Magical cross-cultural wedding

Our bride Roshika described all her wedding celebrations as magical. She also went ahead to say that there could be nothing better than so many people coming together and showering you with love as you create a bond with someone who is so special to you. This is the essence of weddings and what makes them so special and memorable

Roshika and Upul met each other through mutual friends while studying at the University of Auckland. They both originate from different countries and it was important to both of them to have a wedding that respected their individual traditions and values. As a result, they planned and executed two weddings; more excitingly in two different countries. Roshika shares her experience with us today and also gives us an insight on some of the Srilankan wedding traditions.


The first wedding ceremony was a Sindhi style wedding held at Roshika's hometown in Mumbai. Roshika flew to India for wedding shopping 8 months before the wedding. Prior to her trip she explored the web and went all out on Pinterest, which gave her a good idea of the colour palette that she wanted to work with. She was open to different styles but dead sure about the colour palette she had in mind. Important note for brides here is - DON'T leave these things to the last minute as alterations and custom designing can easily take a couple of months during the wedding season. Start shopping at least three months before the wedding !!!

Stunning colour combinator of yellow and red

Beautiful jewellery and make-up that complimented the traditional look for the ceremony

Sabyasachi inspired sari for the Mumbai reception

Glamorous hairdo which looks like a bunch of pretty roses

As with most extravagant weddings, there will be certain aspects of it which may not turn out the way you originally envisaged. Roshika was not impressed with the failure of the decorations to follow her detailed instructions at the Mumbai wedding ceremony. However, she says that one needs to keep calm and avoid sweating over the trivialities as the guests do not notice the details. Remember, the most important thing is to enjoy your big day and we have to give to Roshika for living the day to the fullest despite the decoration hiccup.

The second wedding ceremony was held miles away in beautiful Kandyan. Kandyan is the hometown of the groom and also a beautiful hill station in Sri Lanka.

The outfits for this event were different from the Indian wedding. The groom wears a Nilamey suit, which is a maharaja style costume and the bride wears a white sari. Roshika bought this sari in India and it was then cut to create a Kandyan sari. Roshika did her own makeup for the ceremony in Srilanka and as we can see she did a fabulous job with it.

The Srilankan ceremony started at an auspicious time and the couple were escorted to the hall by traditional Kandyan dancers and the closest members of the families. At the door of the hall they were then welcomed by 4 girls singing a song called Jayamangala. The ceremony took place on a stage-like structure called a Poruwa and involves earth, water and fire elements. The most significant part is the tying the couples fingers together with a white thread and the exchange of rings. The groom gifts the bride a necklace and then ties a white cloth around her. The couple then feed each other rice milk and sweet milk and exit the Poruwa. 

Four dancers performed a dance full of traditional moves and tricky summersaults and jumps post ceremony. Then began the first round of food serving, which was a huge spread of home-made desserts. The couple then got changed for the home-coming ceremony, here Roshika sported a beautiful pink  lehenga. This is the part of the night when dinner is served and a string of speeches take place.  

Stunning pink lehenga inspired by Manish Malhotra

Was it hard to plan a wedding in two different countries we asked Roshika? Her answer was "Difficult, but its not impossible". One major tip from her is for brides to meet with vendors face to face before choosing them and following up with them closer to time.

Usually people find it difficult to organise a wedding at one destination but this couple pulled off two ceremonies and in two different countries. Kudos and best wishes for a happy married life.