Zindagi with Freddy and Melissa: Our Wedding April 22, 2011

We decided to get married April 22, 2011 because it was an auspicious day on the Indian calendar and only after realized that it was also Good Friday, so it was hopefully going to be very auspicious.

Getting Ready
Here are a few of our favorite pictures while everyone was getting ready. All photos were shot by Monica Roy unless otherwise credited.

Corinne and Shelly filling petal cones with freeze dried rose petals.

Me and my Mom filling petal cones with freeze dried rose petals.


The Groomsmen helping take all the things to the ceremony area.

The Girls getting ready

The dress

The shoes

The jewelry that Freddys family generously gave me as a wedding gift.

The Guys Getting Ready

Freddy and I got each other a wedding day gift. I got him a Movado watch and strangely enough he also got me a Movado watch. I promise we didn't plan that...I guess we really are meant to be!

The Ceremony

The venue was the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario, CA where they have a gorgeous outdoor courtyard that we really liked for the ceremony. Traditional Indian or hindu weddings last days and the wedding ceremony several hours. We loved the symbolism in the hindu ceremony but didn't want to have a 3 hour ceremony. So we did a condensed version of the Hindu ceremony that was roughly 45 minutes long. What we were calling a fusion Indian wedding.

My nephew Andrew handing out petal cones.

One of the petal cones we made and filled with freeze dried rose petals. There were four types of cones each with a different quote about love. This one had a quote from Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

The guests getting seated...I do believe my side looks rather empty!

The table ready with all the essentials for the ceremony.

Our ceremony official Mr. Davé.

Freddy and Family making their way to the alter.

Ringbearer and Flower girl...soooo cute!

Here comes the Bride!

Prayer to Lord Ganesha - All Hindu wedding ceremonies commence with a prayer to Shri Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles and provider of good luck

Giving of the Brides hand.

Tying of the Knot - Scared fabric is tied between the Bride and Groom by their mothers to represent their inseparability.

Circling the Fire - The Bride and Groom then walk around the holy fire four times, symbolizing how they will lead each other on their journey through life. The four pheras (circles) represent the four great goals of Hindu life: 1)Dharma, moral righteousness, 2) Artha, prosperity, 3) Kama, energy and passion for life and 4) Moksha, spiritual enlightenment

Seven Sacred Steps - The Bride and Groom then take seven steps together, symbolizing the beginning of their journey through life as partners and pledge seven vows that are very similar to traditional Western vows to love, honor, etc.

Tying the Mungal Sutra - Freddy then put the Mangal Sutra necklace around my neck, provided by Freddy’s Mother. It symbolizes the couples togetherness, love and sacred union. We also exchanged rings at this time.


We are now officially husband and wife...wait Freddy's shoes are gone, haha! During traditional hindu ceremonies the bridesmaids try to steal the grooms shoes from the groomsmen who are protecting them. This is because the groom cannot leave the ceremony area without shoes, thus he or his party must pay the bridesmaids to get them back.

Andrew stole the shoes and Freddy paid him only $50 to get them back. Andrew should have asked for more but he didn't know any better because usually the brides side can get up to $300 to return the shoes.

Once Freddy got his shoes back we could finally exit and have all our guests shower us will blessings in the form of rose petals.

The Reception

The ballroom looked really nice especially with the extra lighting we opted for with our DJ.

Everyone got a sandalwood fan as a little gift from us.

All the bridesmaids and groomsmen lined up waiting for our entrance. Yes we had a large wedding party but not as big as it could have been if left up to Freddy.

Our first dance went really well. I completely recommend watch some YouTube videos for a quick dance lesson...hehe.

Our wedding cake was really beautiful and tasted even better. Each layer was a different flavor of cake. My favorite was the marble with raspberry truffle filling...yum!

Cutting the cake.

Apparently at most Indian weddings it is like America's Got Talent with several performances. Our friend Sujata sang a song we pick and that was our only entertainment.

Well I guess besides the awesome speech from the Best Man Samir, which is also Sujata's husband. What a great husband and wife couple to have in your wedding party!