This Indo-Western Gay Wedding Is The Most Beautiful Thing You'll See Today!

WOW! That was our reaction when we came across this pretty gay Indo-western fusion wedding... we couldn't help but feature it. John Webley and Tanay Warerkar got hitched in California, and their wedding was not only a beautiful celebration of love, but was downright gorgeous! Everything- from the invites to the decor and the outfits was so well thought out and so so beautiful! The photos by @eicharphotography were no less than perfection!

Pretty right? Over to John now who tells us all about their love, and of course their big day!

Their Love Story

"We met in the first week of college in a tennis class, but we only got to know each other a year later when Tanay invited me and my friends over for one of his incredible home-cooked meals, butter chicken. Our friendship and romance slowly grew as we ate our way across the world. Tanay and I visited padarias (bakeries) and churrascaria’s (barbecue restaurants) in Rio de Janeiro, and while studying abroad at Oxford we would stay up late to get kebab wraps from the best Halal cart. We traveled across Europe together sharing crêpes in Paris, goulash in Budapest, svíčková in Prague and a calamari sandwich in Madrid that made me very, very sick. At the end of our year abroad in Oxford, Tanay asked me out and we dated our final year of college. But, after graduating I moved to Moscow to continue studying Russian (I'm currently getting my PhD at Yale, where I specialize in Russian art and literature), and Tanay (who now works as a food journalist) pursued his MSc in Journalism at Columbia. When I moved back to New York (2015) Tanay and I started dating again."

Two years later in May of 2017, I proposed to Tanay. Tanay had to go home to Delhi to renew his visa, and I decided that I would fly there and surprise him with a proposal. As soon as Tanay bought his plane ticket, I picked out a ring from Erie Basin in Brooklyn—a gold band set with a vintage kite cut diamond. I picked the ring because of Tanay’s love for New York City, where the ring was made, and for its minimalist aesthetic. I then called Tanay’s parents to let them know my plan. From there, Tanay’s mom and best friend took over planning an incredible surprise engagement party. The same day that I landed, Tanay went over to his best friend’s house for dinner, and was sent out into the garden to fetch something for the host. I surprised Tanay by appearing in the garden and getting down on one knee. After Tanay said yes, all of his family and closest friends came out of hiding and surprised him as well, and we had a dinner party outside in a garden."

The Vision & Planning

"I wanted to do everything myself, so we didn’t hire a planner. From the smallest details, like the exact flowers printed on our invites and the trim on the bridesmaids’ sarees, to the big picture like table settings, food and music, I tried to personalize everything as much as I could (I even made the welcome drink myself, "Tanay's Tarboozy", a watermelon and ouzo cocktail) . In hindsight, I was a bit too ambitious! Having lots of personalized details can help make your wedding special, but don’t lose sight of the big picture. We also had a lot of help from our family too, our moms and sisters planned the mehendi and sangeet. We did hire a day-of- coordinator to oversee the food and drinks and to ensure guests were well taken care of."

What was cute was that while the Western groom wore a sherwani by Varun Bahl, the Indian groom made a custom suit by @merakibrothers, which was a totally different choice- a pastel peach-pink suit with a floral tie, and looked adorable yet dapper.

Isn't it just beautiful? The wedding had all kinds of nice ideas, and everything felt so warm and fuzzy. Also check out the mehendi that both the grooms put- adorable!

The Wedding

"Tanay and I really wanted our wedding to be a fusion of both our traditions and cultures (Maharashtrian and Californian). Once I knew that the wedding would take place in a garden—at my parent’s home in California—Tanay and I began looking for ways to bring a touch of India to the space. In terms of a theme, I wanted to evoke nighttime in Lodhi gardens, a place that is special to me because Tanay took me there one evening during our first trip to India. To evoke this atmosphere, Tanay and I filled the garden with Indian lanterns, which had gold filigree patterns similar to the jaali designs you find in Delhi’s old architecture. Our table settings had large pink bouquets, metal chargers with a similar pattern to the lanterns, and our plates looked like the blue pottery you find in Jaipur. Then Tanay and I rented beautiful Indian tents to really transform the space, to help guests feel like they were coming to someplace new. This aesthetic was also reflected on our invites, which included flowers native to California and India surrounding an Indian architectural design." 

"For a color scheme, we decided to go with shades of blue and pink. Tanay’s suit as well as his groomsmaids’ sarees were all different shades of pink, that matched our flowers. John’s groomsmaids wore different shades of blue, with blouses and sarees embroidered with flowers and vines. John’s outfit from Varun Bahl tied all the colors together, as the embroidery combined all these colors in a floral design."

"There were two photobooths, one was a vintage tintype photographer that we picked because Tanay and I had a tintype done during our first trip to India. The second photobooth was a giant cutout of the moon and stars, which my uncle made himself for the occasion."

And we loved the colourful invites for the wedding too- even the pamphlet for the guests explaining the ceremonies and nuptials. 

From the Couple:

"The most important thing for us while planning our wedding was that we acknowledged and showed our respect for each other's cultures, but also stayed true to ourselves. We only included the rituals that were meaningful to us and a few that were important to our families. It can be difficult to balance your own desires for your wedding against your families' wishes, but it was really important to us to have a wedding that represented who we are, and the love we have for each other and our families. It's good to incorporate some of your family's suggestions as the day is just as special for them, but don't let their wants supersede yours — try to find a healthy balance. Most importantly, remember to have fun! Our wedding was one of the best days of our lives, and it was because once the festivities started we were really able to let loose."

Vendors: Videographer: Silver Seas Weddings; Photographer: Eichar Photography; John's Outfit: Varun Bahl; Tanay's Outfit: Meraki Brothers; Mehendi Artist: Sabreena Haque, Ritual by Design; Wedding rings: Jindal Diamonds; Wedding Planning: Self-planned; Ceremony site: McDonald Mansion; Flowers: Le Jardinier Vintage; Rental equipment (tables, chairs, plates): Encore Events; Tents: Raj Tents; Catering: Curry Up Now, Sea Thai Bistro and Old Caz Beer; Wedding Cake: Batter Up Cakery; Music/DJ: Runaway DJ; Photobooth: Sonoma Tintype

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