&AnjanAman

Anjan: My favorite moment was when I walked into the Anand Karaj hall, saw a smile on his face, and celebrated with our family and friends who traveled from all over the world just for us.

Q: Can you describe your outfits?

Before leaving for India in April 2022, I would sit with my parents to shortlist outfits based on what we saw on social media. While in India, I would wake up my parents in Vancouver, my brother in California, and my sister in Dubai so they could all be a part of every detail.

For our Welcome event, I wanted a fun and bold outfit to start the wedding festivities, so I went with Gazal Gupta, whose collection was perfect for it. For the Cocktail, I wanted to wear a princess gown with crystals embroidery. I had been eyeing Dolly J’s gowns for a while now, and it was breathtaking. They not only delivered in five weeks, but the outfit was also better than I had pictured.

For the Mendhi event, brides usually opt for traditional looks; however, we had pictured a fun and colourful function rather than a traditional one. Monika Nidhi’s new collection was not only perfect but exactly what I thought I had pictured myself wearing.

The wedding day outfit was my favourite because it was the first one I tried on and fell in love with. Wearing a Rimple Harpreet Narula’s lengha is every girl’s dream come true and my parents made mine come true. I fell in love with my wedding set when I saw it while my sister did her wedding jewelry shopping over five years ago. Khanna Jewellers in Ludhiana helped design the accent pieces for my remaining jewelry.

We wanted to end our wedding festivities with a glam bam. So for the Reception, I opted for Seema Gujral, as her collection has over-the-top glam, which was exactly what I had pictured before.

seated event with no DJ, only an army band in the lawn area and violin in the dining hall playing throughout the night. The decor was a surprise for Aman and me, and our jaws dropped when we walked into the venue. It was elegant and covered in fresh white flowers.

Q: Where did you honeymoon?

Taking over a month off for our wedding in India, we have pushed a honeymoon to next year. We did go on “mini getaways” in Goa and Cancun, but we plan on honeymooning in the summer of 2023 in Scandinavia.

Aman: 1. The wife is always right. 2. If you feel she is wrong, slap yourself and read rule #1 again.

and Toronto) for about two years. COVID certainly didn’t help. Managing different time zones, varying work schedules, and travel restrictions made it complicated, but it enabled us to come out as a stronger couple. It taught us resilience and patience, which are key to a long and healthy married life. In the end, all’s well that ends well!

Our reception was very different than what you would see in North America. It was a

To be accepting of each other’s flaws and Pay attention. Support your partner and push them to achieve their dreams.

We had been friends for seven years before we started dating and got married two years later.

The biggest challenge would certainly be our time away from each other, as we were in a long-distance relationship (Vancouver

Never go to bed angry and sort out any issues that arise head-on instead of holding on to them. Prioritize each other above everything else. Remember, you are a team now, and stand by each other.

By Benjamin Yong

Honda’s answer to the Mazda CX-30 and Nissan Kicks, the HR-V, returns for a second generation completely redesigned for 2023. Longer, wider and boasting the same platform and engine as found in the Civic the vehicle has matured nicely offering a good option for small families.

“The new HR-V is the perfect size for those looking for a SUV that can park in tight spaces and carry all their gear while delivering a fun and sporty driving experience,” said Honda Canada vice president Steve Hui in a press release. “HR-V’s upgraded and enhanced features will solidify its position as a segment leader that will attract a new generation of Honda customers. We expect it will be popular with young and diverse consumers representing a variety of lifestyles.”

Design takes a sharp detour from the global model that finally arrived in the U.S. and Canada back in 2016, deleting quirks like the hidden rear door handles and flip-up interior Magic Seats seen in the Fit hatchback. The front fascia adopts a contemporary appearance wearing sleek LED headlights, complemented by similarly slimmed down units at the back, and a traditional centre-set black grille painted gloss black on Darpan’s EX-L Navi grade tester. The aforementioned 221-milli- metre longer length and 70-millimetre increased width provide more athletic proportions, and adding to the performance aesthetic are unique 17-inch Shark Gray machined-finished alloy wheels, gloss black door pillars and bumper trim, and a painted window spoiler.

Sharing a similar interior as the Civic, the same polarizing metal honeycomb decoration runs across the entire dashboard and conceals the air vents behind. The leather steering wheel and heated seats have a premium feel to them given the entry-level segment though curiously feature complete manual adjustment even on the driver’s side.

The nine-inch colour touchscreen is nice to look at but Honda infotainment remains one of the less intuitive examples on the market and could really use some type of rotary control knob found in many competitor vehicles. Having a larger footprint allows for the imple-

Toyota knows a thing or two about building compact crossovers, launching the first RAV4 in the mid-1990s during the nascent days of the segment. Since then, however, the model has gotten larger over subsequent generations and something fresh with a familiar name is filling the void left behind: the Corolla Cross.

“For more than five decades, Corolla has moved Canadians like no other vehicle ever has – and the newest member of the Corolla family continues that tradition,” says Cyril Dimitris, Toyota Canada vice president, in a media release. “The Corolla Cross brings that reputation to the hot compact SUV market – appealing to Canadians who love the footprint of a smaller vehicle, but who also seek impressive versatility and the all-weather confidence of all-wheel-drive.”

Though built on the same TNGA-C platform as its sedan/hatchback namesake, the small SUV, which debuted last year, looks unique resembling a baby RAV4. The mesh grille, black bumper and body cladding and rear window spoiler lends an air of sportiness, and Darpan’s top-of-the-line XLE-grade press loaner adds extra goodies like 18-inch dual five-spoke alloy wheels, premium LED lighting, roof rails and moonroof. The Cypress green exterior paint and Macadamia brown SofTex faux-leather interior is a gorgeous combo as well.

The interior shares a lot of similarities with the five-door variant though affords 53 millimetres of additional legroom and 63.5 headroom thanks to a slightly larger form factor. Similarly, cargo capacity is much improved offering 440 litres of space when the split 60/40 folding bench is laid flat.

The 10-way power-adjustable heated driver’s seat is comfortable and supportive and for 2023 a next-generation Toyota

Multimedia infotainment system is standard showcasing an eight-inch touchscreen and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. While an improvement over the outgoing technology it’s not the most intuitive offering on the market.

All trims run a 2.0-litre four-cylinder Dynamic Force (what the brand calls the family of powertrains utilizing high-speed combustion to achieve great thermal efficiency) engine producing 169 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque mated to a CVT transmission. The familiar setup is peppy even when installed under the hood of the crossover, and coupled with the all-wheel-wheel-drive-equipped version’s fully independent suspension provides an unexpectedly enjoyable experience behind the wheel perfect for urban commuting.

For quick trips out of town or to and from the hardware store, the 1,500-pound maximum tow rating should be sufficient for light hauling needs. Also new for the current year is the introduction of Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 on all models boasting enhanced sensors improving detection capability — the collision-avoidance function recognizes motorcyclists in certain situations, and when making a turn or approaching an intersection forward and laterally-approaching are detected triggering alerts and/or emergency braking if necessary.

The 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross is at dealerships now and is built at the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama.