Diksha and Nikhil, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nikhil hails from Kerala and Diksha from New Delhi. Their wedding in the US, was a fusion of different traditions, and included a traditional sangeet, elegant church wedding and festive reception.
Diksha and Nikhil’s wedding in the US was steeped in Hindu and Catholic customs and traditions that exuded a sense of home away from home. The venues, rituals, clothes and even the jewellery were evocative of festivities and flavors of their homeland, India. Here, bride Diksha shares glimpses and memories of the wedding celebrations.
How We Met
“Nikhil and I met through mutual friends when we were studying at Marquette University in Wisconsin. We studied engineering, and are now working as project leads for tech companies in Milwaukee.”
Wedding Venues
“We are both from India. I hail from New Delhi and Nikhil is from Kottayam, Kerala. However, Milwaukee has been a significant part of our adulthood. It has been home to us for more than 10 years, so we both have a great sense of belonging here. Although we have been in the US for a long time, we are still attached to our respective cultures. That’s why we wanted to incorporate Hindu, Catholic, Indian as well as American traditions into our wedding. We shied away from typical Indian wedding banquets and went for something more surreal. We love watching theater plays together and The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee had a great ballroom for large weddings. So that was it for our reception venue! We wanted the wedding ceremony to be held at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church where Nikhil has been a volunteer and member for a long time.”
Wedding Functions
We know it was truly a fusion wedding because every guest got to learn something about another culture! Our friends and family flew in from places such as UK, Oman, Singapore, Nigeria, Italy, India, as well as from various parts of the US.”
Sangeet
“Henna application, dance performances, Indian food and festive attire – these fun elements make the sangeet an event that no one would want to miss. It was my dream to have Nikhil’s family and my family dance together on the sangeet day. Since the two families lived thousands of miles away, they flew in two weeks before the wedding – and practiced religiously every day. And what can I say – we put up a great show! My maid of honor and my best friend is a beautiful Serbian woman. Although she has been actively involved in ballet dancing, she blew everyone’s minds away when she and I performed on the first song of the night. The groomsmen surprised me with their medley dance!”
For this busy event, Diksha wore a beautiful dark mint and green colored anarkali from Frontier Raas in New Delhi, while Nikhil wore a crimson kurta with a beige jacket.
Wedding
“We barely slept the night before the ceremony, and woke up at 4 am on the big day. We performed the ‘chudda’ (wedding bangles) ceremony that is an integral part of the Hindu-Punjabi tradition. After, an extensive make-up and hair session, I put on my champagne-colored wedding gown. Nikhil always dreamt of seeing his wife walk down the aisle in a wedding gown so I had to fulfill his wishes. Yes, I wore traditional wedding bangles with an American-style wedding gown. My bridesmaids wore traditional sarees in a carrot pink color with golden blouses. The wedding ceremony included many Indian rituals that were new for many of our American guests. We performed the ‘tali’ and ‘mangal-sutra’ (bridal necklace to signify she is a married woman) ceremony and took the blessings from our parents by touching their feet. It was so nice of Father Mike to explain every tradition to our guests so they could also understand what was going on and feel a part of the ceremony. Here’s an interesting fact – we had three wedding officiants for our wedding. Father Michael Bertram, who prepared Nikhil and me for marriage during our engagement period. (He has been a mentor and dear friend to us since), Father Gary Wegner who has been Nikhil’s confidante since his first year of high school in the US, and Father Joseph – a close family friend living in Nigeria. I would say we were triply blessed to have these wonderful men bless our wedding!”
Reception
“Our wedding was followed by a reception in the evening at The Marcus Center. We wanted a glamorous reception but wanted all our guests to feel welcome and special. That happened by providing a fusion menu that incorporated dishes from more than five countries! I had envisioned wearing a traditional lehenga for my wedding, and I fulfilled my dream by wearing a very typical burgundy lehenga for my reception. I kept the jewellery very minimal because I didn’t want it to get lost in the outfit.”
The Wedding Makers
Venues: St. Francis of Assisi, (Wedding), The Marcus Center (Reception) Milwaukee, US
Planner: Karen Hurley
Florist: Impressions by Ester (Milwaukee)
Food and Beverages: Sazama’s Fine Catering (Milwaukee)
Cake: Aggie’s Bakery (West Allis)
Wedding Invitation: Purple Wagon Designs (Philadelphia)
Bride’s Outfits: Bianca Bridal (Wedding) and Frontier Raas (Sangeet and Reception)
Jewellery: Joyalukkas and Frontier Raas
Makeup Artist and Hairstylist: Nadia Tikki (Chicago)
Henna Artist: Moniza Abbasi (Chicago)
Groom’s Outfit: Dubois Formalwear
Entertainment: DJ Matt Peer of Double Platinum
Photographer: Ari Rosenthal Photography (Milwaukee)
