A Traditional Hindu Wedding in Dearborn, Michigan

During the traditional wedding between Sonia Garg (33 and a doctor) and Chennakeshava Joga (33 and a project manager), the couple incorporated dozens of Indian customs into their colorful, flower-filled ceremony. After walking down the aisle in a traditional red lengha, or Indian wedding dress, the bride and her groom exchanged two sets of garlands made of roses, orchids and mums during their ceremony held at a friend's private residence. "I'm north Indian and my husband is south Indian; so I was wearing a traditional outfit that north Indian brides normally wear," Sonia explains. "But I chose to have my bridesmaids wear silk saris, which is traditional dress more popular in south India. It was a way to unite our two cultures into a single ceremony. Since the bride and groom don't often have the chance to recite their own vows in typical Hindu weddings, Sonia and Chenna played short, pre-recorded vows during the start of the ceremony. "We had them play while I walked down the aisle," Sonia says. "It was special for both of us to hear each other's vows during that moment."