Luxury Banquets and Resorts, Ramada Jammu City Centre, Princess Golf Bengaluru
Groom’s Outfits: Frontier Raas (Devara samaradhane), Raymonds (Engagement and Reception), Anita Dongre (Wedding)
Bride’s Outfits: Angadi Galleria (Devara samaradhane, chooda), Astha Narang (Mehendi), Sabyasachi (Engagement), Anita Dongre (Wedding and Reception)
Jewellery: Jewellers, Bangalore and Malabar Gold and Diamonds, Dubai
Makeup: Aliya Baig
Photography: House On The Clouds
