A Sikh Wedding in Mexico Blended Cultures
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When San Francisco couple Tanya Gonzalez and Rahul Chandhok first got engaged, they immediately began thinking about how they could create a wedding that honored both of their cultures in a location that fit their needs. “We were really trying to imagine what would offer the most intimate setting for large families,” says Tanya, the co-founder of the luxury fragrance brand Eauso Vert. “His background is Punjabi Sikh, and my background is Mexican, so we knew that people were going to be traveling from all over. We initially thought we would end up getting married in California just to make it easier for our immediate families, but the more venues we looked at, we realized that [in order to] blend both cultures, [the wedding] had to take place somewhere we could completely take over.”
They loved the idea of marrying in a location that would allow guests to travel to a place that most had never been to before. Tanya’s mother mentioned visiting San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, which she thought would make sense for what the couple was looking for. When the couple visited, they fell in love with it. They marveled at how easily it was to connect with people there and build quick friendships and thought it made sense for the traditional Indian wedding they envisioned, which would take place over several days.
“I just kept thinking, imagine having 150 of our closest friends and family all coming to this place, running into one another while they’re getting their coffee or while they’re in the square listening to the mariachi. In my mind, that was just the most special thing,” Tanya says.
Read on for all the details.
The Mehndi Party
The first official event of the wedding was the mehndi, the day-long process where the bride gets her henna for the wedding. It took place at a home that Tanya’s mother had rented which had a beautiful view of the stunning parish church, said to resemble a pink wedding cake. Tanya’s henna featured her dog, Duncan. “I started [getting my henna done] at 8 A.M., with husband’s mom, my mom, and my husband’s sister. Throughout the day, my close friends trickled in, because everyone had heard about this house. What was supposed to be a one-off henna session for myself wound up being a party of sorts, where people would take a tour of the house and get their henna done too,” Tanya recalls. That was what charmed her so much about the location: its small-town feel allowed people to have spontaneous interactions.
The Sangeet
On Thursday evening, the couple hosted the sangeet, which Tanya compared to a welcome party in Western culture. “Sangeet essentially means wake up, let’s party. That’s the purpose,” she says. The Indian customs were new to Tanya, and she was so happy that the wedding allowed her to get a deeper understanding of her husband’s faith.
The event was held at the Instituto Allende, one of the oldest universities in the area. There was a dance floor, and it was put to good use. “Everyone came with the best and most energy. It wound up. It was almost like having two receptions in a week because it ended up being a huge dance party. I told myself, ‘Okay, when it’s 10 P.M., I’m going to sneak away because I know I have to be up early for makeup in the morning.’ Let me tell you, Rahul and I closed the dance floor down along with our closest family and friends,” Tanya says.
Before the dance floor opens at a sangeet, there are a series of choreographed dances. Tanya didn’t know what songs were going to be played, and she expected there to be traditional Indian music. “Rahul’s sister had pulled together a fusion dance; she had traditional Bollywood music mixed with Bad Bunny. It was really cute and sweet that she had taken into consideration my taste in music,” she says.
The Haldi
The next day was the haldi, a reception that prepares the bride and groom for their wedding. It took place outside the city center at a hacienda called Luna Escondida. Guests began arriving around 1 P.M.
“Rahul’s dad was in tears because he just couldn’t really believe that we had brought to life this cultural tradition that looked like it had been lifted out of a scene from India and dropped and planted into Mexico. You had garlands of marigold, you had hanging lanterns, these really pretty vignettes where we had these stunning rugs under a bed of florals and seating that was primarily on the floor,” Tanya explains.
At the haldi, those close to the bride and groom approach them and spread turmeric paste on their faces and bodies. “The culture in both Indian and Mexican families really values and welcomes blessings from our elders,” she says. “To see all of the elders come and lather turmeric on us and give us their blessings was really meaningful.”
The Baraat
As is custom, the groom entered the wedding via a procession with his side of the family following him. Generally, the groom would be riding a white horse, but that tradition had to be adjusted slightly. “Rahul is terrified of horses—he had a bad run-in with a horse. It’s either an elephant, a horse, or a car [that you can come in on],” says Tanya. “We were looking at cars, and there was this one classic 1976 white Mustang. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Rahul, maybe it’s not a typical traditional white horse like we thought—it’s a white Mustang.’”
Anand Karaj
After entering, the groom meets the bride. “I had excitement and jitters that morning, and I could hear the huge drums and the crowd of people dancing with the car approaching me, which was really fun. Then, when I saw everyone finally reach where I was at, I could tell people were just having a really great time,” Tanya says.
The Anand Karaj is the Sikh religious ceremony. It was conducted in both English and Spanish so all of the guests could follow along.
The Chef
There was an hour-long ceremony before a stop for lunch. It was catered by a chef Hiran Patel, who the couple knew through his Chicago restaurants, including Naansense. He also owns Ghar, an Indian restaurant in San Miguel de Allende. “I don’t think people expected us to have Indian food in Mexico,” Tanya says.
The Looks
In October, Rahul’s mother invited Tanya and her mother to travel with her and her daughter to India to shop for a wedding dress. “We were really so thrilled to have the opportunity to have this joint mother-daughter trip,” Tanya says. “I had never seen so many beautiful textiles. We stayed in India for a little under a month.” She knew there were certain shops and showrooms she wanted to visit, like Sabyasachi and Rimple & Harpreet.
Tanya found the red lehenga she would wear to the ceremony at Rimple & Harpeet, and she began thinking about the reception dress that she would later order from Sabyasachi. Once she was back in the U.S., she traveled to Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles to find looks for the other wedding events.
Shopping for the wedding was a big undertaking. “I told Rahul, ‘It’s a job in itself. I can’t believe how much goes into this.’ But it was so special that I got to take the time to do it. I wound up finding everything all over the place,” she says.
While all her clothing was from Indian designers and brands, her jewelry and accessories were all made by Mexican designers.
The Cocktails
At 6 P.M., guests arrived at the cocktail hour, which was held near the property’s horse stables, in front of a waterfall. Tanya wanted her guests to see the baile folklorico traditional dancing from Mexico, as well as dances from Veracruz, which is where her father is from. There was mariachi dancing, and all the food and drinks were Mexican. As the cocktail hour wound down, the mariachi singers led the guests on a five-minute walk to the reception location.
The Décor
“We opted out of doing more traditional floral arrangements and did things really lush and verdant instead. I love green. A lot of the fragrance arrangements that Easuo Vert does are a little bit more abstract and sculptural. I wanted my reception layout to mimic that,” Tanya explains. “I think people were really surprised. They kept saying, ‘Oh my God, you’re getting married in this beautiful forest.’ But it was indoors; we brought the outdoors in.”
The Party
Tanya and Rahul entered the reception to a drummer playing a dhol, a type of Indian drum, that he laid over a Latin song. “Our entrance was to a Latin song with Indian beats, which was really fun,” she says. A female piano player and singer duo played through dinner—all songs in Spanish that the bride found “very vibey.” She adds: “Once the dance floor opened, I thought, once again, that I would end up going home early because I was exhausted at this point. But the adrenaline kicked in, and we closed out the dance floor again at 2 A.M.”
The Fragrance
Tanya and Rahul both wore the same fragrance on their wedding day. “The name of the fragrance that we wore is called Dos Mil Años, which essentially means 2,000 years. It’s representative of our relationship and eternal love,” she says. “People say that you should choose a scent that maybe you’ll never wear again because it’ll always remind you of that day. Even though I wear it every day, it always reminds me of being in San Miguel de Allende, dancing the night away.”
The couple arrives to the sangeet.
The groom wore a look by Sabyasachi; the bride wore Raw Mango.
The décor was inspired by Bollywood.
A view of La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, one of the most photographed churches in Mexico.
Tanya and Rahul dance at the sangeet.
The haldi.
PS Flower Studio prepared the florals.
The bride wore a custom look by Rimple and Harpeet to the ceremony.
The groom before the wedding in custom Tarun Tahiliani.
Because Rahul is afraid of horses, he entered in a white mustang.
The Sikh wedding ceremony, a.k.a. the Anand Karaj.
The Callejoneada, the traditional Mexican parade from the wedding ceremony to the reception.
Tanya and Rahul arrive at their reception.
Tanya wore Sabyasachi to the reception and Rahul wore a custom tuxedo by Franco Uomo.
Rahul on the dance floor.
Dancing all night long.
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