THE WEDDING OF THANMAYI & VERUN

August 19, 2018 Foxborough, Massachusetts

By Carol K. Dumas

This past August, Lakeview Pavilion in Foxborough, Massachusetts, was transformed into a colorful Indian wedding for Thanmayi and Verun.

The couple, incorporated their cultural traditions into a modern wedding that reflected their personalities and styles. Guests received a program explaining the meaning of the ceremony’s traditional elements and dined on Indian food.

The bride and groom wore traditional Indian attire, which Thanmayi purchased on a trip to India with her parents, and long garlands of roses. Thanmayi’s ceremonial red-orange saree had a vintage panel sewn along the border with images of a “rani,” or princess, being carried to the “mandapam,” the structure where a Hindu wedding is performed. Her palms were painted with henna in a vintage scene with the “raja” (prince) on one palm facing his rani on the other. “It was one of my favorite parts of our outfits,“ Thanmayi says. Varun wore a chartreuse kurta and turban for the ceremony.

The bride and groom’s parents escorted them into the ballroom. “Many of our guests were adorned in traditional Indian garb, too,” Thanmayi says. “They looked wonderful in all the colors. What a sight when the doors opened for our respective entrances!”

Thanmayi walked down the aisle to a sitar-only rendition of Beyonce's “Halo,” to the mandapam where the ceremony would take place. “We modernized our mandapam with eucalyptus and white draping to complement the venue and contribute the outside-in ambience,” Thanmayi says. A tapestry initially separated the couple, symbolic of two separate lives that would soon be joined as one.

“One of the super fun traditions we included was a portion of the ceremony called ‘Talambralu,’ where the bride and groom shower each other with pearls and turmeric rice, while our family and friends cheered us along,” Thanmayi says. “This ceremony is a symbol of sharing, happiness and familial support.”