Indian Pakistani Fusion Wedding at Rancho Las Lomas

Indian Pakistani Fusion Wedding Rancho Las Lomas

Get ready for a major swoon fest because today’s Indian Pakistani Fusion wedding has no shortage of mesmerizing fashion, modern florals and cultural traditions. Maya and Zia’s 3-part celebration honoring each of their heritages couldn’t have been filled with more love and support from their friends and family members, and we love the ways they brought American surprises to the table too – something some of their guests had never experienced at a wedding before! Captured by Encor Studio, this picture perfect day was filled with intention and beauty – every piece hand selected by the bride (all the way down to the thread used in the bridal party attire!) With SoCal Event Planners executing every portion of the day seamlessly, and Penelope Pots Floral Design giving a new definition to the phrase texture-forward flowers, we can easily say that we’ll be admiring Maya and Zia’s Indian Pakistani fusion wedding for all eternity.

From the bride, Maya: An Indian meets Pakistani wedding is no easy feat…nor a simple day. In fact, we were having three different events in ONE day—yes, three! The events began in the morning with full baraat procession (a custom for the groom’s wedding procession in North India and Pakistan). This was followed by a traditional Hindu ceremony, then there was a Nikkah (a short, traditional Muslim ceremony where the bride’s father gives consent for his daughter to marry the groom), and finally the reception and a late-night event.

Because we were keeping the traditional ceremonies, we wanted to put on our own modern spin on everything. Typically, Indian and Pakistani events are bursting with bright and bold colors, the bride wears a red and gold dress and the décor mainly consists of just roses. However, we wanted to deviate from the norm and put our own modern spin on everything. Instead of the bright hues, we opted for a soft ivory, blush, and peachy color palette and incorporated a ton of dried, textured florals and greenery. Pops of mint were added for a subtle winter wedding twist.

The overall decor was simple and elegant. I worked alongside a graphic designer to create all the paper elements from scratch. The wedding invitations featured hand-drawn elements of a Ganesh for the Hindu ceremony and the word “Allah” for the Nikkah ceremony.

We loved that Rancho Las Lomas partners with 24 Catering / Natraj Cuisine for their food menu. This allowed us to serve an Indian cuisine throughout the day but also gave us the chance to mix in a few American-Indian fusion dishes. Part of our fusion items included strawberry lassis (usually only made with mango) for a pre-ceremony beverage and masala mac and cheese served in mini iron skillets as an appetizer. It was so unique and the presentation was impeccable! Our guests were in awe as traditionally, our cultures stick to a full Indian (“desi”) menu with no American food items.

A few months prior to the wedding, I spent a few weeks in India searching for all the outfits for myself, my family, and the bridal party. I wore a pastel pink lengha and created custom made lenghas (for women) and kurtas (for men) for the bridal party.

Although Indian / Pakistani weddings do not typically have bridesmaids, the trend of having bridesmaids in our cultures began a few years ago. Usually, they will wear simple saris but I thought lenghas would look so much more elegant!

The bridesmaid outfits were created with a modern twist – the entire blouse was sewn with dainty champagne gold beads and the bottom skirt was mint with minimal embroidery. Each of the flower girls’ outfits were also custom made. To tie all the colors in together, the entire blouse of the flower girl outfit was covered with hand-sewn florals in pink and mint. For the groomsmen, I searched to a thread book with 100s of colors to pick the exact shade of mint that would work the bridesmaid outfits; they were able to hand-die the fabric to match. Zia wore a traditional ivory sherwani with champagne gold accents and a headpiece for the Hindu ceremony.

Zia and I come from very different backgrounds. My parents are both born and brought up in India, while Zia’s mother is from Fiji and his father is from Lahore, Pakistan. When planning the wedding, we had no idea how the members of our family would react to taking part or even attending each of our ceremonies. But surprisingly, they all took part and enjoyed the events to the fullest. Seeing our family members come together and support us was so heartwarming.

We’re gonna make like a super 8 ball and predict that you’re hooked on this boho chic Indian Pakastani fusion wedding with the California dream team below. So. much. to love. Glimpse another Indian wedding fave in an urban garden setting here next!