Pandemic Weddings: Neha & Ankit

It’s hard to imagine a Big, Fat, Cultural Wedding during these pandemic times. However, here are some stories behind the choice to proceed, downsize, and/or reschedule to a later date!

Neha and her family have been friends for many years, and I’ve been so excited to be a part of their celebrations. Now, we’ll finally be putting together details for her upcoming summer wedding and I am keeping my fingers crossed that this time we can proceed as planned!

Neha & Ankit

Neha had always dreamed of celebrating her big day with all her friends and family present. Growing up here in MN with a large circle of Indian friends, and having a large extended family, she has been a part of many crazy Indian weddings and was so excited to have her day! As Neha and Ankit don’t live in Minneapolis, Neha’s mom didn’t waste any time getting the planning process started for their multi-day celebrations. COVID truly dampened all the excitement they were feeling, and the first hurdle to get over was just the sadness of not being able to have their wedding as planned and the exhausting process of trying to reschedule everything.

For sometime Neha & Ankit were considering having a modified celebration, but ultimately decided that the most important thing was the safety of their guests and they didn't want to take any chances that a celebration could be marked by illness.

However, this couple were also really ready to be together, and wanted their day to still be special. Ultimately, they decided to have a micro-wedding at Neha’s parents' home, as they were already visiting Minneapolis and wanting to celebrate in some way. The celebrations started with Neha having some henna done before the wedding. For the ceremony, both sets of parents were able to be present and served as witnesses, a neighbor performed officiant duties, and a friend was the photographer. They stated vows to each other & exchanged traditional floral garlands outdoors, with the views of the lake providing a serene backdrop. Their simple ceremony was followed by a dinner at CoV in Wayzata.  

Overall, pre-COVID, Neha and Ankit would never have imagined having their wedding as a simple moment with just them and their parents, and they felt really blessed to have such an intensely special moment to share. Making their love “official” even with just a civil ceremony gave their parents a lot of joy, and they were thrilled to be able to create that feeling during all the stress of the current situation. 

Neha & Ankit are hopeful for their dream wedding celebrations this summer and are very excited that they’ll be able to have their planned multiple days of festivities. They take a lot of comfort in knowing how quickly vaccinations are proceeding and that they will be able to celebrate safely with many that are dear to them.

Vendors:

Bride & Groom Outfits: Sheetal & Manyavar

Flowers: Richfield Flowers

Mehndi: Shakuntala Design