Restricted to only two weekends that would work for family travelling from India, the couple had explored locations across Arizona, California and Mexico before repeatedly returning to San Miguel. Planning a wedding in Mexico without visiting first felt risky, but they went ahead anyway. “When it felt right, it was just right,” says Rikhye.
Before the festivities officially began, the couple spent an evening wandering through the cobblestone streets of San Miguel for their pre-wedding shoot, stopping for rooftop drinks and sunset views across the city. Thangaraj wore a rust-orange PatBo dress inspired by the city’s warm tones, while Rikhye chose a relaxed pink linen suit.
The wedding in Mexico opened with an intimate Ganesh puja and Tamil metti ceremony attended only by the immediate family. Marigolds filled the amphitheatre in a nod to both Indian and Mexican visual traditions, while the women in the family wore Kanchipuram silk saris handpicked in Tamil Nadu by Thangaraj’s mother. To honour both her Tamil roots and Rikhye’s Punjabi heritage, Thangaraj chose a red-and-gold brocade sari by Advaya paired with her late paternal grandmother’s necklace. “It really felt like carrying a piece of them with me during the ceremony,” she says of her grandparents.
The larger welcome evening transformed Live Aqua San Miguel into what felt like a sunset garden party suspended somewhere between India and Mexico. Guests entered through a tunnel of overhead fairy lights into a courtyard layered with flowers in shades of red, pink, orange and yellow. Tin San Miguel stars stretched across the space while food stations serving pani puri, tacos, churros and lamb flautas encouraged guests to move constantly through the garden.
“There was this overwhelming sense of gratitude and disbelief that everyone we loved was together in one place,” says Thangaraj.
A live watercolour artist painted portraits while speeches from friends and family spanned nearly every chapter of the couple’s lives. Then came the surprise performance: Thangaraj, who spent much of her childhood dancing, performed a medley beginning with Mariah Carey’s Fantasy before transitioning into Bollywood tracks and bhangra alongside her friends.
For the wedding ceremony, the couple chose the Lavender Garden at Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, drawn to its bougainvillaea, pampas grass and cypress trees. Working with stylist Vibi Palaguru, Thangaraj referenced a Jean Paul Gaultier by Simone Rocha runway look before translating the mood into a custom Anamika Khanna lehenga detailed with pearl beading, tonal embroidery and a dramatic head-to-toe veil. “We wanted the outfits to feel delicate but still substantive,” says Thangaraj.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: vogue.in
