A Luxe Red-and-Gold Wedding at Peace Arch International Park in Blaine, Washington

Ayush and Apoorva chose a vibrant, luxe color palette of dark red and gold as a way to "embrace the park’s gorgeous surroundings and incorporate colors and a vibe that would work well with the outdoors. We took inspiration from the colors of the flowers, embraced the rustic vibe of the stage and elevated it with the inclusion of blush tones that are complementary to the dark wood. The wedding decor felt like a dream when I arrived at the venue." says Apoorva. 

Incorporating cultural and traditional elements to honor their heritage was an important part of the wedding for Ayush and Apoorva. "Since our wedding was a Hindu wedding, the groom and his party, which is called a Bharat, were welcomed into the venue with laughter and banter during the ribbon-cutting session," explains Apoorva. "The second tradition we had was our Jaimala ceremony, where I walked in with my brother, cousins and friends to the groom, who was waiting at the Jaimala stage for the Jaimala ceremony (garland change)." During the Jaimala ceremony, "the bride puts the garland on the groom first and groom’s family and friends playfully try to move the groom around to make it harder for the bride to put on the garland on the groom and vice versa," explains Apoorva. "Then we move on to the main ceremony at the mandap where we pray and the Hindu priest marries us. There are multiple events that take place during this ceremony, one of which is kanyadan. This where the bride’s father gives away his daughter to the groom. Secondly, we do pheras (walking in circles) around Agni (a sacred fire) 7 times taking our marital vows. Then the groom ties the mangalsutra (wedding necklace) around the bride’s neck and this is equivalent to a wedding ring in the Hindu culture. Lastly, the groom puts sindoor (red sacred powder) in the bride’s maang (hair part) as part of the ceremonial process. And the last main event of the Hindu wedding is Bidai which is the bride leaving her parental home to go with her now-husband to his home and as she is part of a new family now," explains Apoorva of the cultural elements they chose to include in their wedding at Peace Arch International Park in Blaine, Washington. 

In addition to filling the day with cultural moments, the couple also made sure to weave plenty of personalization into their wedding day. Notably, "we had a coffee bar where Ayush and I created custom drinks with fun names that reflected the journey of our relationship," shares Apoorva.  She goes on to note that "my favorite part of the wedding was walking down the aisle to meet Ayush, who was waiting for me at the Jaimala stage for our garland exchange ceremony. Another favorite part about the wedding for us was enjoying all the delicious food and drinks, especially, our custom-made black forrest wedding cake!"