We just fell in love with Riya and Jay’s wedding! We love their color palettes for each event (and yes, they were very different!), that mandap (the traditional four-pillar canopy altar), Riya’s stunning lehengas (three-piece ceremonial outfits), and the story of how she found it. Their June wedding weekend at The Westin in Atlanta was pulled together by Ushma and the team at Desai Designs, and Jatin and his team at Ramleela brought the decor and florals to life.
They hired Odyssey Films Studio to document it all, and they did a phenomenal job with these photos and the films. Riya and Jay were blown away when they walked into the reception and found out there was an entire same-day edit ready to play! Riya sent us such wonderful answers about their wedding that we’re letting her tell most of the story. Thank you to Riya and Jay for sharing it with us. Here are our favorites!
How Riya and Jay Met
They met at a wedding, which we LOVE.
“Jay and I first met at my cousin’s wedding reception in February 2024,” Riya told us. “He is best friends with my cousin’s husband, so our paths crossed naturally. My very first memory of him is actually pretty funny—he was giving a speech during the reception, and everyone kept talking over him! I felt so bad for him!”
She added, “I remember telling him how much I loved pickleball and that I was looking for a pickleball partner—never mind the fact that I’d only played once in my entire life! As fate would have it or as Jay likes to say, ‘all according to plan,’ our credit cards accidentally got switched, giving us the perfect excuse to meet up again. When we exchanged them, Jay convinced me to play pickleball with him on a random Thursday, which unofficially became our first date. Thankfully, we didn’t play pickleball for all 12 hours because I was absolutely terrible!”
And then he proposed. Twice!
Riya said, “The first proposal happened privately at our kitchen counter, the very same place where we first truly connected in June 2024. It was incredibly meaningful because it brought our story full circle. The second proposal was the one I dreamed about! Jay officially got down on one knee at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was not over the top or a production. It was just the two of us surrounded by scenes of beautiful art.”
Four Events, Four Different Looks
“Like any other person, I’ve been collecting wedding inspiration since I was young,” she told us. “What started as a Pinterest board eventually became a scrapbook of every stage of my life—outfits I loved, colors that made me happy, and little details I dreamed of one day incorporating into my own wedding. By the time Jay and I got engaged, that collection had evolved into something incredibly personal.”
She said, “Jay is Gujarati, and I come from both Gujarati and Marathi backgrounds, so although all of our wedding ceremonies followed traditional Gujarati Hindu customs, we intentionally incorporated Marathi traditions to honor my father’s side of the family. Our wedding week began with a traditional Marathi oil ceremony surrounded by my family and friends. We also celebrated our individual Grah Shantis and included a symbolic Mameru ceremony, especially meaningful because many of my maternal uncles were unable to attend in person. Jay also celebrated his traditional Janoi ceremony, an important Brahmin rite of passage, before our wedding festivities.”
(A Mameru, if you’re wondering, is the Gujarati tradition where the bride’s maternal uncle brings her gifts, usually a sari and jewelry, before the wedding.)
A Flower Market Haldi
If this is your first Haldi: it’s the pre-wedding ceremony where family and friends take turns putting turmeric paste on the couple for good luck. Riya and Jay’s was outdoors under a clear tent, and it was a floral explosion with pastel block-print panels and flower garlands.
Riya told us, “Inspired by colorful flower markets, we filled the outdoor space with soft pastel florals, rattan accents, woven textures, and vibrant Jaipuri prints. We hosted interactive games before our traditional Haldi ceremony, and our favorite moment was making our entrance with a color bomb and seeing our worlds collide together in one place for the first time! Even in the Georgia summer heat, every guest enthusiastically joined in, setting the tone for an unforgettable weekend.”
For this event Riya went with a lehenga decorated with pearls and tiny mirrors. Look at it up close!
“For the Haldi, I wore a beautiful pastel lehenga featuring intricate mirror and pearl work from Antra in Ahmedabad,” Riya told us. “It felt light, fresh, and perfect for the vibrant celebration. Jay complemented the look with an unconventional purple embroidered jacket paired with a sheer shirt from Riyasaat, also in Ahmedabad.”
Then came the turmeric. The paste is a blessing for the couple (it’s also supposed to give them glowing skin for the wedding), and Jay’s buddies spared none of it.
Riya said, “During our Haldi, I choreographed special dances dedicated to my parents and Jay. Before each performance, I played a prerecorded voiceover sharing memories and expressing how much they mean to me.”
The Grah Shanti
The Grah Shanti is a prayer ceremony held at home before the wedding, asking for peace and a smooth start for the couple. For theirs, they kept things simple and classic: a green and pink look and a gorgeous painted archway.
“For our Grah Shanti and Janoi ceremonies, we embraced tradition,” she told us. “I wore a classic green and pink choli from Annu’s Creation, while Jay wore a traditional kurta and dhoti.”
A Heritage Bazaar Sangeet
The Sangeet is the big song-and-dance party of the wedding weekend, with choreographed performances from family and friends. The concept for theirs came from Riya’s wedding shopping trip in India.
Riya told us, “During my wedding shopping trip in India, I visited the iconic Sabyasachi flagship store and instantly fell in love with its rich, heritage-inspired interiors. The antique frames, collected books, ornate vases, layered patterns, and moody lighting felt timeless, and I knew I wanted to recreate that feeling for our biggest celebration.”
She wanted a wall of framed family pictures, and look closely, because some of them are old family photos!
She told us, “One of the most meaningful surprises was when our decorator incorporated old family photographs into the backdrop, transforming the space into something that felt both grand and deeply personal.”
There was also a hookah lounge for Jay.
Riya said, “We also created a fully Moroccan-inspired hookah lounge, which reflected one of Jay’s favorite social pastimes. Complete with chandeliers, draping, ottomans, and vibrant décor, it truly felt like stepping into an authentic lounge and quickly became one of our guests’ favorite spaces.”
She also had caricatures made of the two of them. We would put these in our house!
She said, “For our Sangeet, we commissioned giant custom caricature walls featuring us in our exact Sangeet outfits, complete with matching hairstyles, makeup, jewelry, and accessories. They became an instant conversation piece, and people still ask us where those displays ended up after the wedding!”
Riya told us, “For the Sangeet, our vision was ‘sparkly but tasteful.’ Jay wore a black mirror-work and embroidered ensemble from Riyasaat that looked incredibly sleek and modern. I chose a vibrant orange lehenga from Antra, adorned with intricate beadwork and mirror detailing.”
Of course, there were signature cocktails too.
“They weren’t overly elaborate,” she said. “We simply took classic cocktails and gave them names that reflected us. For example, at our Sangeet my custom cocktail was a lychee rose martini named ‘The Maharani Martini’ while Jay’s ‘Taj Mule’ featured an iteration of a Moscow mule. This is something I will advise to all couples in planning: personalization doesn’t have to mean inventing something completely new. Sometimes it’s simply taking something familiar and making it feel uniquely yours!”
Then the performances started. And later, the Garba, the traditional Gujarati dance where everyone moves in big circles. It is so much fun.
Riya said, “Everyone spent months learning their dances, and because they knew how much I love Bollywood performances, they truly gave it everything they had. Most of our friends aren’t Indian, so seeing them learn these routines despite not knowing the language or growing up with the music was incredibly meaningful.”
She added, “Guests enjoyed Indo-Chinese, Mexican-inspired chaat, Indian street food, and fresh sugarcane juice before gathering for a traditional Garba that seamlessly transitioned into an energetic Bollywood dance party. The night ended with an enchanting fireworks display! It quickly became the favorite event of the weekend for many of our guests!”
The Wedding Morning and First Look
For the wedding, Riya went with a gorgeous pink lehenga. Wait until you hear who found it.
Riya told us, “I went back and forth between being a traditional red bride or embracing pink and ultimately, pink won! I knew I wanted my bridal lehenga to tell a story. Instead of repetitive patterns, I envisioned scenes of nature, temples, and florals woven throughout the design. I wanted it to feel like artwork rather than fabric. After searching everywhere, Jay was actually the one who found my dream lehenga at Aso Palav in Baroda, India. The moment he saw it, he knew it was meant for me.”
“For my bridal jewelry, I fully embraced the royal bridal aesthetic,” she said. “More was definitely more!”
They did a first look before the ceremony. (You can read more about whether you should have a first look here, but Riya was all in.)
Riya said, “My favorite and most anticipated moment was our first look. I was so giddy and excited to show Jay my outfit and see his reaction! There are also so many moving parts on your wedding day, so having those few quiet moments together before everything began was incredibly special.”
An Enchanted Palace Garden Ceremony
The ballroom at The Westin was transformed into an enchanted palace garden for their Hindu ceremony. That mandap!
“In many ways, our mandap was what led us to choose our decorator,” she told us. “When I first described my vision to Jatin, he smiled and told me to trust him. Unbeknownst to me, the signature mandap he had designed for the season was identical to what I had imagined. Walking into the ceremony space was one of the most surreal moments of the weekend. Marble-inspired carvings, intricate peacock details, cascading flowers, elegant chandeliers, and endless floral accents transformed the ballroom into what felt like an ethereal palace garden.”
Before Riya walked down the aisle, she did something so sweet, and Jay had no idea it was coming.
Riya told us, “Since Indian weddings don’t traditionally include vows or speeches during the ceremony, I wanted to find a meaningful way to share my feelings with Jay. Throughout our relationship, I’ve written him countless letters, so for our wedding I prerecorded a heartfelt message for him that played just before I walked down the aisle. I talked about everything I love about him, how grateful I am to be marrying him, and the promises I wanted to make for our future together. The recording blended seamlessly with the song I always dreamed of playing at my wedding, ‘Turning Page’ by Sleeping at Last—a song I first fell in love with during my Twilight phase and had dreamed of walking down the aisle ever since I was young.”
Jay told us, “Without a doubt, it was hearing Riya’s speech before she walked down the aisle. I had no idea she had planned it, so it completely caught me by surprise. Hearing her talk about our relationship, what I mean to her, and the promises she wanted to make before seeing her walk toward me was one of the most emotional moments of my life. It’s a memory I’ll always hold on to.”
Also, a very smart idea for guests who are new to a Hindu ceremony (and for a June wedding in Georgia):
“For the wedding ceremony itself, we designed personalized paper fans that not only helped guests stay cool but also explained each wedding ritual in English. Since many of our guests weren’t familiar with Indian wedding traditions, this thoughtful touch helped everyone better understand and feel connected to the ceremony while maintaining the overall aesthetic.”
A Candlelit Ivory Reception
For the reception they went with an ivory theme, elegant, romantic, and candlelit throughout the venue. And Riya changed into red.
Riya said, “The room was draped entirely in ivory. We repurposed many of the ceremony florals, pairing them with baby’s breath, soft pastel blooms, candlelight, and mirrored tables to create a romantic black-tie atmosphere reminiscent of an intimate jazz club.”
“I still remember instinctively reaching for my phone because I wanted to capture our estate table before the evening began,” she told us. “It felt like something straight out of a movie, with endless florals stretching across the mirrored tabletop.”
Riya told us, “For the reception, I knew exactly what I wanted: a red, glamorous fishtail lehenga. I had followed Mumbai-based designer Shloka Khialani for years and always admired her feminine, modern silhouettes, so I knew I wanted one of her designs to be part of my wedding wardrobe. We created a custom cape-style fishtail lehenga in my perfect shade of red, featuring delicate pearl work throughout. It felt elegant, fashion-forward, and unlike anything I had seen before. To complete the look, I wore a heavily layered mixed-shape diamond choker that perfectly matched a mixed-shape diamond bracelet gifted to me by my mother-in-law, making the ensemble even more meaningful.”
They kicked off the party with fog on the dance floor for their first dance, followed by Jay’s groomsmen coming out to dance with him.
“Watching our same-day edit during the reception was another unforgettable moment,” Riya told us. “I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time because our photo and video team at Odyssey Films somehow captured not just the events themselves, but the emotions behind them. The film included highlights from each celebration, behind-the-scenes moments, interviews with our friends, and so many little details we hadn’t even noticed in real time.”
Riya and Jay’s Wedding Advice
We asked for their best planning advice, and Riya’s first answer is one we agree with 100%. (If you’re wondering what a wedding planner actually does, this is it.)
Riya said, “One piece of advice I’ll never stop giving is: hire a good wedding planner. Our planner, Ushma, and her incredible team handled everything before we even had to think about it. They fanned us between dance performances, made sure we ate, walked our parents through every part of the timeline, and kept the entire weekend running seamlessly.”
She added, “Also, don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for caring about the little details. I remember every single part of the planning process, including the smallest decisions that people insisted no one would notice. Maybe our guests didn’t consciously recognize every detail, but I did, and seeing all of those thoughtful touches come together brought me so much happiness.”
They told us, “As incredible as all the décor, outfits, and details were, nothing compared to looking around the room and seeing all of our favorite people together in one place. Having our families and closest friends celebrating alongside us was something we’ll never take for granted.”
Want more? We have 7 things we love about Indian weddings, and this Hindu and Catholic wedding in La Jolla is another favorite.
Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Westin Atlanta // Event Planner: Desai Designs // Event Designer and Florals: Ramleela // Photographer and Videographer: Odyssey Films Studio // DJ: Highline DJs // Hair and Makeup: Bogart Beauty // Bride’s Haldi and Sangeet Lehengas: Antra // Groom’s Haldi and Sangeet Attire: Riyasaat // Haldi Jewelry: Tonoto // Grah Shanti Choli: Annu’s Creation // Wedding Lehenga: Aso Palav // Reception Lehenga: Shloka Khialani
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